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Travel agents in Florida that would like to book trips to Cuba got a boost on Friday when the US Justice Department officially opposed a Florida Law that imposed huge obstacles to their businesses. The Obama administration has stated it is reviewing its Cuba policy and there is currently a bill making its way through the House of Representatives (HR874) that would free all US citizens to travel to Cuba.

Cuban scientists have carried out clinical tests of the CIMAvaxEGF product on 800 patients in Canada, Great Britain and Malaysia, reported IPS. The vaccine’s aim is to prolong the progression of tumors as long as possible. Studies on the medicine for lung cancer patients began in 1992.

When the leaders of Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, except Cuba, meet in Trinidad and Tobago for the Americas Summit April 17-19, US President Barack Obama will be setting the tone of his administration in relation to the continent.

As Costa Rica moved to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, and with El Salvador headed in that same direction, the United States signaled on Thursday its approval. The move was noteworthy considering that back in the early 1960s it was the United States that pressured Latin American countries to unilaterally break ties with Cuba in an effort to isolate the young revolution.

President Raul Castro welcomed home the Cuban baseball team at the foot of the plane on Thursday night at the Jose Marti International Airport in the capital. If they had made it to the World Baseball Classic finals there would have been a ticker tape reception instead it was a solemn one.

The Cuban government accepted, through a Foreign Ministry Declaration published today, the “re-establishing diplomatic relations between Costa Rica and Cuba.” On Wednesday Costa Rican President Oscar Arias announced his decision to renew ties with the Caribbean country, which were broken off unilaterally by Costa Rica in 1961.

A new software produced by Cuba, under the name of AvilaLink, will enable grater protection for the island’s computer networks, reported IPS. The program, created in the central province of Ciego de Avila, has been already acquired by the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA), the largest entity involved in the country’s communications sector.

“I confirm that there is absolutely no change in Cuba’s foreign policy,” said Bruno Rodriguez, the new foreign minister, at a press conference Wednesday during the visit by Louis Michel, European Union Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid.

In a do-or-die game in the World Baseball Classic last night in San Diego, Japan did what no other team has done in major baseball tournaments in decades: eliminate Cuba before the semifinals. The numbers speak for themselves; Japan had five runs on eight hits and six walks with only three strikeouts while Cuba was reduced to five hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts.