TIME magazine has unveiled its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2026, spotlighting global leaders, innovators, artists, and pioneers shaping politics, technology, culture, and business.

This year’s edition reflects a world in transition, marked by geopolitical tensions, rapid technological change, and evolving cultural influence. 

Nearly 40 per cent of those named are political leaders, underscoring the growing weight of diplomacy and governance in shaping global narratives.

Among the most prominent figures featured are US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, highlighting the central role of geopolitical leadership. 

Rising political voices also made the list, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Nepal’s Prime Minister Balen Shah, and Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, signalling recognition of regional leadership on the global stage.

Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, was also included, marking a milestone in gender representation. Women now account for nearly 30 per cent of leaders recognized in the 2026 list.

TIME’s list traditionally spans categories such as leaders, innovators, artists, pioneers, and icons. This year, more than 25 countries are represented, reflecting an increasingly diverse and expansive definition of global influence.

Full list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2026 : https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/ (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka has been recognised for its ‘Pekoe Trail’ in the Central Highlands in TIME Magazine’s list of the world’s 100 greatest places to visit in 2025.

Writing for Time Magazine, Audrey Phoon has described the Pekoe Trail as offering hikers an intimate look at Sri Lanka’s diverse landscape and tea-entwined history.

“Up in the Sri Lankan highlands, a 19th-century transport network for tea is now conveying adventurers to remote communities and businesses. The 186-mile Pekoe Trail—completed last March and named for the high-grade black tea produced on many Sri Lankan estates—is the country’s first long-distance walking path, linking thousands of colonial-era dirt roads and railway tracks built by the British for exporting tea. 

Though local companies have led trekking tours along parts of the route for years, this is the first time all 22 sections have been connected as a single trail, an initiative led by Sri Lanka-based sustainability consultant Miguel Cunat and funded by the European Union and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

For hikers, the path offers an intimate look at Sri Lanka’s diverse landscape and tea-entwined history: it unfurls from the mist-cloaked Hanthana mountains near Kandy, through tea plantations, eucalyptus forests, tiny villages and the holy peak of Sri Pada, to Nuwara Eliya, the country’s tea capital. 

A new app highlights nearby landmarks, segment details, emergency information, and more. Each stage takes about three to six hours to hike, depending on its difficulty, and traversing the entire route can take weeks. 

Charming stays—including Teardrop Hotels’ contemporary-chic bungalows and Uga Escapes’ newly launched Halloowella, a six-suite estate formerly owned by a British army major that has been redesigned by celebrated Sri Lankan architect Channa Daswatte—ensure that hikers are well-fed and rested along the way,” says Audrey Phoon, describing Sri Lanka’s Pekoe Trail. (Newswire)

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