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By Jonny Hogg and Ed Stoddard KINSHASA/KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, South Africa (Reuters) - The hit job was done by professionals who swooped over their quarry in a helicopter before opening fire. The scene beneath the rotor blades would have been chilling: panicked mothers shielding their young, hair-raising screeches and a mad scramble through the blood-stained bush as bullets rained down from the sky. When the shooting was over, 22 elephants lay dead, one of the worst such killings in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo in living memory

Some 2.7 billion years ago in what is now Omdraaisvlei farm near Prieska, South Africa, a brief storm dropped mild rain on a new layer of ash laid down by a recent volcanic eruption (not unlike ash from the 2010 Eyjafjallaj

In late November 2011 I went to Johannesburg, South Africa, to meet the newest member of the human family, a nearly two million–year-old creature dubbed Australopithecus sediba. First announced in 2010, its fossilized bones have caused quite a commotion in paleoanthropological circles--and with good reason. They are some of the most complete early hominins (the group that includes modern humans and their extinct relatives) ever found, and they exhibit a combination of apelike and humanlike traits that no one would have predicted.

In late November 2011 I went to Johannesburg, South Africa, to meet the newest member of the human family, a nearly two million–year-old creature dubbed Australopithecus sediba. First announced in 2010, its fossilized bones have caused quite a commotion in paleoanthropological circles--and with good reason

A scientific panel has narrowly recommended South Africa over Australia as the best site for the proposed Square Kilometre Array (SKA), an enormous radio telescope (see " Astronomy in South Africa: The long shot ").

Two endangered rhinos have been critically injured and a third died after poachers in South Africa hunted the animals down and chopped off their horns. Rhino horn possession of which is banned under international law is valued for use in traditional Asian medicine to treat cancer and other disorders, even though the horns made of keratin like that in our fingernails and hair have no actual medicinal value. Still, demand is so high that horns can fetch prices higher than gold

In a previous Fast Company article , I wrote about hitchhiking. Specifically, what I’ve learned about hitching a ride in semi-rural South Africa and how these strategies apply to marketing. I learned something by accident last month that took my thumbing skills to a whole new level.

In a previous Fast Company article , I wrote about hitchhiking. Specifically, what I’ve learned about hitching a ride in semi-rural South Africa and how these strategies apply to marketing. I learned something by accident last month that took my thumbing skills to a whole new level

KWADUKUZA, South Africa--A Zulu crowd's ululations welcomed Jacob Zuma, president of the Republic of South Africa, back to KwaZulu–Natal, his home province. He had come to tell them of his commitment to bring them, and the rest of the nation, better access to energy--as well as to announce the distribution of solar-powered hot water heaters and LED lighting systems as well as clean-burning cookstoves. [More]

In a single year, a couple got married, got pregnant, and founded a fast-growing company.

You no longer have to work at a massive corporation to access resources, or to have a chance to change the world.

You no longer have to work at a massive corporation to access resources, or to have a chance to change the world. Here's why. In the five years since I left a big, corner office at a large corporation , I've experienced the leveling of the playing field between David- and Goliath-sized companies

You no longer have to work at a massive corporation to access resources, or to have a chance to change the world.

Paleontologist Lee Berger displays the skull and partial skeleton of a juvenile male Australopithecus sediba. Photo by Kate Wong During a recent reporting trip to South Africa for a forthcoming feature article on a new fossil human species called A ustralopithecus sediba , I asked readers to submit their questions about this dazzling find. Inquiries about the nearly two-million-year-old hominin–which has been held up as a possible ancestor of our genus, Homo –came in via Twitter, Google Plus and the comments section of this blog.

DURBAN, South Africa I rented a cellphone during my sojourn here to cover the recent climate change negotiations . A local number enabled me to keep in touch with home and office but also, perhaps more importantly, to make appointments on the fly with ever harried international negotiators