Riekje Pelgrim

Caroline* from Harare comes to Jo’burg twice a month to shop. She does not like the place, but needs to come here to support her family. "I buy things here, so I can sell them in Zimbabwe," says Caroline, who buys mostly industrial goods, such as rubber, for making couches. There are thousands of so-called cross-border shoppers like Caroline who come to Jo’burg every year.

Elphus Mashile smiles contentedly as he enjoys the sunshine from the stoep of a colonial-style house set in a manicured garden. "I am so happy that I can stay at Keurboom," he says. "I do not know how I would get treatment if I could not come to this place." This is Mashile’s second visit to the Keurboom Interim Home in Belgravia, which provides support and care for patients undergoing treatment for cancer.

The way to make a small fortune in the movie industry — including with hits such as <i>Tsotsi</i> — is to start with a large fortune. Despite its Oscar, <i>Tsotsi</i> will not be a great moneymaker, says Peter Fudakowski, producer of <i>Tsotsi</i> and head of the UK Film and Television Foundation, which financed 50% of the movie.

Two new developments in the morbid world of undertaking are breathing new life into the coffin trade, which has seen prices rise exponentially, with even poor families spending up to R20&nbsp;000 for a casket. The Eco-Friendly Coffin and the Every-Body DIY Coffin aim to make the business of dying not only affordable but also environmentally friendly.

A week after the confirmation of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Nigeria, culling and containment has been slow and inconsistent, triggering concern across the African continent. The problems in Nigeria are numerous. Millions of chickens are dying; both government and local communities claim they have been badly informed.

The upmarket suburb of Manor Gardens in Durban may look serene, but is home to ground zero in the fight against Aids. The iThemba Lethu Milk Bank is the first in the world to provide breast milk exclusively for babies abandoned or orphaned by the virus. The initiative is designed to help boost the fragile immune systems of these vulnerable children.