Cambridge Named Best University In The World – Cambridge is the best university in the world, according to a new league table which sees its rival Oxford awarded fifth place. The institution topped the eighth annual QS World University Rankings, seeing off competition from leading US institutions. [independent]

Hostage Drama In Sydney – A man wearing a barrister’s wig is reportedly holding an 11-year-old girl, who may be his daughter, in an unfolding hostage drama in Sydney’s west. Police confirmed an operation was under way following reports that a man with a bomb entered an office on George Street. [skynews]

Springbok Lock Crisis – Springbok locks Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield are in danger of missing the Boks’ World Cup opener against Wales in Wellington on Sunday. According to the Beeld newspaper, the pair have not yet recovered from injuries and are doubtful to take on the Dragons this weekend. [sport24]

SA Swimmers Add 11 Medals At Games – The South African swimming team added 11 medals on Monday to the four won by the triathletes at the All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. The swimmers captured five gold, three silver and bronze medals at the swimming complex at the Zimpeto National Stadium. [independent]

Jesus Is On Facebook – A North Carolina diet doctor has come up with a formula to create the most highly engaged audience on Facebook in the world, far surpassing marketing efforts by celebrities and sports teams. He draws on the words of Jesus and posts them four or five times a day. [nytimes]

Gerard Depardieu Parodies His Plane Peeing Incident [Video] – Anderson Cooper isn’t the only one who is able to laugh at Gerard Depardieu’s now-infamous act of relieving himself on a plane. A few weeks after the French actor peed on an Air France plane flying from Paris to Dublin after being told he couldn’t use the bathroom, Depardieu has shot a new video spoofing the incident with Edouard Baer — his “Asterix and Obelix” co-star, who was traveling with him at the time. [hollywoodreporter]

Raoul Moat Was “Full Of Beans” After Killing Love Nemesis – Raoul Moat coolly shot his former girlfriend and murdered her new lover with a double-barrelled shotgun, then told a friend he felt “full of beans” at what he had done, an inquest heard yesterday. [telegraph]

1Time Airines Post Loss As CEO Steps Down – A combination of higher airport charges, increased fuel prices and weak passenger demand pushed low-cost carrier 1Time Holdings into a loss for the six months to June. The company said founder, group CEO and financial director Glenn Orsmond was leaving, but he would remain acting financial director until November. [businessday]

Carla Bruni Reckons You Will Never See Her Baby – French first lady Carla Bruni said on Sunday she will keep the baby she is expecting with President Nicolas Sarkozy strictly out of view and not allow any photographs to be shown publicly. Bruni, who is due to give birth in the autumn, said she did not know whether she was expecting a boy or a girl, but her main aim was to protect the infant from the glare of publicity. [reuters]

Man Chokes And Dies On Plane – Girlfriend Sits Next To Body For Nine Hours – The distraught girlfriend of a New Zealand man sat next to his dead body for hours after he choked and died while eating an in-flight meal en route from Singapore to New Zealand. An hour-and-a-half into the Jetstar Airline flight, Rippingale choked on the beef and chicken dinner. [nydailynews]

FBI Wiretapped Israeli Embassy – A blogger has told The New York Times that an FBI translator gave him transcripts of conversations that were recorded by FBI wiretaps in the Israeli Embassy in Washington. The translator, Shamai Leibowitz, was sentenced last year to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty to leaking classified documents. FBI officials would not describe what information was leaked. [huffpo]

Former News Corp Execs To Face Hacking Commitee – Four former executives from News Corp’s UK newspaper arm will appear before a powerful parliamentary committee on Tuesday in the ongoing hunt to establish who knew what about phone hacking and whether James Murdoch did enough to uncover the scandal. [reuters]

ANCYL To Party Like It’s 1999 – The kids are really putting the ANC disciplinarians through their paces. The legal team of ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema and his fellow league officials have persuaded the mother body’s disciplinary committee to postpone disciplinary hearings until next Sunday, a day before the League’s birthday on 12 September. [dailymaverick]

Dude, Free Weed! – San Jose police say a truck illegally carrying marijuana crashed and ended up on its side near Oakridge Mall early Wednesday, sending large bags of pot throughout the intersection as the frightened driver ran away. Several motorists and pedestrians who happened to be passing through the area ran out and grabbed most of the marijuana bags and took off before police arrived. [mercuryweed]

Support your community by buying a TOUCH rugby ball – Launched this week in major cities throughout South Africa. TOUCH balls are created by unemployed seamstresses using recycled banners, billboards and plastic bags collected from the streets. Each ball creates employment and cleans up litter. Balls cost R50. [facebook]

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