Emmanuel Akinwotu

Cable Verde fans partied into the night in Atlanta after their team playing in the World Cup for the first time secured one of the more famous results in the tournament's history.

What on the surface is a goalless draw in the opening game means far more.

It's the first time Cable Verde is playing in the World Cup.

They're one of the smallest countries to ever compete in the tournament, which has expanded to 48 teams.

Critics argued the expansion would diminish the quality of the competition, but fans have hailed the result as one of their best ever and proof they deserve to be there.

Emmanuel Akimotu, NPR News, Lagos.

Dozens of fans met Omar Artan as he landed in Mogadishu from Istanbul.

Officials have also planned a welcome event where hundreds of fans are expected to attend.

Artan was named Africa's top referee last year, but was denied entry to the U.S.

after an 11-hour interrogation at Miami International Airport.

The decision has sparked widespread outrage, including at international football's governing body, FIFA, who previously said access to the World Cup for all teams, fans and officials was a minimum requirement.

The Trump administration said Artan was denied entry due to, quote, association with suspected members of terror organisations.

Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR News, Lagos.

According to the Apsala Conflict Data Programme, fatalities from a growing number of conflicts rose to nearly a quarter of a million last year.

The deadliest violence were massacres in a city in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

It pushed one-sided violence in Africa to its highest levels since the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

More than 60,000 people were killed in the city of Al-Fashir by the rapid support forces at war with Sudan's army for the last three years.

The RSF had launched a brutal 18-month siege on the city before it took it over last October.

The violence against African ethnic groups bore the hallmarks of a genocide, according to the UN.

Emmanuel Akimotu, NPR News, Lagos.