Cycling reboots after lockdown at Vuelta a Burgos

Madrid, Spain (AFP) – The cycling season resumes following the coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday with a host of the sport’s big guns taking part in the opening stage of the Vuelta a Burgos.

 

The 2020 edition of the stage race in Spain features a strong peloton, with riders preparing for a hectic run of prestigious events, with the three Grand Tours to be held in quick succession due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The UCI World Tour resumes on Saturday with the Strade Bianche.

 

Professional cycling ground to a halt four months ago, with the last top-level race the Paris-Nice in March, which saw the final stage cancelled.

In February, the UAE Tour ended early due to an outbreak of COVID-19, with Colombian Fernando Gaviria one of the first athletes in the world to test positive for the virus.

UAE Team Emirates sprinter Gaviria, who did not confirm he had recovered until March 26 and did not travel back to Colombia until April, will be in action in Spain this week.

“It’s time to pick up where we left off,” he told his team’s website, saying he was happy just to feel normal on a bike again.

Gaviria’s teammate Fabio Aru said: “We are all eager to be able to pin a race number on our backs again and be back in the peloton.”

Ineos’ Giro d’Italia champion Richard Carapaz and Vuelta a Burgos double defending champion Ivan Sosa will face stiff competition in Spain this week.

Gaviria will be bidding for the sprints while veteran speed king Mark Cavendish is also back in the saddle after illness.

In the first of five stages around the northen Spanish region, local hero Alejandro Valverde will likely be in the mix up the final stretch of a short, sharp ascent to the Mirador Del Castillo, which overlooks the town.

The race culminates Saturday, by which time early-season form man Nairo Quintana of Arkea will have been able to judge his fitness over two mountain stages.

Mikel Landa, one of cycling’s nearly men, is targeting victory for his new Bahrain McLaren team, which is managed by Rod Ellingworth and where he is supported by Cavendish.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50749725/cycling-reboots-after-lockdown-at-vuelta-a-burgos/

Read More

Local cinemas ready to reopen with ‘new normal’ guidelines in Cambodia

It has been more than four months since moviegoers have been able to experience the thrill of a horror film or comedy relief while passing around popcorn and sipping ice-cold soda at their favourite theatre.

Phen Lina, a once avid moviegoer, tells The Post that “since the cinemas closed, I haven’t been able to keep up with many new releases. This is one of the experiences I miss the most.”

Movie theatres in Cambodia may soon be given the green light to reopen, according to Phanny Lao, the general manager of Westec Media Limited, the biggest film distributor in Cambodia.

The company distributes to all cinemas in Cambodia and have a two-week slate of releases ready to go once theatres reopen.

Lao tells The Post, “We do not have a specific date yet, but we’re hoping that cinemas will be allowed to reopen before the end of the month.”

The Closet, The Cave, Necromancer, Train to Busan 2: Peninsula, Mulan, Tenet, The New Mutants and A Quiet Place Part II will all be shown in theatres once they reopen.

“We have a list of movies lined up for release once cinemas are allowed to reopen. We’re looking at eight new titles in the first two weeks and more to come in the following weeks,” she says.

Online streaming platforms have disrupted the movie industry, with more people turning to their laptops for entertainment instead of travelling to theatres.

Lao says some moviegoers may be concerned that movies they’d like to see in the cinema will only be available online.

For Lina, watching a movie in the theatre is an experience that can’t be replicated on smaller screens at home.

“While some people turn to Netflix and other online streaming platforms, I prefer not to.

“The experience of seeing a movie on your small screen can never be compared to the big screen with my favourite popcorn and sharing screams and laughter with other people in the big hall.

“I love going to a movie as a family, so most of my choices are Disney and animation. I’m looking forward to seeing Mulan and Peter Rabbit 2,” she says.

Lina typically brings her husband and two kids to the cinema with her. “If I go without my kids, I’d watch a zombie movie like Train to Busan 2,” she says.

To ensure moviegoers’ experiences remain unique and special, Westec Media will remove movies which have streamed online from its list.

Lao says: “The pandemic has affected a lot of movie titles, causing them to be postponed or removed from theatres. However, movie titles that are scheduled to be released in cinemas will not be shown on Netflix before that.

“Titles that are available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ etc. have probably been removed from theatrical releases.

“We think audiences will still enjoy watching a movie in the cinema as it is a different experience, especially with premium formats like IMAX, ScreenX, Atmos and 4DX.”

Lina is more concerned about contracting the virus in cinemas than which movies will be playing. She says she wonders if cinemas will follow strict guidelines to keep everyone safe.

“Even though I’m a regular moviegoer, I’m not ready to walk into a cinema unless something safe has been done. Like social distancing, strict hygiene, and a strict mask policy.

Source: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/local-cinemas-ready-reopen-new-normal-guidelines

Read More

Date set for K Mall opening in Phnom Penh

K Mall will open by the end of the second quarter of 2021 with more than 40 shops  welcoming customers with an attractive mixture of much-loved home-grown brands and international retailers and a variety of dining options.

It is promised the venue, developed by Urbanland, will provide the perfect retail climate to satisfy the long under-served retail needs of the busy neighbourhood in and around Veng Sreng Street in Phnom Penh..

This new community mall offers three floors of retail, with easy access to local favourite Lucky Supermarket, Zando and Nata Footwear. But K Mall is not just about shopping – it’s meant to be about relaxation as well.

Coffee lovers will be able to enjoy their favourite brew when homegrown cafe chain Brown Coffee opens its latest outlet at the mall’s entrance. Lucky Burger will be serving up tasty burgers to satisfy the Cambodian palate. Avid moviegoers get to watch the latest blockbusters in the all-new six-screen Legend Cinema with a premium theatre and one devoted to children.

With a leasable area of 12,000 square metres, K Mall will have more than 40 eateries and sell everyday urban essentials. The mall also incorporates generous public spaces in the form of plazas and terraces where other community activities such as festival markets, weekend bazaars and community events can be held. Customer-friendly amenities along with a parking supply of 700 motorbikes and 300 cars will enhance the comfort and convenience of visitors.

K Mall has achieved more than 50 percent in commitment for its retail leasing and expects more leases to be signed in the coming months. “Buying into K Mall’s vision and its strategic location are some of the deciding factors for the support received from our retail partners, said  Hok Kang, managing director of Urbanland Asia Investment Co Ltd.

“Much precision and many details have been put into consideration for the interior design, bringing a whole new experience to shoppers and visitors. We hope that our shoppers will enjoy the one-of-a-kind concept, modern architecture, with an exciting tenant mixture to cater to the Cambodian lifestyle.” said Hok.

He said that K Mall enjoys a strategic location just minutes from Stung Meanchey intersection and Chom Chao roundabout. The first community mall on Veng Sreng is part of the larger KMH Park, a new masterplan development by Urbanland Asia, a member of the ISI Group.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50746912/date-set-for-k-mall-opening/

Read More

Discover Angelina Jolie’s Cambodia and Why She’s so in Love

The Tomb Raider star has been enamored of the Southeast Asian country since 2000

Cambodia is the place that has reconnected  Angelina Jolie with herself time and time again. The Southeast Asian nation was where her eldest son Maddox was born, and where she first met him as a baby before she adopted him as her first child. She also chose Cambodia as the setting for her directing debut. Stemming from the star’s desire to show the country’s complex history, it’s the subject of her Netflix film First They Killed My Father, which tells the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime.

On another personal note, Cambodia was also the place she chose to stay months before announcing her divorce with  Brad Pitt, with whom she has six children –  Maddox, Shiloh, Pax, Zahara and twins Knox and Vivienne – after a 12-year relationship.

Cambodia’s complex history – its beauty as well as its horrors – and its people’s dignity, culture, and energy brought about an inner transformation in Angelina, redefining her perspective on life. The  Girl, Interrupted star was so enamored by the country that she bought a traditional Cambodian house with 60,000 hectares, a protected area where she has worked for 18 years—through her family foundation, the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation—to support local communities and protect the environment.

In fact, the filmmaker chose to showed a personal facet of herself at her home there in a 2019 commercial—directed by three-time Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki—for the Mon Guerlain fragrance. “He [Emmanuel Lubeski] is one of those artists that finds beauty around them. He senses it, and adjusts to it,” she told Bazaar.com. “I like the idea that you represent something that is truly like how you live in real life. I think people know that: when there’s truth or when there’s a fairy tale. I think they prefer the truth.”

One of Cambodia’s most iconic temples is Angkor Thom

ANGELINA’S CAMBODIA

Angelina landed in this idyllic location in 2000, when she starred in the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider that launched her into the world’s spotlight. There, she explored the 12th century temple of Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, originally a Hindu temple which was soon transformed into a Buddhist complex.

Ta Prohm is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was also featured in Angelina’s movie ‘Tomb Raider’, during the shoot of which the actress first discovered the Southeast Asian country

She also discovered the the Khmer temple of Ta Prohm, in Siem Reap, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the trees grow out of the ruins in a rare, extraordinary way, making it one of the country’s most spectacular locations.

Twelfth-century Angkor Thom, established by King Jayavarman VII, is about half a mile from Ta Prohm, and was also featured in the 2001 movie and is considered one of Cambodia’s most iconic temples.

Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, is considered an archaeological treasure for humanity

VISITING CAMBODIA

If you decide to visit this magical country in Asia with its incredible landscapes, join the thousands of visitors who every year explore the 9th-century Angkor Archaeological Park. Also essential for learning is a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. The onetime secondary school was used as an internment camp by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 until its fall four years later, and is now dedicated to teaching about one of the most horrific eras in the country’s history.

While temples and museums are a must, so is a visit to one of the country’s beautiful beaches

It is also imperative make time to explore the natural beauty of Cambodia, which is home to the Otres, Sokha, Independence, Victoria, and Serendipity beaches, and the unspoiled desert island of Koh Rong, with its jungles, waterfalls, coconut trees and 23 beaches, accessible by a small local ferry.

A note on the weather: Although Cambodia is a tropical country with warm weather year-round, it has two seasons: one dry and one wet. The best months to visit if you want to avoid the downpours are from November to May.

Read More