San Francisco News
Altitude sickness is typically mild but can sometimes turn very serious − a high-altitude medicine physician explains how to safely prepare
Brian Strickland, Senior Instructor in Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Equipped with the latest gear and a thirst for adventure, mountaineers embrace the perils that come with conquering the world’s highest peaks. Yet, even those who tread more cautiously at high altitude are not immune from the health hazards waiting in the thin air above. Altitude sickness, which most commonly refers to acute mountain sickness, presents a significant challenge to those traveling to and adventuring in high-altitude destinations. Its symptoms can range from mildly annoying to incapacitating and, in some cases, may progress to more life-threatening illnesses. While interest in high-altitude tourism is rapidly
Why Egypt refuses to open its border to Palestinians forcibly displaced from Gaza
Liyana Kayali, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Sydney Around 1.5 million Palestinian civilians are currently squeezed into the southern Gaza city of Rafah after repeatedly being forced by Israeli bombardment and ground assaults to evacuate further and further south. The town, which originally had a population of 250,000, is now host to more than half of Gaza’s entire population. They are sheltering in conditions the UN’s top aid official has called “abysmal”, with disease spreading and famine looming. In a military onslaught the International Court of Justice has ruled a plausible case of genocide, Israel has so far killed over 29,000 Palestinians in the
Javier Milei: Argentina’s new president presses ahead with economic ‘shock therapy’ as social unrest grows
Sam Halvorsen, Reader in Human Geography, Queen Mary University of London; Sebastián Mauro, Associate professor, Universidad de Buenos Aires Only weeks into his term, Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, seems to be making good on his promise to put a chainsaw to the country’s crisis-ridden economy. In his inaugural address, Milei told the nation: “There is no alternative to shock.” He dissolved half of the country’s ministries days later, and implemented a 50% devaluation of the peso. But amid massive spending cuts, prices continue to spiral. Argentina’s annual rate of inflation has reached a three-decade high of 254.2%. Milei blames the poor economy on years of
As war in Ukraine enters third year, 3 issues could decide its outcome: Supplies, information and politics
Tara Sonenshine, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice in Public Diplomacy, Tufts University In retrospect, there was perhaps nothing surprising about Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Vladimir Putin’s intentions were, after all, hiding in plain sight and signaled in the months running up to the incursion. What could not be foreseen, however, is where the conflict finds itself now. Heading into its third year, the war has become bogged down: Neither is it a stalemate, nor does it look like either side could make dramatic advances any time soon. Russia appears to be on the ascendancy, having secured the latest major battlefield
Cult of the drone: At the two-year mark, UAVs have changed the face of war in Ukraine – but not outcomes
Paul Lushenko, Assistant Professor and Director of Special Operations, US Army War College Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have been central to the war in Ukraine. Some analysts claim that drones have reshaped war, yielding not just tactical-level effects, but shaping operational and strategic outcomes as well. It’s important to distinguish between these different levels of war. The tactical level of war refers to battlefield actions, such as patrols or raids. The operational level of war characterizes a military’s synchronization of tactical actions to achieve broader military objectives, such as destroying components of an adversary’s army. The strategic level of war relates to the way these military
Why the United States needs NATO – 3 things to know
Klaus W. Larres, Professor of History and International Affairs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Former President Donald Trump has long made it clear that he deeply resents NATO, a 75-year-old military alliance that is composed of the United States and 30 other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Trump escalated his criticism of NATO on Feb. 10, 2024, when he said that, if he is elected president again in November 2024, the U.S. would not defend any member country that had not “paid up.” Trump also said that he would encourage Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, “to
Navalny dies in prison − but his blueprint for anti-Putin activism will live on
Regina Smyth, Professor of Political Science, Indiana University Long lines of Russians endured subzero temperatures in January 2024 to demand that anti-Ukraine war candidate Boris Nadezhdin be allowed to run in the forthcoming presidential election. It was protest by petition – a tactic that reflects the legacy of Alexei Navalny, the longtime Russian pro-democracy campaigner. Authorities say Navalny, a persistent thorn in the side of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in prison on Feb. 16, 2024. For more than a decade, Navalny fought Russian authoritarianism at
UN warns that Gaza desperately needs more aid − an emergency relief expert explains why it is especially tough working in Gaza
Paul Spiegel, Johns Hopkins University United Nations agencies on Oct. 24, 2023, pleaded for more aid to be allowed into Gaza, saying that more than 20 times the amount of food, water and medical supplies and other items that are currently reaching people is needed. Egypt first opened its borders for aid deliveries into Gaza on Oct. 21, and since then, 54 trucks with medical supplies had entered Gaza as of Oct. 23, according to the U.N. But the U.N. and other international aid groups are warning that the 2.3 million people living in Gaza remain in dire need of
Even if Israel can completely eliminate Hamas, does it have a long-term plan for Gaza?
Ian Parmeter, Australian National University Not counting periodic cross-border skirmishes, Israel has fought three major wars against Hamas since withdrawing its forces from Gaza in 2005 – in 2008, 2014 and 2021. Each involved limited ground incursions, with Israeli soldiers in Gaza for about a fortnight. In the past couple weeks, Israel has put together a huge force to mount another ground invasion in retaliation for the Hamas cross-border attacks that killed around 1,400 Israelis on October 7. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have called up their entire armoured corps – more than 1,000 tanks. Around 360,000 reservists will also
Decades of underfunding, blockade have weakened Gaza’s health system − the siege has pushed it into abject crisis
Yara M. Asi, University of Central Florida For the wounded, injured and sick in Gaza, there is seemingly no escape. On Oct. 17, 2023, news broke that at least 500 patients, staff and people seeking shelter from Israeli bombs had been killed in an explosion at a hospital, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave. It amounts to a devastating loss of life during a campaign of bombing that has not spared the frail or sick. Just days earlier, the World Health Organization said in a stark assessment that an order to evacuate from hospital beds and head south
Gaza depends on UN and other global aid groups for food, medicine and basic services – Israel-Hamas war means nothing is getting in
Topher L. McDougal, University of San Diego International aid groups are warning that they cannot deliver food and other basic services to people in the Gaza Strip and that a “dire” humanitarian crisis is set to worsen. International aid groups provide food and other means of support to about 63% of people in Gaza. Israel stopped allowing deliveries of food, fuel and other supplies to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents on Oct. 10, 2023, and is reportedly preparing for a ground invasion. I am a scholar of peace and conflict economics and a former World Bank consultant, including during the 2014
The Gaza Strip − why the history of the densely populated enclave is key to understanding the current conflict
Maha Nassar, University of Arizona The focus on conflict in the Middle East has again returned to the Gaza Strip, with Israel’s defense minister ordering a “complete siege” of the Palestinian enclave. The military operation, which involves extensive bombing of residences, follows a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas militants who infiltrated Israel from Gaza and killed more than 900 Israelis. In reprisal airstrikes, the Israel military has killed over 800 Gazans. And that figure could escalate in the coming days. Meanwhile, an order to cut off all food, electricity and water to Gaza will only worsen the
Hamas assault echoes 1973 Arab-Israeli war – a shock attack and questions of political, intelligence culpability
Dov Waxman, University of California, Los Angeles The parallels were striking – and surely not coincidental. Exactly 50 years and a day after being taken completely off guard by a coordinated military attack by its neighbors – Egypt and Syria – Israel was again caught by surprise. Early on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants invaded southern Israel by land, sea and air, and fired thousands of rockets deep into the country. Within hours, hundreds of Israelis were killed, hostages taken and war declared. Fierce Israeli reprisals have already taken the lives of hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza, and many more