Luis Araújo

Edson Santos

Thirteen lives were lost, six injured while 9,516 people were rendered homeless during heavy rains recorded in the southern Huíla Province of Angola from January 2009 to February 2010, an official source disclosed to the nation's news agency, ANGOP

The Angolan government should promptly release three human rights defenders who were arrested on apparently political grounds following the January 8, 2010 attack on Togolese footballers in Cabinda, Human Rights Watch has said. Human Rights Watch also expressed concern about the continued detention without charge of five other people.

Angolan women, particularly in government, want to achieve equal representation in the number of decision makers in the coming years, the Minister of Familiy and Women Promotion, Genoveva Lino has said.

Foreign investors looking for a way into Angolan markets need to follow two fundamental rules, writes Rafael Marques de Morais – partner with powerful figures from the regime, and ignore the relevant legislation. Marques de Morais looks at the route taken by leading Portuguese beverage manufacturer, Unicer.

Eugénio Costa Almeida

André de Oliveira, Jefferson Pinheiro, Sarah Brito e Sergio Valentim

Angolan head of state, José Eduardo dos Santos, formed a new government marked by the creation of the post of Vice-president of the Republic which will be occupied by the incumbent speaker of the National Assembly, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos "Nando", according to official sources.

Angola's parliament has approved a new constitution which abolishes direct presidential elections. The head of state will now automatically be the leader of the party with the parliamentary majority.

It does not take a political scientist to infer that it was foolhardy of the Angolan government to agree to host a tournament of this magnitude in a country that has been at war for more than three decades, writes Sonia Maria, a lawyer and civil rights activist from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Angolan legislators are expected to endorse the new constitution that will strengthen the three decades-long rule of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. The vote comes earlier than expected as the nation reels from a deadly rebel attack last week. The vote was expected in March.

Angola is to use the first quarter of 2010 to adopt a new constitution for the country, announced the president of the National Assembly, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos.

In a survey of the business activities of six Angolan MPs, Rafael Marques de Morais concludes that the blatant overlap of personal, commercial and governmental concerns 'makes a mockery of the supposed separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary'. These six influential members of the country's National Assembly operate with complete disrespect for the rule of law, Marques de Morais stresses, as part of a broader pattern of institutionalised arrogance.

Rafael Marques de Morais

The Angolan government should ensure freedom of the press as host of the Africa Cup of Nations, Human Rights Watch has said. The football tournament will take place January 10 to 31, 2010, in four coastal towns in Angola, including in the oil-rich enclave of Cabinda, site of a long-standing separatist insurgency.

The Deputy Commander for Civil/Military Affairs of the US African Command (AFRICOM), Amb. Anthony Holmes, Wednesday visited Luanda, Angola, to foster a working relationship with the Angolan government.

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos was re-elected head of Angola's ruling MPLA party on Wednesday, a move that signals the 67-year old leader plans to extend his three-decade long rule of one of Africa's top oil producers.

Having sought clarification from Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos over his involvement in business activities contravening state regulations, Rafael Marques de Morais discusses the broad culture of corruption and questionable practices normalised within the country's government. Considering why the president's dubious actions enjoy the total support of members of the government, Marques de Morais concludes that the answer lies in mutual benefit: 'they do as the president wishes so that they too may act with impunity'.

As Angola celebrates 34 years of independence on 11 November, Khadija Sharife looks at the legacy of war, oil and geopolitics in a country where the future of its chief export, oil, has already been mortgaged.

Resource-rich Angola was once known as the scene of Africa's longest-running civil war. Today, life expectancy hovers around 44 years — not unlike that of an average Briton living in the 1800s. Over 70% of the population lives in poverty, and the country has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world. And the nation's lifetime dictator of 30 years, Jose Dos Santos, leader of the liberation-party-turned-permanent-government, the MPLA, does not appear to have lost his lust for the throne.

Angola is considering setting up a Norwegian-style sovereign wealth fund to manage its oil revenues. Angola has said it plans to have the new sovereign wealth fund ready to invest its oil money abroad this year but has yet to announce a date for its launch.