JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — No sooner had Caster Semenya won the 800-meter women's race at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, than questions were asked about whether she is female. The International Association of Athletics Federations said it is investigating the gender of Semenya.

PRETORIA, South Africa — Muhammed Saib grins excitedly. In two hours he became taller by an inch, his shoe size went from 4 to 5 and he is wearing new, cool black sneakers. “Look at my feet, they are bigger, bouncier, lighter!” he chortles, each step wider and steadier. Saib, 13, just got new prosthetic feet and legs. Born with a rare bone disease, his legs end high on the thigh and he lacks a hip connection.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Long characterized by grassy hills and flat-top mine dumps, the high plateau that is the center of South Africa’s economic and political life has welcomed an unexpected addition to its landscape of late: Tuscan villas.