Indian users of the microblog service Twitter managed to outpace traditional media in terms of efficiency. This was recognized not only by IT publications, but also by such giants as CNN, The Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian. Every five seconds, 80 messages (tweets) about the situation in Mumbai appeared on microblogs. Twitter is the largest microblog hosting with elements of a social network. The entry size is limited to 140 characters.

Four Taliban militants, including a commander dressed as a woman, were killed by the US military in Afghanistan, CNN reports. The murdered Haji Yakub was one of the Taliban commanders operating in the Karabakh region of Ghazni province. He was, in particular, responsible for the training of suicide bombers and weapons smuggling. During a shootout with militants, the US military evacuated several women and children from a nearby building.

A giant white truffle weighing more than a kilogram was sold at auction on Saturday for $200,000, Reuters reports. An auction of gourmet mushrooms is held annually in Rome. Buyers from Macau, London and Abu Dhabi can take part in it via teleconference. The buyer of the huge mushroom from the 2008 harvest was Stanley Ho from Macau, the owner of a casino chain. During last year's auction, Stanley Ho purchased a truffle weighing 1.5 kilograms for 223 thousand euros.

Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt returns to her homeland. This was reported by France Presse , citing its own sources. Betancourt, who was released from captivity by Colombian rebels in July 2008, most recently lived in France. Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2002 while campaigning for the presidency of Colombia. She and 14 other hostages were released from captivity on July 2, 2008 .

Donatello's bronze statue of David has returned to the Bargello Museum in Florence after restoration work, AFP reported on November 28. According to restorers, the latest technologies, including laser exposure, were used to clean the sculpture from ingrained dust. Restoration work lasted a year and a half and cost the museum 200 thousand euros. “Now the David is incomparably more beautiful than ever, although it’s hard to believe,” said Bargello Museum director Beatrice Paolozzi-Strozzi.

They showed the stadium and gave an order. What Dmitry Medvedev will remember about his seven-day tour of Latin America Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has completed his Latin American tour. In a week, he managed to visit four countries - Peru, Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba. In the first, Medvedev took part in the APEC summit, the second is a friend of Russia in the BRIC club (Brazil, Russia, India, China), and the other two simply love her.

The famous Danish architect Joern Utzon, who designed the Sydney Opera House, has died, Bloomberg reports. Utson died on Saturday at the age of 90 in a Copenhagen hospital from heart failure. Utson won the competition to design the Sydney Opera House in 1957. However, in 1966, the architect refused to participate in the final stages of construction due to a conflict with the Australian authorities and left the country.

Georgia has severed diplomatic relations with Nicaragua, Interfax reports , citing a statement by the Georgian Foreign Ministry. This decision was caused by the order of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian Foreign Ministry has already sent a corresponding note to the Nicaraguan mission to the UN. In August 2008, the Georgian Foreign Ministry announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia.

The fuel supplier Sovex, operating at the St. Petersburg Pulkovo airport, demanded through the court 1.3 billion rubles in debts for fuel from the Rossiya airline. newspaper writes about this The Kommersant . If Sovex suspends services to Rossiya State Transport Company, this will lead to massive delays in the air carrier’s flights. A similar situation happened at the end of August - beginning of September with AirUnion airlines. Sovex's lawsuit was filed in the St.

The XIII reporting and election congress of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation began its work in Moscow on Saturday, Interfax reports . It will be attended by 347 delegates from all regional organizations, as well as about 600 representatives of communist and leftist parties from 83 countries. The congress will take place over two days. It is expected that the party's updated program "20 steps to a decent life" will be adopted.

More than 380 people were killed in clashes that occurred in Nigeria in the city of Jos, AFP reported on Saturday . The riots began after local elections. At the same time, Reuters clarifies that the clashes occurred between representatives of the Hausa people, who adhere to Islam, and the mainly Christian Berom people.

The pro-presidential party People's Union Our Ukraine elected Viktor Yushchenko reports as its new chairman at a congress on Saturday, RIA Novosti . Previously, the President of Ukraine was the honorary chairman, and the party was headed by Vyacheslav Kirilenko . It is reported that the proposal to elect Yushchenko as head of the organization was put forward by Kirilenko and supported unanimously. The press service of Our Ukraine does not explain the reasons for the change of chairman.

The anti-terrorist operation at the Taj Mahal Hotel has been completed, AFP reported on November 29, citing a statement by Mumbai Police Chief Hassan Ghafoor. "All operations have been completed. All terrorists have been killed," Gafoor told reporters. He also clarified that in the final stage of the operation, three militants were killed, who had been resisting the special forces for a long time. Earlier it was reported that two terrorists were killed.

It could take up to a month for thousands of foreign tourists stranded in Thailand to return home, Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaiprawat said on Saturday. According to him, quoted by AFP , opposition protests have caused enormous damage to the country's tourism industry - half as many tourists are expected to visit Thailand next year, and about a million people in the country will lose their jobs.

American swimmer Julia Smith set a new world record (4 minutes, 25.87 seconds) in the women's 400-meter freestyle in Toronto. This was reported by France Presse . The previous record for this distance was set by swimmer Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe in April 2008 (4 minutes, 26.52 seconds). At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Smith won two medals - silver and bronze.