Thousands staged a mass rally in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, last Friday night in solidarity with the Palestinian nation amid relentless Israeli aggression in the occupied West Bank and war-torn Gaza Strip.
The demonstrators marched through the streets roundly rejecting their country’s normalisation of ties with the occupying regime.
They burned an Israeli flag and demanded the abolition of Morocco’s normalisation agreement with Israel, as they voiced support for the Palestinian resistance front and the people of Gaza.
Activists affiliated with the non-governmental organisation ‘National Action Group for Palestine’ converged outside the parliament building in Rabat to reaffirm their unwavering support for Palestinian resistance against Israeli aggression, and to censure the Israeli military’s atrocities in the Gaza Strip.
They waved Palestinian flags and carried placards reading: ‘Moroccans send greetings to the Palestinian people and commemorate the historic victory of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupiers and all imperialist powers that support them’.
Other signs read: ‘Genocide, systematic starvation and siege in Gaza are Zionist-Nazi crimes with the participation of Arab and international actors against the Palestinian people.’
Protesters chanted slogans including: ‘Gaza is a symbol of dignity,’ ‘Despite starvation and destruction, Gaza is free and will not collapse,’ and ‘O free people everywhere, stop the massacres and open the crossings.’
They also shouted: ‘It is shameful that Gaza is being destroyed,’ along with antiIsrael and anti-normalisation chants such as ‘You Zionists are cowardly and child killers, ‘The people want an end to normalisation,’ and ‘Death to normalisation.’
The demonstrators ended the protest by setting the Israeli flag ablaze.
- Meanwhile in Nigeria, the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) has rejected the government’s enforcement of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy, vowed to carry on its nationwide industrial action until its demands are met.
The union described the order as unlawful and contrary to the provisions of the Trade Disputes Act.
The strike, which began on November 14, 2025, continues to disrupt services.
In a statement jointly signed by JOHESU’s National Chairman, Kabiru Ado Minjibir, and Secretary, Martin Egbanubi, the union described the government’s directive as an attempt to weaken the resolve of health workers.
‘What we need is dialogue, not threats’ they said.
‘Applying “No Work, No Pay” goes against the principle of fair negotiation. Government should follow the rules, meet our demands and resolve the issues.’
Their response follows a letter from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, which ordered Chief Medical Directors to stop the salaries of striking members.
JOHESU’s grievances include the persistent failure of the government to implement the adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and a recent ‘discriminatory’ circular on retirement ages.
Dismissing the ‘No Work, No Pay’ threat as coercive, JOHESU insisted that such measures cannot erase decades of systemic injustice.
The union maintains that its members – comprising nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, and other allied professionals – remain undeterred.
The leadership described the strike as a ‘resistance with purpose’ and urged members to ‘hold the line’ despite the financial pressure.
The federal government has instructed hospitals to maintain critical services, such as accident and emergency and intensive care units, through the use of locum staff.
While the government maintains its stance on the legality of the salary forfeiture, the strike continues to leave thousands of patients stranded in public hospitals nationwide.
- Elsewhere, in Zimbabwe, trade unions representing Harare City Council (HCC) workers are up in arms with the local authority over non-payment of salaries, with their members threatening to strike before schools open this week.
HCC employees are beginning the year without having received December salaries.
The Municipal Workers Union of Zimbabwe (MWUZ) was represented by its leader George Matongera; the Water and Allied Workers Union of Zimbabwe was represented by Themba Musarurwa; and the Zimbabwe Allied Municipalities Workers Union was represented by Wilson Chokuda.
Shadreck Chikoore represented the Combined Municipalities Workers Union of Zimbabwe.
Matongera condemned the fact that workers went on holiday without receiving their salaries.
The trade unions have written to HCC management – whose bosses are reportedly out of town.
‘We had agreed with our employers that all arrears should have been cleared by December 31, but they failed to do so,’ Matongera said, adding:
‘We have written to the chairperson of the National Employment Council. The workers are owed salaries for November and December, as well as their bonus.
‘We had Christmas and the New Year; they have rent to pay and we are now approaching schools opening. So workers are demanding that the outstanding salaries be paid.
‘The workers are now thinking that we, the leaders of the trade unions, are in bed with their employers, and that is not true.
‘Another issue is that from October to December last year, we received a number of reports that workers were dying due to a lack of protective clothing.
‘People are dying at work without protective clothing. Employees are not happy. The workers are not being paid.
‘We are urging the government to intervene in these matters because workers are now thinking that we are working together with Harare City Council officials.’
Chokuda also criticised Harare City officials for not having the workers’ plight at heart.
He said: ‘How do you expect workers to pay their rent without receiving their salaries? We are not happy at all.
‘We are now approaching the schools opening, and how do you expect them to pay school fees?
‘These council bosses are paid handsomely and live lavishly.’
- The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for swift action to end casualisation in the tourism sector, particularly in the country’s tourist capital, Livingstone.
ZCTU Secretary General Joy Beene said it is disappointing that even large multinational hotels in Livingstone are engaging in casual employment practices.
He appealed to Tourism Minister Rodney Sikumba and the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Brenda Tambatamba, to work closely with unions to tackle the issue.
Beene said casualisation should no longer have a place in the industry, adding that workers deserve decent, long-term and permanent contracts to improve their livelihoods.
- South Africa has defended week-long naval drills with Russia, Iran, China and other countries as ‘essential’, describing the manoeuvres off its coast as a vital response to rising global maritime tensions.
The ‘Will for Peace 2026’ exercises, that began on Saturday off the coast of Cape Town, come just days after the United States seized a Venezuela-linked Russian oil tanker in the North Atlantic, claiming it had violated Western sanctions.
The seizure, part of a continued US pressure campaign against Venezuela, followed US attacks on the South American country and the abduction of its president, Nicolas Maduro.
The naval exercises also come at a time of heightened tensions between US President Donald Trump’s administration and several BRICS Plus countries, including China, Iran, South Africa and Brazil.
Captain Nndwakhulu Thomas Thamaha, South Africa’s joint task force commander, told the opening ceremony on Saturday that the drills were more than a military exercise, and are a statement of intent among the BRICS group of nations.
‘It is a demonstration of our collective resolve to work together,’ Thamaha said.
‘In an increasingly complex maritime environment, cooperation such as this is not an option, it is essential.’
The exercises also aimed to ‘ensure the safety of shipping lanes and maritime economic activities,’ he added.
Asked about the timing of the event, South Africa’s Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa said on Friday that the drills had been planned long before the current spike in global tensions.
Holomisa said: ‘Let us not press panic buttons because the USA has got a problem with countries. Those are not our enemies.
‘Let’s focus on cooperating with the BRICS countries and make sure that our seas, especially the Indian Ocean and Atlantic, are safe.’