Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier – Austrian Felix Baumgartner has become the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, reaching a maximum velocity of 1,342km/h. In jumping out of a balloon 39km above New Mexico, the 43-year-old also smashed the record for the highest ever freefall. He said he almost aborted the dive because his helmet visor fogged up. [bbc]

Family mourns hero of Hout Bay tragedy – Though John Roberts’ family hailed the drowned sailor as a hero, the safety of the charter boat that capsized off Cape Town at the weekend, on which he was a deck-hand, is being questioned. Roberts, 37, and Peter Phillip Hyett, 64, drowned after the charter boat, Miroshga, which was carrying 39 passengers, capsized near Duiker Island at about 3pm on Saturday. Duiker Island is a popular whale-watching spot. [timeslive]

Ex-cyclist: Doping done ‘so I could be a good teammate for Lance Armstrong’ – A former teammate of once acclaimed, now embattled former cyclist Lance Armstrong said Friday that there was no question why U.S. Postal Service team members doped during big races. “It was done by the team, but it was done for the Tour de France so I could be a good teammate for Lance Armstrong,” Tyler Hamilton told CNN on Friday. “He wanted you to be riding your best in the biggest races.” [cnn]

Zuma calls meeting on the economy – Two months of crippling labour turmoil are likely to force South Africa to look again at its economic growth forecasts, the Reserve Bank’s deputy governor said on Sunday. Wildcat strikes that started in the platinum mines have left more than 50 people dead and spilled to other industries, undermining investor confidence in the country and tarnishing President Jacob Zuma’s government. [iol]

Madonsela’s conduct to be probed – Public Protector Thuli Madonsela confirmed on Sunday that she has indeed been fair in all and every report and investigation. Prompted by criticism from members of parliament and the African National Congress (ANC), who questioned her impartiality during investigations, Madonsela reiterated her professionalism. Madonsela said she received an anonymous letter from a staff member earlier in the year accusing her of behaving with bias towards the Democratic Alliance (DA). [ewn]

Buffett picks up a gem in SA – The world’s most successful investor, Warren Buffett, has bought a South African jewellery manufacturer — his first investment in the country. The Richline Group, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has bought the assets of South African Manufacturing Jewellers, which is in a business rescue programme. The company also trades as Alan Mair Manufacturing Jewellers. [bdlive]

First female F1 principal makes her mark – Asked about women in Formula One and most observers would point to the grid girls who pout and pose in short skirts before every race. But the first female team principal in the 62-year history of the male-dominated sport says she hopes that her rise to prominence will change all that – cautioning that it was a long-term process. “You have to deliver the same (as men) and be as good as anyone else. It can show to women out there that they can also come out on top and believe in yourself,” Monisha Kaltenborn told AFP at the Korean Grand Prix. [mg]

Microsoft debuts Xbox music service to take on Apple – Microsoft Corp on Monday announced that Xbox Music, a digital music service to vie with Apple Inc’s iTunes and Amazon.com Inc’s Cloud Player, will be available for its Xbox game consoles on Tuesday. The service will be expanded to Windows software-based computers and tablets, including the upcoming Surface tablet, from October 26, when Microsoft launches Windows 8. It will be expanded to phones shortly after that. [reuters]

Pakistani Girl Shot By Taliban Sent To UK – The Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by Taliban gunmen for campaigning for girls to be educated has been sent to the UK for medical treatment. A military spokesman said that 14-year-old Malala Yusufzai, whose shooting has drawn condemnation abroad and at home, will require prolonged care to fully recover physically and psychologically. An air ambulance has been provided by the United Arab Emirates to transport Malala. She is travelling from Islamabad with her parents and medical staff. [sky]

Did you know you can now listen to 2ov Radio on News24?

US delays ruling on MTN $4.2bn Iran suit – A US court has delayed ruling on a $4.2bn suit by Turkish mobile operator Turkcell against South African rival MTN Group, pending a Supreme Court decision on a separate case, the two companies said. Turkey’s largest cellphone operator sued MTN in a US federal court in March, alleging the Johannesburg-based company used bribery and attempted trafficking of political influence to win a mobile licence in Iran that was first awarded to Turkcell. [fin24]

BBC Under Fire Over Savile Sex Abuse Allegations – The BBC is struggling to contain a crisis sparked by allegations of serial sexual abuse against the late Jimmy Savile, a longtime children’s television host. Dozens of women have come forward to say that Savile, who died in October 2011 aged 84, sexually assaulted them when they were as young as 13. London’s Metropolitan Police, which is leading a national investigation, says it has identified 40 potential victims. [ap]

Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino to come face to face with victims – Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia, is to come face to face with victims of the disaster for the first time as his criminal inquest opens on Monday. The hearing will be held in Grosseto’s Teatro Moderno, a large auditorium that can accommodate up to 1,300 people, to cater for the large number of witnesses, lawyers, survivors and their families. Up to 125 lawyers will appear for the aggrieved parties and information will be provided in five languages – Italian, French, Spanish, English and German – to those seeking last minute accreditation. [telegraph]

Nasa noses in on nasal spray market – Nasa has signed an agreement with a California-based startup to develop and market a nasal spray for motion sickness. Nasa will work with privately owned Epiomed Therapeutics of Irvine, California, on the nasal spray, which has been shown to be a fast-acting treatment for motion sickness. About half the astronauts who fly in space develop space motion sickness. [stuff]

Anonymous distances itself from WikiLeaks – The computer hacker collective Anonymous has distanced itself from WikiLeaks, claiming the whistleblowers’ site has become too focused on the personal tribulations of its founder, Julian Assange. A statement posted on the Anonymous Twitter account, AnonymousIRC, described WikiLeaks as “the one man Julian Assange show” after the website began asking users to pay for access to millions of leaked documents. [guardian]

Eric Clapton pockets £21.3m for record sale of Richter painting – The bidding for Abstraktes Bild (809-4) lasted just five minutes, but that was long enough for the value to be pushed up to the highest ever paid for a work by a living artist. Auctioneers had expected the abstract oil on canvas from the guitarist’s personal collection to fetch around £10million. Clapton can expect another windfall next month, when his platinum-cased Patek Philippe watch goes under the hammer at Christie’s in Geneva. Auctioneers believe the timepiece could fetch £2.6million. [metro]

South Korea still king, but developing nations boosting communications – South Korea is still the communication king, but cheaper mobile broadband is giving a big boost to countries like Kazakhstan, according to an annual IT study released yesterday. Nordic countries round out the top positions in the annual report from the International Telecommunication Union, which ranks tech development. [thedaily]

Apple pays out for copying 70-year-old Swiss railway clock design without permission for its iPhone 5 – Apple, sensitive about protecting its own designs, has struck a deal to use Swiss railway operator SBB’s trademark station clock design on iPads and iPhones. SBB holds the trademark for a 1944 design by Zurich-born engineer Hans Hilfiker. The company said last month it might challenge the U.S. company after the clock appeared on a new operating system for the iPad. [dailymail]

Unmasking Reddit’s Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web – Last Wednesday afternoon I called Michael Brutsch. He was at the office of the Texas financial services company where he works as a programmer and he was having a bad day. I had just told him, on Gchat, that I had uncovered his identity as the notorious internet troll Violentacrez (pronounced Violent-Acres). “It’s amazing how much you can sweat in a 60 degree office,” he said with a nervous laugh. [gawker]

Pippa turns down showbiz career for Kate – Pippa Middleton has ended her dreams of a showbiz career in the US for fear of embarrassing her sister, Britain’s Duchess Catherine. The 29-year-old brunette has received several interview offers on American talk shows but she has turned them down due to concerns she may create further unwanted publicity for Catherine – known as Kate Middleton prior to her and Prince William’s wedding in April last year – following the recent publication of topless photographs of the duchess. [channel24]

Russell Crowe And Danielle Spencer Split – Oscar-winner Russell Crowe has split from his wife of nine years, Danielle Spencer. The actor and his musician wife have separated, with Crowe throwing himself into work as a result of the devastating break-up. Crowe and Spencer have two children together, Charles and Tennyson, aged eight and six. The decision is said to have been amicable with Crowe and Spencer committed to protecting their boys at this tough time. Crowe is in the US filming the biblical epic Noah, while Spencer remains in Sydney with their sons. [smh]

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COMING UP TODAY

Hot Water Acoustic Session – Easily one of the most exciting musical projects to come out of SA, Hot Water, will be performing an acoustic session on the Just Josie Show at 13h00 today. [justjosie]

Derek Watts (Dezza) With Bailey Schneider – We can’t contain our excitement at the fact that Bailey Schneider will be interviewing Derek Watts for a full hour on 2oceansvibe Radio today at 14h00. Regular 2oceansvibers will know that we’re huge Derek Watts fans here at the Vibe. We’ve learnt plenty from the great Dezza over the years so tune in from 14h00-15h00 to hear what he has in store for us today. [baileyschneider]

FRESH PODCASTS

The Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media Radio Show featured John Cooney, managing director for Red & Yellow School of Logic and Magic. Cooney has over 40 years industry experience, primarily in the advertising, marketing and media industries. He is a “suit” by inclination and has been involved in media representation, merchandising and promotional management and, for most of his time, in account and agency management. They discuss Red & Yellow School history and future, the impact of the Quirk Merger and The courses offered at Red & Yellow. [podcast]

How To Stretch Your Medical Savings – Many people don’t really understand how their medical aid schemes work, and therefore don’t optimize it. The first step would be to find out what they pay out of the risk side, and what they pay put of for day-to-day savings and make sure you are aware of the limits so that you stay within your budget as much as possible. If you can’t, and end up spending more than 5% of your income on medical care, you are able to claim that back from tax! [podcast]