Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon dismissed President Barack Obama’s recent overtures to Cuba and said for the first time that the new US administration’s stance is “the continuation of an illegal, unjustifiable and failed policy”.

RIVALRY between the late Tony Gregory and his Dublin Central constituency opponent Bertie Ahern was “never personal” the former Taoiseach said yesterday, adding it was a result of their “eagerness to deliver for local residents”.

Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon has called on the US government to release five Cuban men serving long prison terms on espionage conspiracy charges after a US federal appeals court threw out their convictions and sentences.