BIRENDRANAGAR, NEPAL // At the break of dawn each day, dozens of women forced to flee their homes during Nepal’s decade-long civil war load their bicycles with vegetables and head to market.
The bikes, donated by a foreign charity, have given these women in the Surkhet Valley independence and a livelihood, lifting many out of poverty.
Nandukala Basnet, who escaped her village at the height of the war, said her bike transformed her life.
“Life is very nice with the bicycle. If my bike breaks, I feel like my life is broken,” the 33-year-old said.
Ms Basnet’s village was in a Maoist stronghold but her husband was a soldier in the Nepali army, fostering suspicions about her allegiances.
When an insurgent camp was bombarded by a military helicopter, rumours spread that Ms Basnet had revealed its location, sending rebels out after her.
Neighbours urged her to flee. She packed up her meagre belongings and left for Birendranagar, the main town in the Surkhet Valley.
“I struggled a lot after I moved here,” she said.
“I had no property. I mined sand from the river for money and even hammered stones for a day.”
She started selling vegetables but struggled to haul the 30 kilogram baskets to market. Some days she’d take less than 100 rupees (Dh3.5) home.
With the bicycle, her business has flourished. Ms Basnet can now carry up to 100 kilograms of vegetables as well as sesame seeds and lentils, and also venture to markets further afield.
“This has become my permanent business,” she said, counting out her day’s earnings, about 600 rupees, and stashing it carefully inside her cardigan pocket.
The sight of women on bicycles has drawn mutters of disapproval in some conservative quarters of Nepal’s deeply superstitious and patriarchal society.
Khagisara Regmi, who was widowed and left alone to raise her four children, said villagers hurled insults as she tried to master the bike.
“When I finally did, they said, ‘Why is she learning to ride a bicycle, shouldn’t she be ashamed?’,” the 40-year-old said.
Widows often face abuse and exclusion in Nepal, where they are believed to bring bad luck.
But with the help of her bicycle, Ms Regmi has earned enough to put her children through school and replace the straw roof on her house with a sturdy tin one.
* Agence France-Presse
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
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● Company: Bidzi
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● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
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Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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The specs: 2018 Mazda CX-5
Price, base / as tested: Dh89,000 / Dh130,000
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 188hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 251Nm @ 4,000rpm
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Fuel consumption, combined: 7.1L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. Our family matters legal consultant
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
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