If Trump can't deal with his staff in the White House, how will he handle relationships with the rest of the world?

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Tuesday 01 August 2017 12:50 EDT
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Donald Trump fired his communications director Anthony Scaramucci after just 10 days
Donald Trump fired his communications director Anthony Scaramucci after just 10 days (AP)

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Donald Trump is President of the richest and most powerful state in the world. He has his finger on the nuclear button. Yet, six months into his presidency he has shown he is not competent to sort out his White House staff. What hope is there of him being able to deal with the major issues facing the world? I despair.

Tom Saul
​Wantage

The aim of fertility testing

Your piece on fertility MOTs fails to grasp the core aim of fertility testing. In the UK one in six couples have trouble conceiving, and the only way we can bring this figure down and support natural conception is by focusing on prevention, not just treatment.

In 20 years of testing men and women I have had countless patients incredibly grateful for tests that have enabled them to take proactive measures to protect their ability to conceive naturally and avoid expensive and exhausting IVF treatment. Equally it has provided others with peace of mind that they still have time before they need to consider children.

A preventative approach through early diagnosis could save huge volumes of money for the NHS in the long term, as well as protect countless women and couples from the emotion and heartache of infertility and fertility treatment.

Testing empowers men and women by providing the knowledge to make choices that are right for them. They are simple tests that could change someone’s life. We need a proactive and preventative approach to fertility health in the UK – and fertility testing is a crucial part of this.

Professor Dr Geeta Nargund, medical director, Create Fertility

Lion walking is cruel

We were disappointed to see your piece about the practice of lion walking in Africa.

Lion walks, cub petting and volunteering “opportunities” are used as a means of making additional income and a smokescreen for another reason behind why lions are being bred in captivity in Africa – canned hunting operations. This cruel and barbaric practice involves tame lions being shot by trophy hunters in confined areas.

Once raised in close proximity to humans, lions cannot be released into the wild, as they lack the skills to survive and thrive on their own. As they become older the animals become unsuitable for lion walks. We have serious concerns about what happens to these older lions, and the likelihood of the same lions photographed on lion walks ending up as trophies in a hunter’s house.

Given the national outcry over Stan Kroenke’s bloodsports channel UK launch, we are sure your readers will be keen to see that you focus on keeping lions in the wild where they belong.

Philippa King, chief operating officer, League Against Cruel Sports
Dr Mark Jones, a
ssociate director, MEAs and UK wildlife, Born Free Foundation
Brian da Cal,
 country director, Four Paws UK
Philip Mansbridge,
 UK regional director, International Fund for Animal Welfare
Sarah Dyer, representative, Campaign Against Canned Hunting
Bethany Jennings,
 founder, Claws Out

Unfinished business

Mark Thomas asked us to consider what the reaction of Leavers would have been had the Brexiteer’s lost the referendum by a slim majority. Well we know. Nigel Farage stated before the referendum that a slim majority in favour of remaining would be “unfinished business”. The whole sorry business was always going to be unfinished business because Cameron did not set a minimum threshold for the outcome to be accepted.

Chris Elshaw
​Headley Down

Forget the ‘will of the people’

I couldn’t agree more that Parliament should do the right thing and halt Brexit. I am horrified that Brexit has come this far already without being stopped. MPs need to get a grip and vote with their consciousness rather than “respect the will of the people”. The Brexit vote was in no way democratic and should be disqualified due to the wilful misinformation given to the public by politicians and newspapers alike.

Ilsa Pole
Address supplied

Commuters’ revolt

When buying a ticket for a train journey, the cost surely includes having a seat on which to sit. It surprises me that there is no clamour for rebates, or mass protests because passengers are not getting what they pay for. It is far more profitable to run overcrowded trains with standing customers than to have seats for everyone, but this puts profit before people.

Ian Turnbull
Carlisle

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