Srinagar, Sep 29: A Delhi man in Canada has triggered a debate after sharing his experience in a video posted on his Instagram account, claiming that giving up Indian food helped him get into the “best shape” of his life.

The man, who uses the Instagram username @banshdeep_singh, said in the video that he has maintained his fitness by stopping cooking, grocery shopping and eating Indian food 1.5 years ago. He explained that he now consumes four meals a day, eats more than 150 grams of protein and maintains a calorie deficit.

The man said he had returned home after a long workday and initially had no energy to go to the gym. However, looking at his physique in the mirror motivated him to work out.

Explaining why he prefers to avoid Indian food, he said preparing it takes a lot of time, from grocery shopping to cooking and preparing tadkas.

“Earlier, when I was cooking Indian food, first of all, it took a lot of time. Secondly, you have to do so much grocery shopping for it. Then add spices and temper it. It affects the body badly,” he said.

Concluding, he said his current diet leaves him feeling full while also giving him results that satisfy him mentally.

“Isse achha na hi khao. Pet bhi bhara hua hai aur mentally bhi satisfaction milti hai, woh cheez explain nahi kar sakta (It’s better not to eat it at all. It fills your stomach and provides a sense of mental satisfaction-something that is hard to put into words),” he said.

After the video gained traction, Banshdeep clarified that he did not intend to hurt anyone or defame Indian food.

“No intent to hurt anyone. The sole purpose of the video is to motivate people who are not able to progress. This worked for me and could work for you,” he wrote in the comments section.

The video, which has now gone viral, has drawn mixed reactions from users. While many supported the man’s claims, several others refuted them and argued that Indian food itself is not necessarily unhealthy and that its nutritional value depends largely on the ingredients, preparation and portion sizes.

Cairo, Sep 29: Mediators are working with Iran and the United States on trying to broker a deal to end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz, three regional officials and two US officials told The Associated Press, but major hurdles remain between the sides.

The indirect talks come as the conflict, which is entering its eighth month, has caused global economic damage and badly battered Iran. Multiple efforts to allow safe shipping on one of the world’s most crucial waterways have failed.

The officials divulged that the behind-the-scenes efforts continue even after US President Donald Trump initially said he spurned an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait in a week if the US agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — who stayed in New York after last week’s gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly — will meet with Qatari mediators Monday about the latest discussions, Iranian state media reported Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as saying.

Despite Trump’s often bellicose rhetoric, he is open to pursuing a non-military resolution to the conflict if one can be achieved, a senior US official said.

But the Trump administration will not reach a deal with Tehran until nuclear issues are addressed, another US official said. Trump is willing to grant sanctions relief to Iran, along with the release of some frozen funds, for concrete progress on nuclear issues, and while Iran has indicated it is flexible on nuclear issues, the sides are far apart on timing and which side makes the first moves, the official said.

All the officials were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity about the behind-the-scenes diplomatic negotiations.

The deal would first reopen the strait and lift the US blockade

Two of the regional officials speaking to the AP confirmed that mediators are working with both sides on a proposal that would include reopening the strait and lifting the US blockade, and then removing sanctions.

According to the draft text being discussed, the strait would reopen in accordance with a separate deal that Iran has been discussing with Oman, on the other side of the strait, and it would include no tolls — something Tehran has pursued. That deal seeks to temporarily manage shipping traffic on what was seen as an international waterway before the war.

One regional official said the US is seeking Iranian concessions on nuclear issues that include allowing inspectors to enter the country. Under the memorandum of understanding the two sides signed in June that collapsed within days, Iran’s nuclear programme was meant to be discussed over a 60-day period.

The US officials say the United States is sceptical about whether Iran can be persuaded to ultimately reach Trump’s conditions for a deal and would be serious about any promises it makes, especially after it broke the interim deal by firing on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

US officials feel their position is getting stronger as Tehran feels the impact of sanctions.

Iran’s latest proposal seeks faster action

While Iran’s latest proposal echoes the June deal, a key difference is speed.

Araghchi told a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week that Tehran had pitched the deal as benefiting Trump in the midterm elections. Araghchi later told journalists that “the seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan.”

Meanwhile, Araghchi met Monday with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose office said he welcomed diplomatic efforts in the last week to end the conflict and urged the parties to keep talking.

Both the US and Iran have been hurting economically — the US from high oil prices as Iran attacks ships on the strait, and Tehran from the naval blockade and a growing number of US sanctions that bottle up its oil sales. Brent crude, the international standard, is above USD 108.

For months, the two sides have been trying to outlast the other, while regional countries endure missile and drone attacks as Tehran claims to target US military assets in the region.

Reflecting Iran’s impatience, a rare statement on Monday attributed to the theocracy’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei noted the “painful blows” that enemy forces have received near the strait. “Before long, the Arabian Sea, too, will be rid of them,” the statement added.

Tehran’s latest proposal again sought to end the fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon. But a new front has emerged in recent weeks as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are now perched on another crucial waterway, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. That has further pressured global energy markets.

Iran argues that the Houthis have their own demands, and that their conflict with neighbouring Saudi Arabia is separate from the US-Iran war, but Iranian officials said they are willing to help in finding a settlement between the Houthis and the Saudis, one of the officials said.

Bangkok, Sep 29: An airstrike carried out by Myanmar’s military near a market in territory controlled by a powerful rebel group killed at least 49 people and wounded 58 others on Monday, the group and a rescue official said.

The attack in western Rakhine state was the latest in a series of deadly airstrikes against pro-democracy resistance forces and ethnic armed groups across the country.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, triggering widespread opposition. After security forces suppressed peaceful protests with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, plunging large parts of the country into conflict.

Monday’s attack occurred in Kyauktaw township, about 340 kilometres (210 miles) west of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, according to the Arakan Army, a powerful ethnic armed group based in Rakhine which controls Kyauktaw.

It was impossible to independently confirm details of the attack.

The Arakan Army said in a statement released early Tuesday that a fighter jet dropped two bombs near a local market around noon, killing vendors, shoppers and pedestrians.

The group said 58 other people were injured, 22 of them critically.

The statement said the group “will take effective retaliatory measures soon against the individuals and organisations directly responsible for the attacks involving deliberate airstrikes that have caused mass casualties.”

Wai Hun Aung, a senior rescue official in Rakhine, confirmed the casualties to The Associated Press, citing rescue workers at the scene. He said the market was the region’s main wholesale centre, drawing traders and shoppers from across the state.

“This is one of the most severe airstrikes in Rakhine,” he said.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed buildings on fire, damaged vehicles and parts of a nearby bridge destroyed.

The military did not immediately comment on the attack. It has previously said it strikes only legitimate military targets and has accused resistance groups of terrorism.

The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed military wing of a movement seeking autonomy for Rakhine’s ethnic minority from Myanmar’s central government. It launched an offensive in Rakhine in November 2023 and has since captured a strategically important regional military headquarters and 14 of the state’s 17 townships.

The military has imposed severe restrictions on trade routes since fighting intensified in Rakhine, worsening food shortages.

In December, a military airstrike on a hospital in Rakhine’s Mrauk-U township killed at least 34 people and wounded 80 others.