Beach holidays

Senegal kicked off their campaign to defend their title with a resounding 3-0 win against Gambia. Five-time champions Cameroon were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Guinea. And Algeria were held 1-1 by Angola.

An historic trial opened on January 8 for the West African nation of The Gambia. Ousman Sonko, a former high-ranking member of the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh, is in the dock in Switzerland for a series of alleged crimes against humanity committed between 2000 and 2016. Victims of the dictatorship have high hopes for the trial.

Women's rights are under threat as Gambia's parliament discusses a bill to roll back a ban on female genital mutilation.