79 years ago, on August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States of America (USA) dropped two atomic bombs on the populations of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing the immediate death of many tens of thousands of people and many more in the days, months and years that followed. The effects of the radiation are still felt today, as evidenced by the high rates of malformations and cancer diseases that continue to be recorded there.

Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1974, Turkish military forces invaded Cyprus, following the coup d'état that had taken place there a few days earlier, with NATO's involvement. Since then, Türkiye has illegally occupied Cypriot territories.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit taking place in Washington on July 9 and 10, marking the 75th. anniversary of the creation of this political-military bloc, is bad news for the safeguarding of peace and collective security, and for the rights and sovereignty of the world's peoples, given its stated or reaffirmed warmongering aims.

The Handala, which is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition fleet, docked on Wednesday July 3, shortly after 2pm at Lisbon's Parque das Nações Marina on a leg of its "For the children of Gaza" mission. Representatives from the four organisations (CPPC, MPPM, CGTP-IN and Projecto Ruído) that host the Handala in Portugal were on board to meet the crew.

Audience in the Assembly of the Republic

The Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC) reaffirms its long-standing demand that the United States remove Cuba from its arbitrary and illegitimate list of so-called "state sponsors of terrorism". Cuba's inclusion in this infamous list has serious consequences for the country's economy, in practice reinforcing the criminal and illegal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the US for more than 60 years, which represents the most serious obstacle to Cuba's full development.

The Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC) strongly condemns the atrocious bombing against a Palestinian refugee camp in the northwest of Rafah, which Israel carried out early this morning and which caused at least 50 deaths, many of them children.

The Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC) values the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this Friday, May 24, to order the immediate interruption of Israel's military offensive – which began on May 7 – against the Palestinian city of Rafah.

The ICJ also decided that Israel should keep the Rafah crossing open for the unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.

On the day that marks 76 years since the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and lands by Israeli militias and army in 1948 – at the time of the founding of the State of Israel –, the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC) denounces, condemns and demands an immediate end to the genocide perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip and reaffirms its solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people for the implementation of their inalienable and legitimate national rights.

This May 9, when we mark the 79th. anniversary of the victory over Nazi-fascism in World War II, the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation reaffirms its determination to continue the struggle for peace, disarmament, sovereignty and social progress.

The Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation strongly condemns the massacre of the Palestinian people that Israel continues to carry out with impunity in the Gaza Strip.

From May 6 to 7, Israel bombed Rafah, including homes, causing more deaths adding to the more than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, that Israeli military forces and settlers have killed in the last seven months.