US President George W Bush has called on Angola's leaders to seize the opportunity presented by the death of Unita rebel leader Jonas Savimbi and bring an end to the country's long-running civil war.

The campaign group Global Witness has called on the Angolan government to introduce greater transparency and accountability over its oil accounts to end the alleged "full-scale embezzlement" of oil revenues.

The death of veteran Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi has added new impetus to the search for a settlement to the country's long-running civil war, analysts told IRIN over the weekend.

Angola's traditional leaders this week added their voices to the call for an immediate ceasefire and the creation of a sovereign national conference to discuss the country's political future.

One of the most respected painters in the country, August Ferreira, has recently embraced a different task. Ferreira is now a leading commissioner for Ensarte-prize launched this year by the Angola´s insurance company (ENSA), which will reward painting and sculpture winning artists with usd 10,000. The painter is in charge of receiving and, administrativelly, keep the paintings and take them to a juror which will gather, by the end of April, to reward the winners. This will sure be remembered by Ferreira who, three years ago, displayed an exhibit on “memories and experiences”, summing up more than thirty years of his painting.

Calling on the international community to "remember Angola", UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the country's protracted conflict had led to levels of suffering that were "truly shocking".

Fleeing fighting in the Angolan countryside, more than 5,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) arrived in the eastern city of Luena in January, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest situation report.

The MPLA government and Jonas Savimbi's armed movement, Unita appear ready for a new effort at peace talks to end Angola's almost 30-year civil war, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Advisor on Africa, Ibrahim A. Gambari told reporters Monday. "I went to Angola to persuade Savimbi to come to the table and it appears to be working."

The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis in central Angola, where every month thousands more people are being driven from their homes and fields, and seeking emergency assistance in the towns.

More senior UNITA soldiers have been captured, lending support to claims by the Angolan army that Jonas Savimbi is surrounded with the net tightening. The Angolan army is reported to have recovered personal property belonging to Jonas Savimbi, indicating that it is getting closer to capturing the leader of the rebel-movement UNITA. Amongst the items recently seized near Cassamba in Moxico province was a hunting rifle given to Savimbi by former South African President PW Botha.

Insecurity in the southeastern province of Moxico has sent thousands of people fleeing into the capital, Luena, and aid workers expect more people to flock to the town for humanitarian aid in coming weeks.

Journalist Rafael Marques has been ordered by the Provincial Court of Luanda to pay compensation of 30,000 kwanza (approx. US$950) to President Eduardo dos Santos, after the court found him guilty of defaming, slandering and injuring the president. The charge relates to a 3 July 1999 article by Marques published in "Agora" newspaper, in which he referred to dos Santos as a dictator. The article, titled "The Lipstick of Dictatorship", said that dos Santos was "responsible for the destruction of the country and the promotion of corruption".

Members of the UN Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA are in Luanda to hold discussions with diplomats, civil society and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos' government.

Salary: £27,346pa
Closing Date: 8 Feb 2002

UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, has appealed for US $18 million to fund its projects in war-wracked Angola, much of which it hopes to spend on reducing the country's appalling child mortality rate.

The Angolan army, FAA, has drawn closer to defeating Jonas Savimbi's UNITA movement, with army sources indicating that the rebel leader is within weeks rather than months of capture. A FAA source stated that in Moxico province - in the east of the country - it has surrounded a large UNITA military contingent which it believes is protecting Savimbi.

United Nations Under-Secretary for Africa, Ibrahim Gambari, held talks in the United Stated last week with a senior UNITA official in an attempt to get the warring parties back to the negotiating table, diplomatic sources have confirmed to IRIN.

Angola's easternmost province, Moxico, is intensely green at this time of year. Nevertheless, people there are close to starvation.