Nigeria returned to the scene of their FIFA World Cup penalty shootout heartbreak from last November, and were once again turned back in tears after losing 4-2 to hosts Morocco in the semifinal of the African Cup of Nations.

Christians killed in Nigeria reaches alarming levels as Open Doors reports 3,490 of 4,849 Christians murdered worldwide for their faith occurred in Nigeria.

Nigeria, like Iran and Venezuela, has become a target of the United States’ increasingly aggressive foreign policy under President Donald Trump. The U.S. military launched airstrikes on northwestern Nigeria’s Sokoto state on Christmas Day, claiming that it was protecting Christians from what Trump called “ISIS Terrorist Scum.”

After a tense game went the distance, Morocco held their nerve in the shoot-out to set up a final with Senegal

Loveness Bernard / BackPagePix Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle is uncertain about his future with the national team following their Africa

The $9 million deal with DCI Group appears to be a record for African lobbying in Washington, wrote The Africa Report.

Nigeria has hired a U.S. lobbying firm to help maintain U.S. support and counter what it has called misinformation by Christian Evangelical groups and other U.S. lobbyists about what its government is doing to protect Christians in the country.