A scandal has broken out in the South African birdwatching fraternity over the mysterious disappearance of rare bird eggs from a nest in Zimbabwe.

The tobacco industry is secretly scheming to increase smoking among young people, especially under-age youth. In South Africa the campaign to do so is highly creative - and illegal.

President Bush's expressed aim of overthrowing tyranny and spreading democracy doesn't seem to include Equitoreal Guinea. There are good - or at least substantial - reasons. Reasons that Mark Thatcher, until recently of Constantia, might well have considered before involving himself in the ill-fated attempt to oust brutal dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

Mandela biographer Anthony Sampson, aka "Mr Drum", died in December. He was great friend to South Africa. James Sanders bids a fond farewell.

When Eric Hammond signed a contract with Total for a filling station in the Strand, he accepted assurances that a troubling bit of fine print was standard. Big mistake.

The Hout Bay fishing saga continues. In this month's episode: Shantaal Meter tries to take revenge on Joy Grey, and unscrupulous lawyers rip-off fishermen.

While millions of citizens are drowning in a sea of crime, a few expensively educated and supposedly sophisticated men and women, senior advocates and judges, are devoting all their best efforts to elevating the legal enterprise called divorce to an intricate art form, each specimen taking years and costing millions to perfect.

Three witnesses, about to testify in a case involving a Durban businessman, all meet untimely deaths. Coincidence?

The extraordinary role played by Kebble konneko John Stratton at DRD.

The South African Revenue Service threatens noseweek in a bid to stop us revealing more about the Kebble tax mystery. Read what SARS is so keen to hide.