IT grieves me that my remarks (Letters, June 16) in relation to soldiers and doctors and their relative usefulness in Haiti have caused offence — they were not intended to hurt. Nothing is as painful for a parent of any nationality as having to bury his son and my heart goes out to John Fenton. (Letters, January 19).

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.