The latest mutterings from the super-brain that is Donald Trump, on his ideas for the future of Gaza, describe the area as a “demolition site” (“Trump reveals plan for US ‘takeover’ of Gaza and threatens Palestinians with forced relocation,” Wednesday 5 February).
Sadly, he fails to mention that the total demolition of Gaza was carried out by Israel using a limitless supply of munitions mainly supplied by the USA.
What we wonder will be the UK’s response to Trump’s “Riviera” plan, involving the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians? Will Keir Starmer condemn this – or continue with his policy of just doing nothing in the face of the US and the Israeli lobbyists?
Geoff Forward
Stirling
The latest press conference between Presidents Trump and Netanyahu produced a few surprises, several horrific ones – and almost all that were certainly immoral (“Arab world rejects Trump’s plan for US to 'take over' Gaza and relocate Palestinians”, Wednesday 5 February).
Living in Australia, I am very aware of the impact that the displacement of people on the basis of race can have. The native Aboriginal people here are still fighting for their rights after losing their land, their culture, their health and their heart to European settlers.
Trump’s suggestion of sending in the military to achieve this is surely an act of war. His justification is that the people there are “living in hell – Gaza is not a place for people to be living".
It is a place of hell because it has been bombed to oblivion by its neighbours in Israel. They need help rebuilding, for a sustainable peaceful future.
After all, by Trump’s same logic, the many people who have lost their homes in Los Angeles to fires might as well stop rebuilding and be deported.
Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne, Australia
Adjust Ofsted, rather than reinvent it
The government’s latest attempt to revise and improve the Ofsted experience appears somewhat shambolic (“New Ofsted report cards met by fierce backlash as it scraps single-word judgments”, Monday 3 February).
The tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry following a school inspection sponsored this attempt at betterment. Yet sadly, it seems to have failed, creating more potential confusion for the most important element in the process – the parents.
The teaching unions are not happy about the situation, but then again, they never are.
I do not believe that major reinvention of the wheel is needed – just key adjustments. I write after a lifetime in the teaching profession and, dare I say, as a former local president of the National Association of Head Teachers and the National Education Union.
Ian Duckworth
Billington, Lancashire
Don’t forget to train the humans
Following a recent article in the Independent (“Wes Streeting announces landmark trial to harness AI to speed up breast cancer screening”, Tuesday 4 February), I noted the Royal College of Radiologists’ comment that “the need to build radiology capacity remains urgent”.
AI has immense potential to enhance breast cancer diagnostics and care, particularly in improving the speed and accuracy of mammogram analysis. However, AI will not replace the need for trained radiologists, pathologists, and other clinicians involved in the diagnosis of breast cancer.
AI is a tool that will complement, and not replace, the expertise of clinicians. It cannot replace essential clinical tasks such as physical examination, discussing findings with patients, performing biopsies, and delivering diagnoses.
While I welcome steps to embrace new technology within the NHS, this trial must not mean that the foot comes off the gas in relation to recruiting and training more specialists.
The human side of medicine remains as important as ever, and we are in the midst of a workforce emergency. The National Breast Imaging Academy will open this autumn, providing training for around 50 new specialists a year, going some way to close the gap, but continued investment in training humans must be considered just as important as training AI.
Nikki Barraclough
Chief executive of Prevent Breast Cancer
Shoot for t’moon
President Donald Trump's appointment as head of Nasa is the billionaire Jared Isaacman, who has previously been to space on one of Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets. With both men united under Donald's leadership, the opportunity for space exploration seems greater than we have seen for decades.
Yorkshire has a space agency called Space Hub Yorkshire. They liaise with universities, IT firms and aerospace companies to encourage investment in space exploration. Perhaps with some international investment and grit, we could one day see a Yorkshire flag on the moon.
Or perhaps, more realistically, we can create some good jobs in an industry that Trump's America is likely to be prioritising as part of an advanced manufacturing free-trade deal.
Tyler Callum Wilson
Leeds, West Yorkshire
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