Heroes:
- Najih Shaker Al-Baldawi, an Iraqi Muslim who hugged an ISIS suicide bomber to absorb the detonation at a shrine, saving countless lives.
- Muhammad Ali.
- India, which managed to plant nearly 50 million trees in 24 hours this July. The country has pledged to increase forest cover to 95 million hectares by 2030.
- Joe Biden, who oversaw the marriage of two gay officials at the White House.
Villains:
- Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (pictured), who urged citizens to actively kill all drug addicts and dealers and has claimed “I don’t care about human rights.”
- ISIS, which has carried out at least 15 terrorist attacks since June, resulting in over 700 deaths internationally.
- The officials behind the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, who have been criticized for corruption as they scrambled to hide the crime, pollution, and mismanagement of the city.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who closed down more than 1,000 private schools, 1,200 charities, and 15 universities after a failed coup to overthrow him.