Africa highlights: Rows in the SA parliament, Nigeria to beef up IDP security

South Africa President Jacob Zuma is now speaking without interruption, following the expulsion of the opposition EFF members.

He is addressing economic concerns saying that South Africa is being affected by global developments and the decline in demand for what the country produces.

Mr Zuma says growth will be low this year and acknowledges that the country could lose its investment grade status from ratings agencies.

He says business, labour and government need to work together to help resolve some of the problems.

SA parliamentCopyright: SA parliament

MPs from South Africa's EFF parliament chanted "Zupta must fall" - referring to President Jacob Zuma and the wealthy Gupta family, who they accuse of having a too close relationship with the president.

And they then were escorted out of the chamber.

SA ParliamentCopyright: SA Parliament

You can watch events here

The interruptions are now continuing in South Africa's parliament with President Zuma waiting to restart his state of the nation address.

SA ParliamentCopyright: SA Parliament

The chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Thandi Modise (right in the picture) who is jointly chairing the session said: "I don't think we're earning South Africa any credit in what we're doing".

President Jacob Zuma is gamely continuing with his speech, congratulating a number of the guests watching in the gallery, as an opposition MP tries to interrupt him.

It's the second attempt to stop the president from speaking.

President Jacob Zuma greets the MPs in all of South Africa's languages and then makes some introductory remarks:

"Our democracy is functional, solid and stable," he says.

He also refers to the row around a message on Facebook from a South African woman that compared black South Africans to monkeys. 

"The journey to a non-racial society has not yet been completed."

South African opposition MP and leader of the small Cope party Terror Lekhota walks out of parliament after being told to leave by the speaker.

He accused the president of breaking his oath of office, saying "we cannot listen to someone who has done this".

It seems that the points of order are now over (for now) and the EFF members are still in their seats.

But as President Zuma tried to start his address he was interrupted by another opposition MP from the Cope party, Terror Lekhota.

The row between the speaker of South Africa's parliament Baleka Mbete and the opposition EFF is continuing.

The speaker has now asked EFF leader Julius Malema to leave because of his regular interruptions.

The speaker of South Africa's parliament Baleka Mbete is trying to restore order as opposition EFF members interrupt her introduction to President Jacob Zuma.

They're complaining about the rules she has laid out for the behaviour of MPs during the state of the nation.

The issue is that last year the EFF MPs were thrown out after causing trouble during the state of the nation speech.

Kenya has until the end of Thursday to prove to the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) that it is tackling cheating in athletics, the BBC has learned.

It comes after a spate of positive drugs tests among the country's athletes and fresh allegations of corruption.

It is thought unlikely Kenya will be able to provide the assurances Wada is seeking and the country could be placed on a 'watch-list' of nations at risk of being in breach of the agency's code.

That could mean a possible ban from the Olympics, which take place later this year in Brazil, and other major events.

Read Dan Roan's investigation on the BBC Sport site.

President Zuma is waiting to address South Africa's parliament, but MPs from the opposition EFF are trying to raise points of order.

The speaker is carrying on regardless.

Last year, EFF members were expelled from parliament during the speech after their regular interruptions.

You can follow it here.

Parliament in Sierra Leone sent the president the Safe Abortion Bill without any amendments, meaning they want the bill to be signed into law.

The bill would allow on-demand abortion in the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy.

It had already been passed unanimously by parliament. 

But President Ernest Bai Koroma refused to sign it into law after meeting with religious leaders in January who condemned it, citing "the sanctity of life".

House Majority Leader, Ibrahim Bundu told me that they'd “listened to all sides as advised by the president” and sent the bill for his signature. 

Under the country’s constitution the president cannot kill a bill that received two-thirds approval of the House. 

The Economic Freedom Fighters have been staking their claim in parliament, sporting their trademark red overalls and matching hard hats. 

This in contrast to the glamorous ball gowns and national costumes worn by some of the guests. 

Singing songs of land ownership and insulting the president with crude songs referring to the Nkandla scandal, they're the ones everyone here are watching, even if some ANC figures have studiously tried to ignore Julius Malema and his noisy crowd. 

All this before President Zumas speech has even begun.

The EFF have promised to obey the rules of parliament but are expected to challenge Mr Zuma's speech with interruptions. 

How will the speaker react and will there be "blowback" from any breach of decorum? 

Outside parliament a thick barricade of barbed wire is keeping protesters back and the police are taking no chances. 

EPACopyright: EPA

He's due to speak in a few minutes.

The live feed should be available on the parliament's YouTube channel.

Lots of people have been commenting on this picture we posted on Facebook of a vendor wearing a suit to sell tiger nuts from a wheelbarrow in a market in Abuja, Nigeria. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

  Kalule Joel in Kampala, Uganda, is sceptical:  

Quote Message: I wonder how many wheelbarrows of nuts he had to sell to buy such a suit, and even then he looks like he gets more than three good meals a day.

I wonder how many wheelbarrows of nuts he had to sell to buy such a suit, and even then he looks like he gets more than three good meals a day.

While Chidi Obasi from Lagos is one among many to worry that he might be sweltering in the heat: 

Quote Message: Heat will finish him

Heat will finish him

And many Ghanaians are commenting that they have seen it all before.

Flame Lampard Gucci in Tema, Ghana says:

Quote Message: It's common here in Ghana

It's common here in Ghana

So Ghanaians, please WhatsApp us your pictures of vendors in suits to +447341070844.  

Ethiopia's most famous athlete Haile Gebreselassie has been talking to the BBC about politics.

He's retired and is now a businessman in Ethiopia, but he has at times talked about his political ambitions.

So what are his views on democracy?

He told Tim Franks from the BBC's Newshour programme that "as an African citizen democracy is a luxury... the most important thing is a good governor".

Hear more of the interview:

The African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom) is tweeting about an advance it has made in southern Somalia by beating back al-Shabab fighters.

Amisom has said in recent weeks that it has been making some strategic withdrawals.

MPs from South Africa's opposition Economic Freedom Fighters have now entered parliament.

The BBC's Karen Allen is in the gallery to capture the atmosphere: