Travellers heading to Bahrain will soon be able to stay in the kingdom's newest hotel. Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al-Bahrain is gearing up to welcome visitors by the end of the year.
The family-friendly property will be Emaar’s first hotel in the kingdom, and the first Vida resort to open outside the UAE.
Located on the Marassi beachfront, the new hotel will give visitors access to a pristine private shoreline and connect directly to the soon-to-open Marassi Galleria shopping mall in Bahrain, making it ideal for those who enjoy some retail therapy.
With 157 hotel rooms and 141 serviced residences, Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al-Bahrain plans to welcome both short-term staycationers and long-term visitors.
All of the hotel rooms offer ocean views or vistas over the island of Diyar al Muharraq. Contemporary interiors let in plenty of natural light and reflect the resort’s waterside setting.
Guests can enjoy dining in Origins, a laid-back restaurant that can also be found at Dubai’s Vida Emirates Hills and Vida Beach Resort Umm Al Quwain.
A temperature-controlled rooftop infinity pool offers amazing views of the surrounding Arabian Gulf and the sea-facing pool bar will be the ideal place for sundowners.
The hotel also has a fully-equipped gym overlooking the water and youngsters have their own pool and a supervised kids' club. Unlike some of Vida's other properties in the UAE, the hotel will not be pet-friendly.
“We are delighted to bring Vida Marassi Al-Bahrain to one of the most influential markets in both travel and business,” said Mark Kirby, head of hospitality at Emaar Hospitality Group. "The serene beach resort property will soon be one of the most sought-after holiday destinations in Bahrain while serving as a testament to our warm hospitality."
Marassi Galleria is a beachfront mega-mall that's set to open in Manama in 2022. It will be home to the 8,199-square-metre Marassi Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, and the first Reel Cinemas venue, in Bahrain. The masterplanned Marassi Al Bahrain development will have high-end residential, retail and hospitality components when complete, with a new Address Hotel also set to join the Vida property on the Marassi beachfront.
More new hotels set to open in Bahrain
Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al-Bahrain isn't the only hotel set to make its debut in the kingdom.
Minor Hotels recently announced it would open its first properties in Bahrain, with the launch of Avani Bilaj Al Jazayer Bahrain Resort and Tivoli Bilaj Al Jazayer Bahrain Resort. The properties will welcome guests in 2024.
There's also been a lot of buzz about the highly-anticipated Mantis Bahrain Hawar Island. Planned to open off the coast of Bahrain in 2024, the luxury eco-resort will have overwater villas, a wildlife sanctuary and an on-site adventure park and be reachable only by boat or private helicopter.
Next year, the Shangri-La Hotel, Bahrain, a five-star, 250-room hotel will also open to guests at its waterside location at the Bahrain Marina.
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Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Manchester City 1 (Gundogan 56')
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How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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