Fireworks at Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Al Maryah Island
Fireworks at Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Al Maryah Island

Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah Island to host New Year’s Eve party



Expect live music, fireworks, food trucks and family fun on Al Maryah Island this New Year’s Eve.

A total of 8,000 people are expect to descend on the capital business and lifestyle destination to see in 2016.

Celebrations will kick off at 6pm on December 31, with a live feed throughout the evening, in Abu Dhabi Global Market Square, showcasing NYE celebrations from across the globe.

Ali Eid AlMheiri, executive director of Mubadala Real Estate and Infrastructure, said: “We’re excited to once again be welcoming guests and residents of Abu Dhabi to Al Maryah Island to celebrate the New Year in style.

“We have a fantastic line up of entertainment, food and fireworks, all set against our stunning island backdrop. There will be no better place to start 2016 and I for one can’t wait to join the festivities.”

To avoid congestion, the promenade will be kept pram and stroller free – however a stroller car park will be set-up so spectators with young children can store their prams securely and join the celebrations.

rgarratt@thenational.ae

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Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases

A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.

One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.

In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.

The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.

And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.