A large tract of near-pristine Afromontane forest has been found in Angola's Namba Mountains, tripling the amount of this habitat that was thought to survive in Angola. The site meets the criteria for a new Important Bird Area (IBA), holding one globally threatened species, and assemblages of restricted range and biome-restricted bird species. Afromontane forest is the most localised and threatened habitat type in Angola. By the early 1970s, only 200 hectares was estimated to remain, mainly at the Mount Moco IBA, and perhaps in the Namba Mountains, where most forest was thought to be degraded by logging.

Perched in an isolated spot some 30km (18 miles) outside Angola's capital, Luanda, Nova Cidade de Kilamba is a brand-new mixed residential development of 750 eight-storey apartment buildings, a dozen schools and more than 100 retail units. Despite all the hype, nearly a year since the first batch of 2,800 apartments went on sale, only 220 have been sold. Apartments at Kilamba are being advertised online costing between $120,000 and $200,000 - well out of reach of the estimated two-thirds of Angolans who live on less than $2 a day.

Preparations for Angola’s second peacetime polls scheduled for August are being overshadowed by allegations of electoral fraud, state media bias and growing concerns about a violent crackdown on activists and protestors. Human Rights Watch has criticised the government for its heavy-handed response to street demonstrations by former soldiers demanding unpaid military pensions, and the lobby group said that it was worried about a series of violent attacks on youth groups known for their criticism of the government. 'The recent spate of serious abuses against protesters is an alarming sign that Angola’s government will not tolerate peaceful dissent,' said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director.

Only nine Angolan parties and coalitions of the 27 that put themselves forward will be permitted to battle it out in upcoming parliamentary elections. 'The Constitutional Court found in favour of nine political bodies, of which five political parties and four coalitions,' the oil-rich nation's top constitutional authority said. The body, which has to okay parties ahead of the polls, considered applications of 27 political bodies, but rejected 18. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and main opposition National Union for the Independence of Angola (Unita), as well as three other parties, were cleared to take part.

The Angolan Constitutional Court has received lists of candidates from 27 political formations for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 31 August. Making the announcement, court boss Onofre dos Santos said the 19 parties and eight coalitions now had 10 days to correct their nomination irregularities or inadequacies. Mr Santos said the irregularities or inadequacies would include replacement of candidates.

Global Voices reports on the crackdown on political activists in Angola. On 11 June, Luaty Beirão, also known as Ikonoklasta or Brigadeiro Mata Frakuxz, was arrested at the airport of Lisbon, for allegedly carrying cocaine in his luggage. 'On social media, many people commented that the real reason behind #Ikonoklasta's detention was political. In recent times, the rapper's voice of dissent has become more and more visible, as he openly lent support to the frequent street protests in Luanda.'

Reuters reports on a London court case that 'has been given a glimpse into the opaque world of Angolan diamonds, in a battle between a Russian-Israeli tycoon and his one-time partner that has also thrown up how modern-day buccaneers are building fortunes from Africa's resources.' Reuters suggests Angolan officials have tried to stop the case because of the embarrassment it may cause in an election year.

Activist Adolfo Campos André, aged 32, survived an attack on 15 June. Two Toyota Landcruisers blocked his car, a Chevrolet Spark, in Petrangol Road in Luanda. According to his statement, two of the individuals struck him on the face with the ends of their guns at the same time, leaving him with injuries next to his right eye. Adolfo André has organised youth demonstrations against the long tenure of president José Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in office since 1979.

Angola is bankrolling a concerted campaign to secure SA's efforts to win support for Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to lead the African Union (AU) with a $200,000 pledge to finance lobbying ahead of the AU summit. Oil-rich Angola, signalling its foreign policy ambitions on the continent, has combined in the campaign with SA, which is chartering aircraft to take teams of cabinet ministers to lobby around the continent.

All political parties in Angola will benefit from government financial support, it has been announced. Parliamentary Affairs minister Norberto dos Santos said every party and recognised coalition would be allocated at least $90,000 (9.6 million Kwanzas). The money is meant to help the parties prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for August 31. Dos Santos said 77 parties and seven coalitions recognised by the constitutional would be funded.

Violence against the youth, who have been organizing anti-government protests, is the most prominent aspect of the campaign by the regime to entrench itself in power. Yet, a more sinister operation has been unfolding: kidnappings and torture.

The puzzling question remains: Why would the two political activists be kidnapped when the protest they had planned had already been aborted?

Rampant poverty is the main source of potential instability in Angola, with the main threat emerging from rapidly growing cities, according to this paper commissioned by the US Africa Command and written by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

A group of rappers in Angola known for their anti-government lyrics have been beaten up in the capital, Luanda. About 15 masked men burst into the house where they were meeting. 'They didn't say a word, they just started to beat the people,' Kady Mixinge, a member of the group who was injured in the raid, told the BBC.

Angolan security and immigration forces have raped and tortured migrants during deportations of hundreds of thousands of people to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said. 'Women and girls have been victims of sexual abuse including gang rape, and of sexual exploitation,' the group said in a report based on 211 interviews conducted since 2009. Angola has deported around 400,000 illegal immigrants - most from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - since 2003, according to UN data.

Thousands of people rallied Saturday in a demonstration by the opposition Unita, to celebrate a surprise court victory that forced the national elections chief to step down months ahead of polls. Dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with a photo of Unita boss Isaias Samakuva, with many wearing caps in the party's trademark red and green, thousands sang and danced in a plaza in the Angolan capital.

This special program of Africa Today is on the case of the Angola 3 - Herman Wallace, Alert Woodfox and Robert King. Woodfox and Wallace have served more than 14,500 days in solitary confinement in the Louisiana Prison System. A discussion on the issues of incarceration and solitary confinement with Robert King of the Angola 3, Marina Drummer of the Angola 3 Support Committee, Everette Thompson of Amnesty International and Professor Allen-Bell.

Something fishy is definitely going on in the belated trial of journalist Ramiro Aleixo over articles he wrote nearly five years ago. It is an extraordinary opportunity to evaluate the Angolan judicial system.

In this BBC video, Komla Dumor reports that luxury cars are selling fast Luanda, the capital of Angola. In fact, the local Porsche dealership cannot keep up with demand.

The trial of journalist Ramiro Aleixo began on 11 May, 2012, at the Luanda Provincial Court, in Angola. Aleixo stands accused of the crimes of defamation, slander and injury against the military justice system, namely its Supreme Court and office of the military attorney. From a legal standpoint, the accusation against Mr. Aleixo has two serious flaws, says the blog makaangola.org.