Richard Ratcliffe deserves all the support he can get in helping to free his wife Nazanin

Send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

I read Conrad Duncan’s piece about the imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (7 January) and Richard Ratcliffe’s determination to meet with Boris Johnson concerning the latest developments, relating to the escalation of hostility between America and Iran.

I personally don’t know how he and his wife keep standing, he is such a powerful advocate for her and rightly will not allow her name or other detainees to disappear in the media frenzy caused by the killing of Qassem Soleimani. This poor woman has not the comfort of seeing her daughter Gabriella who now lives in London with her father.

If anyone should receive an honour it should be him for his innate solidarity and sheer determination in the face of overwhelming odds.

I do sincerely wish him luck in gaining this necessary meeting with Johnson but he might be running scared of him as he was Andrew Neil, as there might be too many difficult questions he would rather avoid.

Judith Daniels

Great Yarmouth

A lesson learned

Regarding the furore over the assassination of Qassem Soleimani​, Donald Trump has astounded me by actually learning a lesson from history: when in trouble at home start a war abroad.

And he won’t be the first president of the United States to ignite a Middle Eastern conflict without heed to the consequences.​

Paul Halas

Stroud

Golden promises

The Golden Globes, a celebration of the best of TV and film, was a great success. There were a number of mentions of the fires in Australia with many generous donations as well as a message from Russell Crowe.

It is interesting that people who spend their whole working life being different people, the nature of acting, have such real compassion and concern for people that they may never meet. It’s a pity that not all follow their example.

Their kindness and generosity will continue to help.

Dennis Fitzgerald

Melbourne

Some positives

For many of us, 2019 will be viewed more than a little negatively, driven by a combination of Brexit, terrorism, climate change and increasing global instability.

However, while it may not have made the front pages, there is much for us to rejoice in and be thankful for. For example, children born today have the best chance of growing up healthy, safe and educated. There are now 4.4 million fewer child deaths per year than in 2000, according to charity Save the Children’s Global Childhood Report 2019. In addition, there are now 115 million fewer children out of school than at the turn of the century, and 94 million fewer child labourers.

Figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) also reveal that child-killing diseases have significantly declined since 2000. Measles, for example, declined 86 per cent and there was also an 82 per cent decrease in the incidence of tetanus.

According to the WHO’s latest World Malaria Report, cases of the disease declined by three million between 2017 and 2018.

Governments around the world pledged to plant millions of trees in 2019, in efforts to capture carbon from the atmosphere. Ireland’s government announced plans in August to plant 22 milllion trees each year until 2040, while New Zealand has pledged to plant one billion by 2028.

According to United Nations’ figures for 2019, the number of HIV and Aids-related deaths worldwide has decreased by a third since 2010.

A number of endangered species are also witnessing a recovery. For example, the number of mountain gorillas increased in east Africa. Elsewhere, India’s wild tiger population grew 30 per cent, to number almost 3,000, and humpback whales in the southwest Atlantic now number some 25,000.

So, while we may think things are getting worse, there is so much for us to be thankful for and rejoice in.

Alex Orr

Edinburgh

Sturgeon and independence

The likes of Jill Stephenson and Martin Redfern continually bombard us with their anti-SNP rhetoric, vilifying Nicola Sturgeon for expressing her belief in an independent Scotland. They are entitled to their views (Letters, 6 January), but readers of The Independent – especially those living in distant southern England – need to be aware that Ms Sturgeon is no lone voice.

The 2019 general election results in Scotland give a very clear signal that this nation does not wish to be dragged out of the EU. Indeed, Indyref1 was won by No [to independence] in large part for the same reason. The people of Scotland want the socio-economic benefits of ties with Europe, and Indyref2 would allow the EU membership now denied by secession of the UK.

Ian Reid

Oban, Argyll and Bute

A surreal picture

What a wonderfully surreal picture Christopher Learmont-Hughes paints (Letters, 6 January) with the cajones (translation: drawers) Boris Johnson and his male colleagues carry before them!

Now cojones are an entirely different matter...

Glynne Williams

London