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The US government “has not changed its Cuba policy,” there barely “have been some cosmetic measures that do not point to the lifting of the [half century] blockade against our country,” affirmed Carlos Miguel Pereira, Cuban ambassador to China, reported IPS.

Cuban authorities reported today the detection of 31 new cases of the AH1N1 virus on the island. “All the patients have evolved favorably and the majority no longer require medical care,” stated the health officials.

US President Barack Obama expressed today in a communiqué his “sincere hope” that all Cuban political prisoners be released. Earlier this year, Cuban President Raul Castro offered to swap the prisoners in Cuban jails convicted of taking funds from the US government and associating with Miami based terrorist groups, for the Cuban Five, held in US prisons since 1998 for allegedly conspiring to commit espionage.

The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) is holding a top level meeting in Maracay, Venezuela today in which the organization that promotes mutually beneficial trade and social development will officially increase from six to nine members.

Cuba policy will be one of the points on Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s agenda in her meeting Tuesday with her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama as part of her visit to Washington, affirmed Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), reported IPS.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent a message to his counterpart Raul Castro through Ambassador Gabriel Jimenez, reported IPS. The Mexican president suspended his trip to the island after the measures adopted by the Cuban government in response to the Swing Flu influenza.

The Cuban Council of Churches will hold an open air religious service at the Pedro Marrero soccer stadium in Havana on July 11th, announced Marcial Hernandez, the organization’s president. It is estimated that some 600,000 of the island’s 11.2 million inhabitants belong to Protestant dominations, reported IPS.

Faced with the impact of the global economic crisis on an economy highly dependent on imports, the Cuban Baseball Federation is looking to reactivate the local sports industry to cut imports of equipment from countries such as China, reported IPS.

Cuban parliament speaker Ricardo Alarcón affirmed in statements to CNN that “it is inconceivable, impossible, to imagine normal relations between the United States and Cuba” while the Cuban Five remain imprisoned (since 1998) in the U.S., convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.