• Philippines’ watchdog probes Facebook over Cambridge Analytical data breach. The National Privacy Commission addressed a letter to Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, that it would look into how Facebook shares personal data of Filipino users with third parties, and demand concrete action to protect their data privacy rights. The Cambridge Analytical scandal affected 1.17 million accounts in the country, the largest after the United States.
  • Kenya’s $3.5 billion inter-city expressway delayed due to debt concerns. Kenya’s second-biggest infrastructure project will be delayed amid concerns by lawmakers that East Africa’s largest economy is taking on too much debt. The World Bank estimates that Kenya’s Debt-to-GDP ratio may hit 58% in June.
  • Ivory Coast inaugurated its first Senate in the parliament amid controversies. On Thursday, President Alassane Ouattara inaugurated a new Senate for the West African nation’s parliament, but the country’s main opposition group feels aggrieved. The rival faction had boycotted the referendum that approved the charter for a new Senate as well as polls last month that elected 66 members to the 99-seat body.
  • Google’s new app in Africa to reduce data needed for internet searches by 40%. Google is releasing Google Go in Africa in an attempt to extend its reach into emerging markets such as sub-Saharan Africa. The Silicon Valley giant has been making inroads into Africa by laying fibre-optic cable on the continent, producing cheaper Android phones and promoting education in digital skills.
  •  Sudan’s economic recovery gets tougher with inflation rising to 55.6 percent in March. The inflation rate in Sudan rose from 54.34 percent in February, the state statistics agency said on Thursday. This comes amid rising food prices that have kindled unrest and a hard currency shortage that has crimped imports. Since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s oil output, the main source of foreign currency and government income have been partly wiped out.
  • Nigeria’s Boko Haram has abducted more than 1, 000 children, UNICEF. Nigeria’s Boko Haram group have abducted more than 1,000 children in the northeast since 2013, the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, said on Friday. The notable have been the 110 schoolgirls from the town of Dapchi and the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok four years ago.
  • Zimbabwe to sell shares in 35 state-owned firms, says Finance Minister. In a bid to revive the economy, Zimbabwe will look to sell shares in 35 state-owned firms, including telecoms and mining entities, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Friday. New President Emmerson Mnangagwa has made reviving the economy his top priority.
  • Nigeria’s stock market dipped as market capitalisation dropped by N14 billion. On Thursday the Nigerian Stock Exchange experienced a downturn, with the market capitalisation, All-Share Index and volume of shares all declining. Dangote Cement emerged the day’s highest price loser, shedding N2.00 to close at N258 per share, while Unilever trailed with a loss of N1.90 kobo.