Yara Shahidi shines at Time Gala

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Yara Shahidi wore a quirky, cute outfit. (AFP)
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Ibtihaj Muhammad. (AFP)
Updated 25 April 2018
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Yara Shahidi shines at Time Gala

  • Actress Yara Shahidi attended the Time 100 Gala celebrating its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World this week
  • The Iranian-American star of TV show “Black-ish” paired her quirky outfit with a slick top knot and black heels

DUBAI: Actress Yara Shahidi attended the Time 100 Gala celebrating its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World this week, looking out of this world in a galactic-themed outfit.

The Iranian-American star of TV show “Black-ish” paired her quirky outfit with a slick top knot and black heels.

She is well-known for her stance against the proposed US immigration ban that caused uproar last year and shared a message on her social media accounts at the time saying: “If my baba was stuck in an airport because of a Muslim ban 39 years ago, he would have never fallen in love with my mama. I would not exist and I wouldn’t have two amazing brothers.”

The actress has also been vocal about her Iranian-African-American heritage and even called herself “a proud Black Iranian.”

Also at the event, held at New York’s Lincoln Center on April 24, was hijab-wearing Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad.

Mohammed, the first American to compete at the Olympics while wearing a hijab, won a bronze medal in fencing at the 2016 Rio Games.

In 2017, she made headlines yet again when Mattel Inc. said it would release a doll modeled on the sporting star. The doll is part of the Barbie “Shero” line that honors women who break boundaries. Past dolls have included gymnast Gabby Douglas and “Selma” director Ava DuVernay.

“I had so many moments as an athlete, where I didn’t feel included, where I was often in spaces where there was a lack of representation,” Mohammed said at the time. “So to be in this moment, as a US Olympian, to have Mattel, such a global brand, diversify their toy line to include a Barbie doll that wears a hijab is very moving to me.”

Meanwhile, singer, actress and fashion icon Jennifer Lopez lent the event some glittering star power.

She graced the red carpet in a gold gown by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad, mere days after her photoshoot with Time magazine was revealed to the world.

Lopez wears a dress by Murad on the cover of Time magazine’s May issue, in which she is named one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The gown is from the designer’s spring 2018 couture line. Murad’s official Instagram page shared a video of the actress speaking to the magazine, along with a caption that said: “We couldn’t be happier.”
“I never let anyone pigeon-hole me or put me in a box,” Lopez said in the video. “And every step of the way people try to do that to you — especially 


Writers boycott Adelaide Festival after Randa Abdel-Fattah is dropped

Updated 09 January 2026
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Writers boycott Adelaide Festival after Randa Abdel-Fattah is dropped

DUBAI: A wave of writers have withdrawn from the Adelaide Festival’s Writers’ Week, prompting organizers to take down a section of the event’s website as the backlash continues over the removal of Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from the 2026 program.

The festival confirmed on Friday that it had temporarily removed the online schedule listing authors, journalists, academics and commentators after participants began pulling out in protest of the board’s decision, which cited “cultural sensitivity” concerns following the Bondi terror attack.

In a statement posted online, the festival said the listings had been unpublished while changes were made to reflect the growing number of withdrawals.

By Friday afternoon, 47 speakers had already exited the program, with more believed to be coordinating their departures with fellow writers.

High-profile figures stepping away include Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper, Sarah Krasnostein, Miles Franklin Prize winner Michelle de Kretser, Drusilla Modjeska, Melissa Lucashenko and Stella Prize-winning poet Evelyn Araluen.

Best-selling novelist Trent Dalton also withdrew from the event. He had been scheduled to deliver a paid keynote at Adelaide Town Hall, one of the few Writers’ Week sessions requiring a ticket.