New Delhi - Authorities in India's eastern state of West Bengal said Wednesday an extensive culling operation was ordered to contain an outbreak of bird flu, news reports said.

Only 155 birds were killed in the first day of culling Tuesday due to poor weather conditions and the lack of adequate workers, IANS news agency quoted Dilip Chakraborty, a senior official in the state's Animal Resources Development department as saying.

"There are adequate number of workers since Wednesday and they are operating at full strength since morning. We hope to cull a substantial number of poultry by the end of the day," Chakraborty said.

Pune, Dec 17 : Wine lovers from across the country recently thronged Pune to attend Wine Tasting Festival where more than 50 varieties of wine from 12 leading Indian wineries were on display.

The festival was hosted for the second time by the Pune Gourmet Club. Besides showcasing the different varieties of wine, the event also emphasized that the consumption of wine has positive effects on health.

"The whole idea of wine tasting and wine drinking with meals is a beverage and it is a luxury drink. It is something to do with lifestyle choice. It also has some positive effect for your health," said Paul Bailey, a winemaker.

Winemakers and wine trainers were also conduct a special class for the visitors.

New Delhi, Dec. 17 : Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has termed Chattisgarh's anti-naxalite group, 'Salva Judum' as a non-state actor.

Replying to queries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Chidambaram said the Centre is not in favour of "non-state" actors taking the job of law enforcement into their hands.

"We are not in favour of non-state actors taking law enforcement in their hands," he said.

Islamabad - US Senator John Kerry urged India and Pakistan to keep the channels of diplomacy open to counter terrorism and remove misunderstandings that could threaten regional peace, media reports said Wednesday.

Kerry, the next chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the remarks Tuesday in Islamabad, where he arrived from New Delhi as part of Washington's efforts to defuse tensions stemming from last month's Mumbai terrorist attacks.

New Delhi, Dec 17 : Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) leader Mehmood Madani has criticised the act of militancy, calling it a curse on mankind.

Addressing reporters here last evening, Madani praised Indian Muslims for openly condemning the barbaric act of militancy and said that for the first time general public have come out of their houses in huge numbers.

"This is the specialty of India and Indian Muslims who come out and openly condemn the terror attacks. We are doing that job which has not been done by anyone in the world. Those who are promoting the acts of terror and terrorism are enemy of both the humanity and Islam," said Madani.

Islamabad, Dec. 17 : The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reached a conclusion that the attackers had come to Mumbai from Pakistan.

The dawn quoted FBI sources as saying that the plan was hatched in Pakistan and terrorists were provided necessary training by Laskar-e-Taiba, according to the investigators.

US investigators also concluded after interrogating the lone captured suspect, Ajmal Amir Kasab, that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was not involved in the Mumbai attacks.

Diplomats said agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation were allowed to interrogate Kasab for nine hours during which they had established that he was a Pakistan national.