Sanjay Dutt's battle with substance abuse is well-documented.

However, in a candid session that was recently held in Delhi, the actor opened up like never before. He was a guest at a Young FICCI Ladies' Organisation event along with sister Priya Dutt and close friend Pooja Bhatt.

Dutt, who served sentence in prison for illegal possession of firearms, opened about his dark battle with drugs. He revealed that he started doing drugs as he used to be nervous around girls and wanted to talk to them.

A Times of India report quoted him as saying, "I was already on drugs when my mother was being treated for cancer. 'Rocky' (his debut film) was being made and I remember that I was so addicted that once I travelled with 1kg heroin hidden in my shoes. My two sisters were also with me on the same flight. At that time, checking at airports was not so strict. Today, when I think about the incident, I get scared. Main pakda jaata toh theek tha, but what about my sisters? Drugs do this to you. You don't care about family or anything else."

He added that he used to do so much cocaine that he had to counter its effects with alcohol. At one point, he slept for two days straight without realising that he hadn't eaten. "I thought I was going to die when I woke up," he said.

He added that his main motivation to take drugs was to get talking to women.

"I started taking drugs because main ladkiyon se baat nahi kar pata tha. (I couldn't talk to women) Somebody told me that if you try this, you will be able to talk to women, so I tried and it worked. What I want to tell youngsters today is that I have gone through a lot because of substance abuse. It is better to be high on life than on any substance. Do good work and get appreciated, there is no better high than that in life."

Currently, there is a film being made on Dutt's eventful life, which will be directed by Rajkumar Hirani. Ranbir Kapoor will be seen playing the role of Dutt while Sonam Kapoor is one of the film's female leads.

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Six key opposition parties stayed away from a crucial meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday. The meeting had a single purpose--to question the NDA government's decision to demonetise higher currency notes.

The parties that stayed away from the meeting include the two main left Parties--the CPI and CPI(M)--the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samajwadi Paty and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Neither of them signed the joint petition that was submitted to the President.

Yet, the opposition managed to cobble together a united--albeit shaky--front. The diminished delegation of opposition parties that met the President had members from Congress, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). Former Prime Minister Mammohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav were some of the prominent members of the delegation.

The crack in the unity among the opposition appeared when Rahul Gandhi led a Congress delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The Congress highlighted problems being faced by farmers and demanded a loan waiver. Elections are due in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab next year. Rahul meeting the PM without the others was seen as the Congress trying to out-manoeuvre the rest and send a signal to the electorate in UP and Punjab.

Sources told HuffPost India that BSP Chief Mawayati learnt about the sudden meeting between Rahul Gandhi and the Prime Minister when she was in Rajya Sabha. Upset that the Congress had taken up issues concerning Uttar Pradesh without consultations, she then reached out SP and Left leaders in the upper house. It was then that SP, Left and BSP decided to stay away from meeting the President.

Congress' decision to meet the PM was taken unilaterally and was not acceptable, NCP MP and former aviation minister Praful Patel told reporters. The NCP representative did reach the President's house but left without attending the meeting.

"I am surprised," RSP member of the Parliament from Kerala N K Premchandran told HuffPost India when asked why two main left parties didn't turn up for the meeting with the President. RSP was part of the delegation that met the President.

The Congress predictably tried to downplay the fast emerging fissures. "Just because some are absent from an event doesn't mean that unity among opposition is over," senior Congress MP and former Union Law minister M Veerappa Moily told HuffPost India.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, however, further reinforced that unity among opposition parties was fragile. Speaking to reporters, he said instead of meeting the President it was time to take the protest to the streets and organise people.

Trinamool Congress later conveyed to the upset partners–-the SP and BSP--that it understood their decision. "Even we were taken by surprise but our chief Mamata Banerjee was committed to take the issue up with the President," a senior TMC member told HuffPost India.

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You don't need the deductive skills of Benedict Cumberb... oops, Sherlock Holmes, to spot the 'avid traveller' on your Facebook friend list. Unlike your albums -- filled with pictures of pizzas or selfies showing off the new pair of aviators -- theirs' are mostly flooded with mountains, close-ups of chai in kulhars, sunsets or 'local' children frolicking around. Their Facebook page exists to judge us silently and occasionally turn us green with envy.

While we, the obvious 'non-travellers', grapple with plebeian concerns like mortgages, unwanted pregnancies and the exact ratio of wheat to oats to maida in our biscuits, these enlightened ones drink from the fountain of wanderlust. At least, their Instagram feeds do.

A while ago, I had the opportunity of observing, up close and personal, the phenomenon that is the "avid traveller". Since I am on cordial terms with the said person, I will say the trip we went on together was quite eye-opening.

If you're curious about what travelling with a 'traveller' is like, here's what goes on:

1) Your brain will turn into mulch, trying to narrow down a place you actually want to see and yet isn't so mainstream that it will hurt the avid traveller's avid travelling credentials. Their interest in a place is inversely proportional to how many people know about it.

2) You think it's a two-hour flight to your destination? YOU'RE WRONG. It's that, a cab ride and if you are very lucky, perhaps even a long bullock cart journey to the destination that will make fellow insta_travellers lose their peace of mind.

3) If your journey involves flying, the ordeal will start at the airport itself. They will wince when you meekly whisper "check-in luggage" and their pores will bristle if you show up with a suitcase instead of a backpack.

4) They will regale you with trivia about the place for the entire duration of the flight. You'll wonder why you need to know the population density and literacy rate of the state, but never mind that. If they've made the effort to Google and memorise information, you are expected to hear it in silent supplication. Put away your Kindle and eye mask, already.

5) Here's the silver lining, you will literally have to make no effort to do any research of your own. Where to go, how to get there, what's good to eat, they've got it all covered.

6) Travellers are like wedding photographers -- they'll magically appear with their cameras every time you attempt to put a morsel of food in your mouth. It doesn't matter whether you're eating Maggi at a roadside thela or butter chicken at the Taj, they will photograph you without your permission and you will want to empty the platter on their heads.

7)They will tch-tch and tsk-tsk, every time you check your email (if you have internet that is) or make contact with your life, outside this travel universe. Internet is acceptable only so long as you're using it to tell strangers what food you ate and the life lesson you learnt today. Free hostel Wi-Fi FTW.

8) While some of these 'travellers' have renounced most other worldly pursuits that don't let them use the hashtag #travellerforlyf, they lose no time 'adding' foreigners (preferably white people) they have met on these trips. Come on, don't snigger like that - remember what they say about the world being your oyster and every foreigner a potential Facebook 'friend'?

9) And when you're back home, the 'avid travelling' rituals don't end. How could you not like all the 57 sunset photos? They may have looked the same to your untrained, average, non-traveller eyes, but it's not their fault that you can't tell between orange, orangey orange, very orange, orange-like orange and it's-just-orange. Also, you are clearly ungrateful if you haven't appreciated the 16 photos of you/them eating pani puris; 183 photos of them hanging out with the locals or 67 photos of sharing hookahs with foreigners.

It appears that Indian startups' recent suggestion that they need the government to protect them against deep-pocketed foreign rivals hasn't gone down too well with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.

Kalanick, who was speaking in New Delhi, was quick to point out the apparent irony in those statements saying both Ola and Uber are heavily foreign-owned. Not just that, he went a step further to say he is ready to turn Indian to help the company succeed.

"If it's about whether I am personally an Indian, I will apply to be a citizen of India, if this is what gets us over the hump. I think at the end of the day its about the innovations we have brought to the table, how we are serving riders... so though I don't agree with all the comments, at the end of the day, we respect competing with Ola."

Last week, Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal had suggested the government should consider protecting homegrown startups similar to what China did over a decade ago.

"It's much easier for non-Indian companies to raise capital because they have profitable markets elsewhere," Aggarwal had said. "You might call it capital dumping, predatory pricing or anti-WTO but it's a very unfair playing field for Indian startups."

Kalanick described Ola as a fierce competitor that pushes Uber to innovate.Many venture capital-backed startups in India including cab aggregators have generously offered subsidised rides to customers to gain traction.

Kalanick cautioned, however, as companies gain scale, it would become difficult for them to break even if they continued to discount and subsidise rides.

"... the kind of subsidies that you can put into the market when you get bigger, are just not meaningful because it (subsidies) gets too big. So what you will see from both the companies over the coming months and years is that it will get to break even and profitability and I look forward to it," the billionaire entrepreneur said.

Uber and Ola's fight for dominance in India's $12 billion taxi market has also resulted in a legal battle.

Kalanick co-founded Uber in 2009 and the firm has gone on to become the world's most valuable startup worth $70 billion.

Uber launched in India three years ago and now provides services in 29 Indian cities, while SoftBank-backed rival Ola is present in 102 cities. Uber last year said it had invested $1 billion in India, but has declined to give an updated figure.

With PTI and Reuters inputs

With the government and opposition unable to come to a decision about discussing demonetisation in Parliament, the 2016 Winter Session was a near wash-out, ending up as one of the most unproductive sessions of Parliament in at least 17 years for which data is available from the independent thinktank PRS Legislative Research. The only session that was worse was the 2010 Winter Session when the BJP, then in the Opposition, refused to let the House function over the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Time for legislative debate was the casualty, as the Rajya Sabha spent most of its working time on non-legislative debate and the Lok Sabha on questions and "others"; in the RS, time for questions and financial discussions was completely eaten up by disruptions.

55 Bills were already pending before the start of the session. The government listed 19 Bills for consideration and passage at the start of the session, including the Maternity Benefits Bill that seeks to extend paid maternity leave and the Mental Health Bill (both passed by the Rajya Sabha in earlier sessions); none of these were passed. Of the two Bills that were passed, one was a Money Bill passed by the LS and so deemed to have been passed by the RS, while the other--the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill--was discussed for two hours and one hour by the LS and RS respectively. There are now 60 Bills pending with Parliament.

Both Houses also had their least productive Question Hour since the NDA government came to power in 2016. Question Hour is one of the key tools for an MP to get answers, especially about her constituency, from the government and a way to get updated data and assurances from the ruling dispensation.

With state elections including in the battleground Uttar Pradesh next year, it looks like 2017 could sent a new low.

Most of the opposition response to demonetisation has been predictable.

The Congress, taking a confused and incoherent position to begin with, has been unable to up the ante. This is how the Congress under Rahul Gandhi behaves anyway.

The Aam Aadmi Party has opposed it vociferously, but its voice has been lost amidst its electoral efforts in Punjab. The Aam Aadmi Party makes an impact when it stands out. Despite alleging prime minister Modi of corruption, its voice has been lost in the din.

Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal has supported the move--he likes to generally maintain political equidistance from Delhi but never wants to be seen as a challenger against whoever is in power at the centre.

Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal, the parties led respectively by Mulayam Singh, Mayawati and Lalu Yadav, the great satraps of the Hindi heartland, have been unable to say anything credible, given that they are seen as symbolising political corruption.

The opposition has generally been unable to make an impact on the demonetisation issue, but two parties stand out. One is Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and the other is Mamta Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. Both have surprised us with their positions.

Bengal shows the way

Mamta Banerjee has taken away the crown as the number one opponent of demonetisation. That is surprising because not so long ago, she seemed at ease with the Modi government. When prime minister Modi came to power in 2014, Amit Shah went all out to build the Bhartiya Janata Party in West Bengal.

That was in line with the BJP's pan-India ambitions. This meant the BJP was gunning for Mamta every other day. Such was the impact of the BJP's drive people had begun saying the BJP might replace the CPM as the opposition in Bengal.

Sometime in 2015, the BJP gave up on Bengal, and Modi and Mamta made their peace. The Modi government needed her co-operation in the Rajya Sabha and for foreign policy initiatives with Bangladesh. Left leaders had started accusing Didi of being together with Modi.

But Mamta Banerjee has upped the ante against the Modi government since she got re-elected in May this year. When prime minister Modi announced demonetisation on 8 November, she instantly decided to oppose it completely. She didn't waste time mincing words or paying lip service to the fight against black money. She has organized large protests in Kolkata and taken away the opposition limelight from the Congress.

What explains the breakdown of that 2015 calm between Mamata and Modi?

As Mamata Banerjee won 211 of 294 seats in the 2016 assembly elections, increasing her tally by 27 seats over the previous election, she is far from politically insecure. However, the 2016 election gave her a glimpse of the need to stay relevant in Delhi.

There was never any doubt for the Trinamool that it was going to win the 2016 election. And yet it was nervous about the CPM-Congress alliance. Even if the Trinamool had won a simple majority, say 150-60 of 294 seats, it would have been unhappy. The prospect of the CPM and Congress becoming long-term alliance partners nationally was giving Trinamool leaders sleepless nights.

Had the CPM-Congress alliance done even slightly well, even without forming government, the alliance would have been declared a success. That would have made the Trinamool irrelevant in national politics, closing the doors for it in the event, for instance, of a future Congress-led coalition government. Since the Trinamool cannot win West Bengal elections without wooing the state's 27% Muslim population, it can never align itself with the BJP, leave alone join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

It didn't help the BJP, during the West Bengal elections, went hammer and tongs against the Trinamool with the 'Narada' sting that showed senior Trinamool leaders accept cash bribes.

Bihari Babu takes a detour

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's concerns are more local than national. Yet, his support of demonetisation has been most surprising. Even if he feels demonetization has public support, it doesn't explain why he had to endorse it. The ifs and buts, the questions over implementation, don't count. It is clear that Nitish Kumar has chosen to be a nice guy in Modi's toughest hour.

His support hasn't come entirely out of the blue. There seemed to have been a thaw between him and the BJP, and with prime minister Modi himself. His party's joining a government committee to commemorate RSS icon Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was only one indication. What gives?

Nitish Kumar fought and won a very bitter Bihar election last year against the BJP, one in which prime minister Narendra Modi had addressed nearly 40 rallies and attacked Nitish Kumar personally. Nitish Kumar and the prime minister have had a bitter personal history. It was because Narendra Modi was personally anathema to Nitish Kumar that he broke his 17 year old alliance with the BJP in 2013. Nitish Kumar is in alliance with the Congress and Lalu Yadav's RJD in Bihar. What, then, explains such growing proximity to the BJP that Kumar won't even oppose demonetization?

The answer lies in future calculations. Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav are in an uneasy alliance in Bihar. It is no secret the two aren't fond of each other. Lalu Yadav is not the sort of person who is forever going to accept a junior alliance partner's position.

Be it prohibition or law and order, there are any number of issues on which the two leaders and their parties disagree. The only reason why the alliance holds is because Lalu Yaday himself stands at the verge of political retirement, while his two sons have just about begun their apprenticeship. Lalu can't contest elections or hold office thanks to a corruption conviction. His sons are too young to carve out a political destiny on their own.

In 2020, when the next Bihar assembly elections are due, or even a year before in the general elections, it is quite possible the Yadav clan may feel crown prince Tejaswi Yadav is ready to take on the mantle from his father. The parting of ways between Kumar and the Yadavs is a matter of time. In such a scenario, where will Kumar go? He hasn't won a single election without an alliance partner, and hardly has a caste base of his own.

That explains why Nitish Kumar needs to keep his options with the BJP open. It helps that finance minister Arun Jaitley is a personal friend of his.

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LUCKNOW -- Favourites India came from a goal down to pip Australia 4-2 via shootout in a thrilling contest and enter the final of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup after a hiatus of 15 years in front of a packed Major Dhyan Chand Astroturf Stadium here in north Indian state of Uttar Predesh on Friday.

India, who last won the Junior World Cup way back in 2001 in Hobart, are on a mission to reclaim the title and will face Belgium in the summit clash on Sunday.

The hosts scored two skillful field goals in the second half through Gurjant Singh (42nd minute) and Mandeep Singh (48th) after Australia took the lead through Tom Craig (14th).

But just when it was time to close out the game, the Indian defence conceded a soft goal and Lachlan Sharp (57th) drew level for Australia to take the match into shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

In the shoot-out, goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya rose to the occasion and made two fantastic saves to deny Australia's Matthew Bird and Sharp.

The Indians, on the other hand, were clinical in the shoot-out with skipper Harjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit and Manpreet (Jr) finding the back of the net past the Australian custodian.

Earlier on Friday, India's final opponents Belgium stunned six-time champions and title holders Germany 4-3 in the shootout in the first semifinal to enter the tournament final for the first time.

Belgium rode on their goalkeeper Loic van Doren's superb display in the shoot-out to register the upset win after the two teams failed to break the deadlock in regulation 70 minutes.

Van Doren made two brilliant saves in the shoot-out to deny Germany's Philip Schimid and Tim Herzbruch.

In the second semifinal, India had the better share of possession in the opening half but it was Australia who utilised their chances.

It seemed Australia took a cue from the Spaniards as they hardly gave any space to the Indians, relying mainly on man to man marking.

Australia utilised the first chance they got in the match. The Burras earned their opening penalty corner in the 13th minute and Tom Craig scored from the third attempt with a reverse shot from close range after the initial flick and rebound were saved by the Indian defence.

Australia preferred to sit back and rely mainly on counters to surprise the Indians.

Australia secured two consecutive penalty corners in the 22nd minute but this time Indian goalkeeper Dahiya came to his side's rescue to deny Blake Govers from the second attempt.

India pressed hard and minutes later earned two back to back penalty corners but Harmanpreet Singh failed to find the back of the net on both occasions.

In the 32nd minute, Varun Kumar found Vikramjit Singh inside the circle but the latter's shot went straight to Australian goalkeeper Ashleigh Thomas pads.

The hosts had their best opportunity of the opening half in the next minute when Varun's long scoop from deep found Simranjeet Singh unmarked inside the circle after an Australian defender fumbled, but the striker pushed wide with only the rival custodian to beat.

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NEW DELHI -- Government today said political parties depositing old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in their accounts will be exempt from income tax provided the donations taken are below ₹20,000 per individual and properly documented.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the government is not tinkering with the tax exemption available to political parties and they are free to deposit old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in their bank accounts. But these deposits will, however, be subject to the condition that individual donations taken in cash do not exceed ₹20,000 and are properly documented with full identity of the donor.

A single donation of above ₹20,000 as per the existing law has to be done through cheque or bank draft, he said.

Besides, farmers who are exempted from paying tax on agriculture income will need to furnish a self-declaration that their earnings are less than ₹2.5 lakh in a year to make bank deposits without PAN.

For those unable to do that, furnishing PAN will be required, Adhia said.

He said deposits in bank accounts of political parties are not to be taxed.

"If it is a deposit in the account of a political party, they are exempt. But if it is deposited in individual's account then that information will come into our radar. If the individual is putting money in his own account, then we will get information," he told reporters here.

Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 grants exemption from tax to political parties in respect of their income. This income could be from house property, other sources, capital gains and income by way of voluntary contributions received from any person.

These categories of income qualify for exemption without any monetary or other limit and the income so exempted is would not even be included in the total income of the political party for the purpose of assessment.

However, the tax exemption is applicable only if the political party keeps and maintain such books and other documents of the income and the accounts are audited by a Chartered Accountant.

Asked if PAN will be mandatory for deposits made by agriculturalist, he said: "A farmer has to give self declaration in Form 60 where he has to declare that his income is less than ₹2.5 lakh. If he files Form 60, then PAN is not required. Those who are not able to give declaration, they have to give PAN."

Adhia said the tax authorities will not unnecessarily chase deposits of less than ₹2.5 lakh.

"We will not go unnecessarily after those with ₹2.5 lakh deposits. But where we find people have tried to misuse the provision by putting in multiple accounts in different banks (we will go after them)," he said.

Adhia said that within one/two months' time banks will accumulate PAN numbers of all existing account holders except for Jan Dhan/BSBD account.

After the shock demonetisation announcement on 8 November, the government allowed junked ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes to be deposited in bank accounts.

For individuals and companies holding unaccounted cash, it has offered new tax evasion amnesty scheme wherein 50% tax will be charged on declarations and quarter of the total sum be parked in a non-interest bearing deposit for four years.

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MUMBAI -- China's OnePlus plans to make its 3T model in India from early next year to meet growing demand in the world's second-biggest smartphone market by users.

OnePlus is ranked by technology researcher IDC as the third-biggest seller of premium phones selling for more than $300 in India, behind Samsung Electronics and China's Oppo.

Earlier this year it discontinued a 2015 contract manufacturing deal with Foxconn Technology Co Ltd to make its mid-end X phones in southern India.

Vikas Agarwal, general manager of OnePlus' Indian operations, said the company was now looking to make its new 3T phone in India, starting early next quarter.

The company, a third of whose global sales are from India, says it has already received 200,000 registrations for buying the 3T model priced at 29,999 rupees ($442) since beginning sales this week on Amazon's India marketplace.

"We actually probably have lost, I would say, maybe 30 percent of sales because of stock-outs," Agarwal told Reuters on Friday by telephone, referring to sales of the 3T and an earlier model.

"The focus is on trying our best to meet the demand."

He declined to comment on the manufacturing arrangement this time, but said OnePlus will work with multiple partners including, possibly, Foxconn.

Agarwal said OnePlus had no immediate plan to sell through retail outlets and will continue to sell only on Amazon.

But it does plan to open by early January a so-called experience centre in the southern Indian technology hub of Bengaluru, where customers can come and see OnePlus smartphones.

OnePlus also plans to add six more service centres to its existing seven, Agarwal said. It also provides services through 60 third-party outlets.

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WASHINGTON ― U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies agree that Russia hacked Democratic National Committee emails with the intention of tipping the election in favor of President-elect Donald Trump.

The FBI, which previously told lawmakers it could not be sure of the motive behind the Russian cyberattack, now agrees with the CIA assessment that Moscow intended to boost Trump's chance of winning, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The intelligence community first publicly accused Russia of orchestrating the attack in October, but declined to ascribe a motive at the time. As the November election neared, Democrats, frustrated by what they saw as clear and negative effects the leaked emails were having on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's campaign, pressed the Obama administration for a stronger response.

President Barack Obama on Friday declined to confirm the Post's report, but staunchly defended his administration's handling of the Russian cyberattack. If the White House had explicitly warned voters of Moscow's effort to boost Trump's chances of winning, it would have looked like a political play on Clinton's behalf, Obama said at what is likely his final press conference as president.

"In this hyper-partisan atmosphere, at a time when my primary concern was making sure that the integrity of the election process was not in any way damaged, at a time when anything that was said by me or anybody in the White House would immediately be seen through a partisan lens ― I wanted to make sure that everybody understood we were playing this thing straight," Obama said.

Obama said he personally confronted Putin about the election interference at the G20-Summit in September, warning the Russian leader to "cut it out," and telling him there would be "serious consequences if he didn't."

During his nearly 20-minute response to a question on Russian hacking, Obama chided journalists in the briefing room for reporting extensively on the leaked DNC emails. "This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage," he said.

"The truth of the matter is that everyone had the information," Obama continued. "It was out there. And we handled it the way we should have."

Earlier on Friday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) announced that his panel will review what led U.S. intelligence officials to make the October accusation against Russia. The committee will interview government officials from the outgoing Obama administration and the incoming Trump administration, using subpoenas if necessary, Burr said in a statement.

Burr notably did not mention reports of the CIA's assessment that Moscow acted deliberately to help Trump win the election. Burr's office did not respond to a question about whether the committee would also review the intelligence that led to that conclusion.

Burr's announcement comes a week after the White House ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full review into "malicious cyber activity" tied to U.S. elections before the president leaves office next month. Congressional Democrats pushed for separate probes into Russia's role, but Republicans, following the lead of their president-elect, downplayed the need for additional investigations.

The White House has said it could take several weeks before additional information about the Russian role in election interference is publicly released. That means Electoral College members won't have details before they vote on Monday.

"This is a national crisis that must be fully explained to the American people right now," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a statement. "When a foreign nation interferes in our election, delays and closed-door investigations are not good enough. We cannot continue to sweep this under the rug or to wait until just before Inauguration Day before leveling with the public."

Trump has repeatedly challenged the U.S. intelligence community's findings that Russia played a role in muddying the electoral process ― if not directly swinging the election in his favor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) rejected calls for a special congressional panel to investigate the hacks, and deferred instead to the House and Senate intelligence committees.

Congressional Republicans, including Burr, have been caught in a bizarre political situation since allegations about Russian hacking emerged several months ago. The party is typically hawkish on Russian interference abroad, and GOP lawmakers repeatedly pounded Obama for not responding more aggressively to Russian incursions into Ukrainian territory in 2014. Republicans on Capitol Hill became notably more cautious in their criticism of Russia since Trump, who has said he will to steer the U.S. closer to Moscow, became their party's nominee.

Obama pointed to a recent poll showing that 37 percent of Republicans view Russian President Vladimir Putin favorably. "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave," the president said.

Putin played a direct role in his country's covert effort to interfere with the U.S. elections, NBC reported on Thursday. Obama wouldn't explicitly confirm Putin's involvement, but added, "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin."

Obama suggested a counterattack against Russia could be in the works.

"Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us because we can do stuff to you," he said. "But it is also important for us to do that in a thoughtful, methodical way. Some of it we do publicly, some of it we will do in a way that they know, but not everybody will."

NEW DELHI -- Petrol price was on Friday hiked by ₹2.21 a litre and diesel by ₹1.79 per litre, excluding local levies.

The price revision was to come into effect from Thursday, but was deferred possibly to save the demonetisation-battered government from any blushes in Parliament. The revised rates are effective from midnight on Friday.

This increase excludes local levies. The actual hike after considering VAT would be ₹2.84 per litre in Delhi for petrol and ₹2.11 for diesel.

After the hike, petrol in Delhi will cost ₹68.94 per litre as against ₹66.10 currently, said Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer.

Similarly, a litre of diesel will cost ₹56.68 as compared to ₹54.57 now.

IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) revise rates on 1st and 16th of every month based on average international price in the previous fortnight.

But an increase that was warranted because of a rise in international gasoline (petrol) price to USD 62.82 per barrel from USD 57.43 and that of diesel to USD 60.97 from USD 56.79 was not announced on Thursday.

Industry sources said the deferment was because Parliament was in session and any hike would have added to the discomfort of the government, particularly when it is facing heat over hardships caused by currency demonetisation.

The Winter Session of Parliament ended on Friday afternoon.

Rates were last revised on 1 December when petrol price was hiked by a marginal 13 paise a litre, but diesel rates were cut by 12 paise.

Prior to the 1 December price change, rates were hiked by ₹1.46 a litre in the case of petrol and ₹1.53 per litre for diesel, excluding local levies, on 16 November.

"The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and Rupee-US Dollar exchange rate warrant increase in selling price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision," IOC said in a statement.

It said the movement of prices in the international oil market and foreign exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes.

Also on HuffPost India:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a group of donors she believes Russian President Vladimir Putin contributed to her presidential election loss, The New York Times and CNN report.

Clinton told donors during a meeting at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan that Russia attempted to "undermine our democracy" by hacking into the emails of the Democratic National Commitee and former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, according to the Times. She said Putin ordered the hacks "because he has a personal beef against me."

"Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election," Clinton said, according to the Times.

"This is not just an attack on me and my campaign, although that may have added fuel to it. This is an attack against our country," Clinton added. "We are well beyond normal political concerns here. This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation."

Clinton repeated her claim that a letter sent by FBI Director James Comey to Congress contributed to her loss to President-elect Donald Trump.

Podesta called out the FBI in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Thursday, comparing its "lackadaisical response" to the Russian hacking with its extensive investigation into Clinton's emails.

Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2.8 million, but was defeated in key states by Trump, who won 306 electoral votes.

Read more from The New York Times here.

MUMBAI -- In another haul of cash in the megapolis, the police on Friday evening seized ₹1.40 crore from three persons riding in a car on Juhu-Versova Link Road in suburban Andheri in Mumbai.

The money was in the new ₹2,000 notes, police said.

Mumbai: Police detained 4 persons with new Rs 2000 notes worth Rs 1 crore 40 lakhs near Andheri last night, Income tax department informed. pic.twitter.com/TlvRLhiJ0u

— ANI (@ANI_news) December 17, 2016

Police stopped the car during vehicular checking near Juhu Tara Complex at around 7 pm. Upon checking, the cash was discovered.

The three persons who were riding in the car were being questioned, said Mumbai police's spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe.

On Thursday, police had seized ₹10.10 crore in suburban Chembur. Most of it was in the demonetised currency.

Also on HuffPost Inida:

It was a few years ago when I first met who I call the sirens of Mumbai, the sex workers and bar dancers that inhabit a parallel world that most of the city's other residents rarely speak of or only grudgingly acknowledge.

Few know of the wisdom, courage, beauty and grit of these women (and men). They dance gracefully in the city's infamous dance bars and play the sexual power game more expertly than anyone I know. Many break gender binaries and understand and satisfy the needs of both men and women. For a price, they deliver on every sexual desire, however forbidden, and absorb the angst, suffering and frustration of millions living in India's maximum city.

To the world, they traded their bodies for money. In truth, they offered healing, satisfaction, affection and violence for very little.

I recall vividly when I first met them in a small room of an NGO office reached only by foot through narrow lanes in deep Dharavi. On our way there, we ran into a drug lord, a performing stuntman and an insistent fortune teller—that's Dharavi for you. The tiny room had a few women, along with three men and two hijras or trans individuals earnestly discussing issues of police harassment. A massive idol of Ganesha, the Hindu god of good fortune, watched over the proceedings unflinchingly from a corner.

As I watched silently, the group drafted a strategy to address a particularly difficult police person posted in their area. Even with differing opinions, this group showed each other respect and courtesy. I was amazed at their ability to strategise and address this trying situation so deftly. All these activities were supported under a massive HIV prevention project. This group had come together as a community to address issues of discrimination and human rights violations. The end goal was to bring together diverse groups, create greater empowerment, reduce discrimination and improve the quality of life for these populations, thereby reducing new HIV infections.

My work was to document this project and as a result I spent a lot of time with them. My openness about being gay made them more candid and expressive, creating strong bonds of friendship. I was, like them, on the margins of a heteronormative society. We were all outcasts in a society that treated us as criminals.

Ours was a friendship filled with the sharing of lived experiences. Our honesty made it possible to discuss even the most forbidden sexual desires with ease. I would tell them my stories full of foolish experiments and misadventures. In turn, they would narrate their most memorable or terrifying sexual encounters, reducing me to tears or leaving me helpless with laughter. We all had scars to prove these stories.

Despite the derision the world gave them, this group could give life lessons on self-respect, dignity, desire and love to anyone. Savitri, an HIV positive hijra, said one of the most profound things about surviving HIV to me one day: "Death and disease come to everyone. It's not the disease but people's hate that kills you."

As consumers of public health care, they were insightful about what constitutes well-being and prevention. Free drugs weren't enough, health must come with dignity, and with empowerment. "It's my body. Tell me what to do. Don't dismiss me because of what I do," Rohit, a male sex-worker said in one meeting. I wished then I could record their conversations and play them in medical school where facts trump human dignity.

For them, sex work was only an occupation. Their resounding roles were that of parents, supportive children, siblings and friends.

At night, my walks with them on their "business trips" were instructive. The men who dished them rejection and derision during the day, flocked to them in darkness, seeking their company. To the world, they traded their bodies for money. In truth, they offered healing, satisfaction, affection and violence for very little. Ironically, those that deviated from the established gender norm, the hijras, were often the most desired—a testimony to our society's double standards.

I walked one night cruising with the male sex workers on "the wall" opposite the Taj, Mumbai's famous landmark by the dirty ocean. In the full moon night the sea was a mellow silver. Post midnight, expensive cars stopped and windows came down. The boys negotiated successfully for a few minutes of passion. "Sometimes, in the middle of the night when the windows roll down, some of India's most desired faces are inside these cars," Peter, a 31-year-old sex worker and my guardian angel for the night told me. I didn't doubt him for a moment.

One night for kicks the boys decided to peddle me! They sent me to negotiate with a middle-aged Gujarati businessman. I was predictably poor at it. "Tune kya free mein karna hai ? (You want to do it for free)?" Peter yelled at me, interrupting the negotiation, as he dismissed the man with a wave, partly amused and partly angry.

For them, sex work was only an occupation. Their resounding roles were that of parents, supportive children, siblings and friends. Above all, they were human beings full of empathy and affection. Many were married and their sex work was an open secret. Despite this, they were devoted to their families and children. I marvelled at how easily they coped with these endless contradictions.

The hijras, who were especially fond of me, were the most fun and their stories about their "straight" lovers were incredible. This was a time well before the Indian Supreme Court recognised them as the third gender. Their lives were the most dangerous and violence was always lurking around the corner. Some had been thrown out of home, others raped for being who they were. Many lived with their families pretending to be men by day but dressing up at night, supporting their loved ones through sex work. The families pretended as if this part of their lives didn't exist.

"Sometimes, in the middle of the night when the windows roll down, some of India's most desired faces are inside these cars," Peter, a 31-year-old sex worker told me.

Almost a decade later, I reconnected with them, stuck on a long trip to Mumbai. There were numerous familiar faces though many others were missing, lost to tragedy, disease and death. It was a few days after World AIDS Day. As the development community and India's political establishment celebrated the fall in HIV cases, I learnt these groups were suffering extensively. Reduction in HIV funding had led to ending many community-based activities There are fewer workshops, more people had returned to sex work and the infections may be rising I was told. India's HIV program itself had been in the news for drug and diagnostic shortages.

Yet despite their adversities and challenges, constant hate and rejection, the sirens were just the same—joyous and endearing. They were moving forward happily even if the world had forgotten them. They are a reminder that happiness is a choice. We choose it, it doesn't choose us.

Two babies were 'caught' in Delhi International Airport a few days ago with 16kg of gold stuffed into their diapers! The families they belonged to took a flight from Dubai to Delhi and very cleverly (they hoped), they "hid" the gold in the last place they thought custom officials would look—a baby's backside.

When I heard this, my initial reaction was laughter, but it slowly turned to bewilderment and sadness thinking about the plight of those two babies. Babies who can't talk and voice their disapproval even if they wanted to.

Your children may have come through you, but they do not belong to you.

As parents, we think we have every right over our children. We own them. After all, for the most part we "made" them, so to speak.

While the above scenario may be an extreme case, we all make questionable decisions vis-à-vis our children at some point in our parenting journey. It's a thought that gets reinforced as we navigate our way through parenthood—that our children are the one thing that will ever really be our own.

It's time we re-think this idea. Your children may have come through you, but they do not belong to you. They have a separate identity, and while you may share facial features and mannerisms, they are NOT you.

I often come across young children who are bombarded with classes which they don't even enjoy. Competition levels in this country are so high, and many parents want to have brilliant, over-performing children who can read and write by the age of three. Some do it to kill time and entertain their children, and to each their own, as it rightly should be. But are you really helping them? Have you asked them if they are truly enjoying themselves? Or are you doing it for yourself so you can feel great about having a genius as your child?

Our children are not here to fill up the holes in us of dreams that weren't fulfilled, or lives that weren't led.

Boys are put in cricket or football because that is the macho thing to do, and girls in dance and singing classes because that is what poised girls do, apparently. I met a little girl the other day who was dreading going for dance class, and I asked her why she did it. And she said it was because her mom wanted her to do it, although she didn't enjoy it. She'd really rather bake, or read a book. She was living her mother's dream, not her own.

If you are a student who is about to get into college, you know the sort of pressure kids have to get into courses related to either engineering or medicine in India—because, again, that's what their parents want them to do. Because that's what society wants parents to do. It all just ends up being one vicious circle—parents putting their dreams and expectations on their kids and not allowing them to have their own

I always remind myself of what Kahlil Gibran once said:

You may give your children your love, but not your thoughts
For they have their own thoughts
You may house their bodies, but not their souls
For their souls swell in the house of tomorrow
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams
You may strive to be like them
But seek not to make them like you.

For heaven's sake, "seek not to make them like you". They are not us. Our children have their own minds, their own characters, their own spirit. Our children are not here to fill up the holes in us of dreams that weren't fulfilled, or lives that weren't led.

They are beautiful, whole and complete—irrespective of what you are.

The most valuable gift we can give our children is the gift to discover who they truly are—not who we want them to be. Ask them if they are enjoying growing up every day. Give them self-confidence to be themselves, and be aware of the moments you are trying to make them like you. Remind yourself they are not an extension of you. They are beautiful, whole and complete—irrespective of what you are.

And you'll see, they'll end up happier and better equipped for life—and perhaps, you too will learn a thing or two from them.

Chhole: ₹25 for a portion, along with three kulchas.

Raita: ₹10.

Parathas: ₹15 for two.

The three men have been around for close to 30 years each. They regularly serve part of the clientele that otherwise belongs to the big guns of cheap-and-cheerful fare, along with a separate set of loyal customers. After years of playing cat-and-mouse with the NDMC, they have finally settled into their respective spots without much legal threat.

*No names. No directions. Only vague locations. Binge photo guides challenge you to find these spots using only the photographs and brief information we give out. We haven't made it too hard but you might need to go exploring a little bit: high-five us if you manage, and write to us if you don't.

This story was first published on www.binge.co.in

You might have read the alarming headline that over 80% of the Indian population is protein deficient. This is according to a recent survey titled "Protein Consumption in Diet of Adult Indians: A General Consumer Survey (PRODIGY)," undertaken by the Indian Market Research Bureau, which indicates that 9 out of 10 people of the sample (1260 respondents) consumed inadequate amount of protein.

When we look around us, as families with young children, our concerns around eating the usual non-vegetarian sources of protein and non-organic dairy seem to be compounding each year. It is expensive and hard to find organic, antibiotic-free, hormone-free substitutes. As eager beaver label readers, we are often utterly perplexed. Is the chicken feed really organic? Some supermarket labels say no-added hormones—does that mean there are still lots of antibiotics given to the animals? We decided to take on the challenge of finding lasting veggie protein alternatives to increase our meat-free days. Challenge because we are utterly bored of dal as the main source of protein.

Here are a few staples that are now a daily fixture in our home, and our kids love them too!

Moong dal sticks

Much like seekh kebabs these are great finger food for infants. The ones I made for my son were cooked on a saucepan in butter, and mine in the air fryer with no fat at all. Win win for all!
You can make them with any dals in your kitchen or with kala chana, paneer, chickpeas or even experiment with a mix of different dals. Moong dal and masoor dal are both high in protein.

Scroll to the bottom of this article for the recipe.

Besan ka cheela (a la adai dosa)

Every culture has a variant of the pancake. Make yours with full of protein and add natural colour from healthy vegetables! We make green spinach ones with besan (chickpea flour) and red beetroot ones with ragi flour. Make batches of the flour and keep in an airtight container. Add fresh beetroot, spinach and yoghurt on the day and you are ready to go!

Dahi

This is the best use of organic milk in our house. The Indians and the French have got this right and this is one tradition we should not lose. Please don't buy sugary ones from the market. Home-made yoghurt comes alive with some roasted almonds, toasted seeds and fresh fruit.

Sprinkle nuts and seeds

Keep them handy and sneak them into your kids' food. Watch the calories here if you end up snacking on the ones meant for the little ones!

Hummus at hand

We make hummus at home and it keeps in the chill tray easily for 4-5 days. Hummus has chickpeas and tahini (made of sesame seeds), both of which are great sources of protein.

A sobering realisation for me was the fact that I thought I was meeting my required intake, until I did the math. We grow up thinking that a bit of meat or eggs and some dal during meals means we will be ok. Research says you need 1gm of protein per kilo of body weight. It's fascinating to do a weekly diary and realise that you might be part of the 9 out of 10 people, just like I was.

RECIPE: MOONG DAAL STICKS

Ingredients

1 cup moong dal

Garlic (to taste)

Jeera (to taste)

Dhaniya powder (to taste)

Fresh dhaniya (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

1 egg yolk

1 tsp butter

Breadcrumbs for coating

Method

1. Cook 1 cup of moong dal, and drain all the water out.

2. Add some garlic, jeera, dhaniya powder, fresh dhaniya, salt and pepper, a spoon of butter and an egg yolk.

3. Mix it all up with a hand blender, and then make rolls. They should feel a bit moist.

4. For breadcrumbs on the outside, I made two extra crispy toasts, and squished them into crumbs and coated the dal sticks with this. It was a soya and seed bread. I think the seediness of the bread really made it yum!

5. Shallow-fry the rolls in a frying pan with some butter or use an air-fryer for a healthier option.

KOCHI -- Three students from Delhi's St Stephen's College and a resort owner from Kerala drowned in the Periyar river in the state on Friday evening, police said.

Third year Sanskrit students Anubhav Chandra and Aditya Patel, first year Chemistry student Kenneth John, and Benny, a private resort owner from Kerala, drowned around 6.30 PM at Paniyeli Poru -- a tourist spot.

The owner of the resort lost his life trying to save the three students.

The bodies were recovered and kept at the Taluk hospital at Perumbavoor, police said.

According to a report in the Times of India, the three deceased ventured into the river around 5:30 pm.

"The water level was very low near the banks. The students walked up to the middle and stepped into the water, leading to the tragic incident," a fire department official told TOI.

One of them slipped and was swept away by the current. While trying to save their friend, the other two also drowned. Abraham, the resort owner, dived into the water in a desperate attempt to save the students and drowned as well.

Chandra hailed from Bihar and Patel belonged to Uttar Pradesh, police said. Kenneth John was a resident of Wayanad in Kerala.

In Delhi, St Stephen's College Principal John Varghese confirmed the news saying it was true and they were in the process of finding out more details.

Police said the students had come to Kerala as part of a group of 11 students and 2 wardens to visit famous tourist spots.

The incident occurred at Paniyeli Poru, a tourist spot where the river has dangerous clusters of slippery rocks, near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, police said.

The spot is known for its death traps for tourists because of strong undercurrents, though the water is only few feet deep, police said.

Following several such incidents, tourists were restricted from entering the waters. "We have fenced the banks of the river along a stretch of 600m but the cottage is located downstream where there is no fencing. As per reports , the students ventured into the waters directly from the cottage," TOI quoted a fire and rescue department official saying.

(With inputs from PTI)

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MUMBAI -- Superstar Aamir Khan says demonetisation is a good move by the government to curb black money and hence all citizens should support the initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He however was sad for the common man who has felt the pinch of the cash crunch the most.

"I haven't faced any problems due to demonetisation as I don't have back money at all. I pay taxes. Those who have black money will face problems. I make use of card be it debit or credit card whenever we buy something," Aamir told reporters at an event on Friday evening.

"I know common people are facing problem and I feel sad about it. Our Prime Minister has taken a good initiative and we must support him," he said.

The government is encouraging people to switch to a digital regime and go cashless to rein in corruption.

Ask Aamir if going cashless will help, he says, "I am not an economist. If someone is doing some good work we should help them. I am into films..I can talk about that and not economy."

On work front, the 51-year-old will be seen next as wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat in Dangal. Then he has a special appearance in Secret Superstar and Aditya Chopra produced film Thugs of Hindostan with megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

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NEW DELHI -- Moderate fog cover was Saturday witnessed in the national capital, leading to delay in 52 rail services and re-scheduling of 12 others.

Flight operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport though were normal, airport officials said.

Visuals from New Delhi Railway station: 52 trains delayed (Arriving late in Delhi area), 12 rescheduled due to prevailing fog conditions. pic.twitter.com/5JLrMjT5bV

— ANI (@ANI_news) December 17, 2016

According to a MeT department official, visibility was recorded at 1500 metres at 5:30 AM. Three hours later, it dropped to 400 metres.

The minimum temperature settled at 8.2 degrees Celsius, considered as normal for the ongoing season. Relative humidity was recorded at 92 percent at 8:30 AM.

"52 trains were running behind their respective schedules by several hours. Also, 12 trains required to be rescheduled due to poor visibility caused by the fog layer," a railway official said.

The MeT department official predicted that the skies will be mainly clear as the day progress.

"The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 24 degrees Celsius," he added.

On Friday, the minimum and maximum temperatures were recorded at 7.9 degrees Celsius and 24.4 degrees Celsius respectively.

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