China's first lady on Time's most influential list

Rapper Jay-Z, Pakistan teenager Mulala Yousufzai, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence and SpaceX founder Elon Musk were on Thursday named among Time magazine's most influential people in the world.

US President Barack Obama got his eighth entry on the annual list of the 100 top global titans, leaders, artists, pioneers and icons, along with his wife Michelle, newly installed Pope Francis, British royal Kate Middleton, Beyonce, Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun and basketball player LeBron James.

Former PayPal entrepreneur Musk was named to the list as his SpaceX devlops space transport with an ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

In the international field, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, Philippines President Noynoy Aquino, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and China's glamorous new first lady Peng Liyuan were among those making the list.

Time said that for the first time it is issuing seven separate covers for its 100 Most Influential People edition, which is published in the United States on Friday.

Chinese tennis player Li Na, 31, the first Asian woman to win a Grand Slam title, and Bollywood actor and political activist Aamir Kahn, will be featured on the front of international editions, while Jay-Z, Lawrence, Musk, Yousufzai and US Republican Senator Rand Paul will be featured on five different US covers.

The list is not ranked, but Time managing editor Rick Stengel said the seven cover portraits "reflect the breadth and depth of the list."

Jay-Z, 43, a recording artist and entrepreneur with interests in sport and fashion, was described by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as embodying the American Dream.

"In nearly everything he's tried, he's found success. (He even put a ring on Beyonce.) And in doing so, he's proved that the American Dream is alive and well," Bloomberg wrote of the "Empire State of Mind" singer.

Yousufzai, 15 has become an international symbol of resistance to the Taliban's efforts to deny women rights after she was shot in head in Pakistan in October 2012 for speaking out on the importance of education for girls.

Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton, said the Taliban "almost made Malala a martyr; they succeeded in making her a symbol."

Lawrence, 22, won an Oscar in February for her role as an outspoken young widow in movie "Silver Linings Playbook" and is the star of young adult movie franchise "The Hunger Games."

China Daily - Agencies