Popular - and provocative - Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe performed in Bahrain Wednesday night, despite opposition from religious politicians and conservative clerics.

According to today's Gulf News, Wehbe wore a "floor length dress, but with spaghetti straps."

Hey, you didn't expect her to wear a turtleneck, did you?

The concert venue was just a few hundred meters from the Parliament, where Islamist MP's had objected to the show because, according to them, Wehbe has "no respect for traditional and religious values."

Gazans have been doing a lot of this lately: as fuel and supply shortages paralyze the tiny territory's economy, ordinary residents are waiting long hours for cooking oil in Gaza city.

Gas stations are empty of petrol, so some Gaza residents have resorted to creating a cocktail of cooking oil and turpentine to power their cars.

Meanwhile, the Mideast "Quartet," which doesn't recognize the Hamas authority in Gaza, is meeting in London today to try to come up with a solution to the laborious peace talks between Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fattah party and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

But if Hamas isn't on the agenda, what happens to Gaza?

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — One of Syria's most prominent pro-democracy activists won an Irish award Thursday for his work trying to promote human rights for prisoners, political parties and journalists in his homeland.

But Anwar al-Bunni has yet to hear of the accolade. The 49-year-old lawyer has been imprisoned since May 2006 after Syrian President Bashar Assad launched a crackdown against opposition voices demanding greater freedoms.

Irish President Mary McAleese presented the annual Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk to al-Bunni's wife, Ragheda Issa Refki, at a Dublin City Hall ceremony attended by politicians and ambassadors. Refki received two standing ovations, as well as a hug from the Irish head of state.

McAleese said promoting human rights in a one-party state like Syria was "a very, very lonely place. It takes a very, very special person like Anwar al-Bunni to confront the extraordinary range of forces arrayed against him."

She expressed hope that the award would "send a message to his oppressors."

In an interview with The Associated Press, Refki said she did not risk telling her husband he had won the prize during their most recent prison visit a week ago because a guard, as usual, was standing beside them. She hopes to tell him of his honor next week.

"It is very important for Anwar's work and sacrifice to be recognized, for him to be seen as a defender of human rights. It will remind the world there are prisoners of conscience in Syria," Refki said through an Arabic translator.

Another interesting item that got my attention while reading the local paper over breakfast today:

"Israeli Jeweller Has No Trade Licence To Open Shop In Dubai," reads the headline in today's Gulf News.

There is a whole lot of money floating around in Dubai ao who could blame Lev Leviev for wanting to open one (or more) of his self-named stores in the tiny emirate?

But, according to this article, no trade licence was granted to Israeli diamond magnate and the Dubai Department of Economic Development is quoted as saying that "Israeli citizens are not allowed to operate in Dubai."

Advocacy groups that oppose Leviev's investments in the U.A.E. say Leviev profits from companies that operate in the occupied territories.

The stores were supposed to open in the swanky Dubai Mall and the Atlantis Hotel later this year.

Who will win this one?

Thirty-one year-old Azhar Abbas, an artist from Fallujah, in the heart of the Sunni Triangle. A few months ago, she started depicting the impact of war through her paintings. (Photos CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq)