Latest news with #JamesElder
Business Wire
7 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
OPTIA ® and Patero Launch Industry's First Post-Quantum-Enabled GPU Compute Platform for Defense and Edge Applications
ALTOONA, Pa. & COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OPTIA, a provider of ruggedized, high-performance GPU compute platforms, and Patero, a pioneer in post-quantum cryptography, today announced a joint solution that embeds Patero's CryptoQoR ™ encryption suite into OPTIA's NVIDIA-based systems — delivering the world's first PQC-enabled GPU server for mission-critical defense and commercial applications. With the integration of Patero's quantum-safe cryptography, OPTIA devices can now protect inbound and outbound data streams against both present-day cyber threats and future quantum attacks. Share Designed to support the compute-intensive needs of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and built for deployment in tactical conditions, OPTIA's portable systems are widely used for AI/ML acceleration, tactical edge analytics, and C5ISR workloads. With the integration of Patero's quantum-safe cryptography, OPTIA devices can now protect inbound and outbound data streams against both present-day cyber threats and future quantum attacks. 'This is a first-of-its-kind platform — a tactical NVIDIA GPU server with quantum-resilient protection,' said James Elder, BD Director of OPTIA, ' A pre-integrated and packaged solution delivers high-performance compute without compromising data security, no matter the threat surface or operating environment.' Defense-Grade Security, Future-Ready Architecture The combined offering aligns directly with: Executive Order 14028 – Mandating zero-trust cybersecurity architecture for federal and defense systems. National Security Memo 10 – Requiring federal agencies to begin transition to quantum-resistant cryptography. Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiatives – Demanding secure, interoperable compute at the edge. 'Whether it's battlefield intelligence, secure video feeds, or edge AI inference — when it leaves the OPTIA server, it leaves encrypted with Patero's PQC,' said Peter Bentley, COO of Patero. 'This isn't future capability — this is real, field-ready quantum security.' Key Features & Market Differentiators 1st PQC-Enabled NVIDIA GPU Server for military, industrial, and public sector use Rugged and Portable supporting forward-deployable and austere environments End-to-End Encrypted Streams for AI/ML, ISR, logistics, and robotics workloads Aligned with DoD, DHS, and NSA PQ migration guidance Joint Market Execution OPTIA and Patero is co-developing a portfolio of secure bundles and form factors that jointly address expanding opportunities across: Defense Programs –C5ISR, AI/ML/LLM model deployment, and situational awareness Secure Infrastructure – Cities, Smart ports, airports, and energy sectors Industrial AI – Manufacturing, logistics, and autonomous platforms About OPTIA United Computer Products Co., Inc. (UCP) is the Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) for OPTIA ® brand C5ISR hardware capabilities, providing the latest technology for portable GPU servers, workstations, and storage devices. Since 2000, UCP has worked with DoD and Intelligence agencies to solve high-performance computer processing and data storage challenges. Designed for mobility and durability, and optimized for high performance, OPTIA solutions are engineered for AI/ML/LLM acceleration, sensor collection and fusion, demanding processing and analytics, and data management and dissemination. OPTIA solutions provide high performance over extended periods in battlefield environments. For more information about OPTIA offerings, please contact Jim Elder at About Patero Patero, a network security company, is a leader in quantum secure communications. Patero's solution delivers end-to-end protection for critical infrastructure, federal, and DoD networks. Its hybrid post-quantum security solution hybridizes classic encryption with NIST's next-generation quantum-resistant encryption algorithms to protect data-in-motion today from steal now, decrypt later and future direct decryption attacks while cloaking network endpoints from discovery by would-be attackers. Patero is privately held and based in the Quantum Startup Foundry at the University of Maryland, College Park. For more information, visit For investment opportunities, contact company CEO Crick Waters at crick@ Learn more at
The Herald Scotland
16-07-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland has been asked to take injured Gaza kids. We should say Yes
Around 2,000 children are among 10,000 Gazan people on the WHO's medical evacuation list. They have been given approval to leave by Israel, but, reflecting back a conflict that has plumbed the depths of cynicism and inhumanity, Unicef reports they are struggling to find countries to take them. The charity suggests Britain and other European nations could each take a small fraction of these children, around 30. Thirty vital interventions for sick and dying children. So far the UK has managed two. Read more Last year Norway, which has eight per cent of the UK's population, said it would take up to 20 medical evacuees from Gaza, of all ages. The first six, all under 16, arrived last December. Norway has now taken all 20 and pledged to take 15 more. EU countries including Ireland, Italy and Spain have taken 126 children between them. It isn't very many, but it shames Britain. James Elder, Unicef's global spokesperson, who has been in Scotland this week, acknowledges that only a ceasefire can save those millions who are under bombardment and struggling to find food and water. But discussing medical evacuations, he says: 'This is something that can happen in the coming week, whereas we spent the whole of 2024 talking about a ceasefire to no avail while hundreds of children died of their wounds who otherwise wouldn't have.' Some children are wounded, some have medical conditions and cannot get treatment. Elder describes desperate scenes in Gaza, of parents holding documents that give their children permission to leave, unable to use them. 'There's a mum with her little son or daughter who has horrendous wounds and they're holding on to this piece of paper like it's a genuine lifeline. If it's not real because wealthy Western nations are not willing to take children, then we need to look at the whole system.' If wealthy Western nations like Britain are not willing to take them, then we should give up all pretence of moral authority in this conflict or any other. We can solve what Elder describes as 'visa questions', as other countries have. It's a question of will. 'No one in Britain is going to face a longer wait for their hip replacement because a terrorised child is having surgery' (Image: PA) Arab countries neighbouring Gaza have already taken thousands of injured people. Children sometimes reach those countries but cannot get the treatment they need. European nations have an absolute moral duty to help. There will inevitably be those in the UK who complain this could result in people waiting longer on NHS waiting lists, a stony-hearted calculus that leaves basic humanity out of the equation. But it's nonsense anyway. No one is going to face a longer wait for their hip replacement because a terrorised child is having surgery. The two children to be treated so far haven't even used NHS services. They were supported to come here by the charity Project Pure Hope, which covered evacuation, accommodation and treatment costs, so they haven't even troubled the UK taxpayer. They are Ghena, a five-year-old in pain who needed urgent eye surgery to save her sight and Rama, a 13-year-old with a bowel condition who couldn't hold down her food. Project Pure Hope has funding to bring more children to the UK but only approval for one more. They want the UK Government to grant approval for a cohort of evacuees. For pity's sake, why not? These are not Hamas fighters, they are children. If John Swinney can bring pressure to bear on UK ministers on this, then good luck to him. This Labour government doesn't seem able to take a political win when it's presented on a plate. Because this would be. The British public are sickened by what they are seeing in Gaza. Five seats were lost to Labour in the general election because of huge concern about the party's stance on Gaza, after Keir Starmer was slow to call for an immediate ceasefire. His dithering seems astonishing in retrospect but is a reflection of how much the anti-Semitism scandal damaged Labour under Jeremy Corbyn and how anxious ministers are to avoid being lumped together in the public's eye with hardliners. And yes, there are indeed some on the left who show a scandalous reluctance to condemn the appalling act of terrorism Hamas committed on October 7, 2023. But coming to the aid of desperate innocents caught up in this conflict is a million miles away from endorsing Hamas. It's ludicrous to see it that way, if that is what ministers' fear. Read more Rebecca McQuillan The news from Gaza gets more chilling. The Israeli government has announced the creation of a camp for the entirety of Gaza's two million people. One leading Israeli human rights lawyer has called it 'an operational plan for a crime against humanity', warning the ultimate aim is to deport the population. French president Emmanuel Macron is urging the UK to recognise a Palestinian state as 'the only path to peace', commenting that 'with Gaza in ruin and the West Bank being on a daily basis attacked, the perspective of a Palestinian state has never been put at risk as it is'. He is absolutely right. Recognition, for Britain, has always been a case of when, not if, with ministers showing reluctance to do so in the absence of a clear path to sustainable peace. But with the very existence of Palestinian territories now under extreme threat, Britain should not hold off. For Gaza's children, all this means nothing. They just need help, and fast. There can be no excuse for failing them. Rebecca McQuillan is a journalist specialising in politics and Scottish affairs. She can be found on Bluesky at @ and on X at @BecMcQ
Shafaq News
10-07-2025
- Health
- Shafaq News
UN delivers first fuel to Gaza in 130 days
Shafaq News – Gaza The United Nations announced, on Thursday, that it has delivered the first fuel shipment to Gaza in more than four months, warning that humanitarian operations remain on the brink of collapse without urgent resupply. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed that approximately 75,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza yesterday—the first delivery in 130 days. 'This amount is not enough to cover even a single day's energy needs,' he said, adding that 'fuel is still running out, and services will cease if significantly larger quantities are not allowed in immediately.' Earlier this year, Israel imposed a near-total blockade on Gaza for almost three months before partially easing restrictions under a US-backed mechanism that largely bypasses the UN's aid system. Israel accused Hamas of diverting humanitarian assistance, an allegation the group denies. James Elder, spokesperson for UNICEF who recently visited Gaza, underscored the dire situation in hospitals. 'You can have the best medical staff in the world, but if they are deprived of medicine, pain relief, and now even basic lighting… it becomes impossible,' he said.
Middle East Eye
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israel kills Palestinians receiving nutritional aid for children in Gaza
Israeli strikes have killed at least 16 Palestinians, including 10 children and three women, and wounded many others as they attempted to collect nutritional aid for children in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. The attack occurred near the Tayara roundabout, where crowds of families gathered to receive supplements for their children at a medical point, amid a critical humanitarian crisis that has rendered many in the enclave suffering from malnutrition, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The Government Media Office in Gaza condemned the targeting of sick women and children, describing it as part of Israel's "starvation policy against civilians, including 1.1 million children in the Gaza Strip". In the statement, the office stressed that the recent attack displays the Israeli army's deliberate killing of civilians. "This direct targeting of a humanitarian medical facility is a flagrant violation of all international and humanitarian laws and confirms the occupation's continued crimes against defenceless civilians," it added. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "We call on the international community to break its shameful silence, condemn these crimes, and bring the criminal occupation leaders to international justice. "We also demand an end to the war, the lifting of the blockade, and the entry of aid and fuel. Gaza is dying daily in front of the world, and daily massacres are being committed against its people without accountability or oversight." Footage shared online shows scenes of chaos as bodies lay on the ground following the bombing. تكدس شهداء ومصابين من الأطفال بعد استهدف الاحتلال طابور غذاء في دير البلح#حرب_غزة — قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) July 10, 2025 Translation: Martyrs and wounded children pile up after the occupation targeted a food queue in Deir al-Balah. In one video, a group of children and a woman who were victims of the attack are seen placed on a cart being pulled by a donkey, illustrating a lack of emergency vehicles and equipment compounded by a severe lack of fuel in the besieged enclave. For months, the Israeli military has imposed a tight siege on the Gaza Strip, severely limiting the flow of life-saving essential food and medical items, which has significantly impacted the health of mothers and children alike. In an interview with Anadolu Agency, James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), highlighted the severe shortages facing hospitals in Gaza and the extremely difficult conditions under which medical staff are operating. Elder warned that children experiencing acute malnutrition are particularly vulnerable and face a "likelihood of dying from simple causes by 10 times". He added that access to hospitals in Gaza is no longer safe for ill or malnourished children. Civil defence and healthcare in turmoil As Israel's siege on the Gaza Strip continues, rescue teams and medical professionals are facing acute shortages of essential supplies and equipment they need to carry out their work. The General Directorate of Civil Defence announced on Thursday that all of its vehicles in the northern part of the enclave have ceased operations, except for one fire engine, due to the absence of spare parts used to repair the vehicles. Additionally, three out of six fire engines and four out of six ambulances have stopped working in the southern Gaza Strip. "We strongly warn that the international community's continued failure to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow the entry of rescue and firefighting equipment, as well as spare parts essential for humanitarian efforts, will only worsen the suffering of our people, who are facing a war of extermination," the Civil Defence said in a statement. Similarly, the Palestinian health ministry in the Gaza Strip warned in a press conference on Wednesday that hospitals could be out of service within hours due to the lack of fuel. In one clip, Palestinian journalist Abdul Qader Sabbah shared a video from Al-Helou Hospital's neonatal care unit, warning that newborn babies are at risk of death as fuel is running out. Palestinian journalist AbdulQader Sabbah shared a video from Al-Helou Hospital's neonatal care unit, warning that newborn babies are at risk of death as fuel is running out in Gaza — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) July 10, 2025 Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, said that the fuel crisis is "stifling and threatens to collapse the health and humanitarian sectors in Gaza, directly and seriously impacting the operation of hospitals and shutting down water desalination plants". Salmiya said that the fuel crisis is "an old and recurring one", an issue that has plagued hospitals and other facilities for months, and he urged the immediate entry of fuel into Gaza. He warned that the hospital would turn into a "graveyard for everyone inside" if the fuel-powered generators, which are "the only source of power for hospitals", stopped working. Leaflets dropped over Gaza's Old City, in the central part of the enclave, as well as Jabalia and its refugee camp, warned civilians to evacuate as the Israeli army is 'operating with great force'. How Israel turned Gaza's 'safe zones' into graveyards Read More » "Residents must immediately evacuate southwest to the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi. Hamas is endangering your lives, and returning to the area will be considered a direct risk to life," read the leaflets, written in Arabic. Meanwhile, the Israeli army has advanced towards areas housing displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Images and videos show military tanks entering so-called "humanitarian zones" as Palestinians attempt to flee. An Al Jazeera correspondent reported that Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling were targeting the centre and south of the city. Additionally, the Israeli army has begun bulldozing and demolishing several cemeteries southwest of Khan Younis. International organisations and rights groups have repeatedly warned that there are no safe areas in Gaza, as Israel continues to strike locations it had previously designated as safe zones. Since 7 October 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 57,680 Palestinians in Gaza, and wounded over 137,409 others, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The Herald Scotland
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Warning 'screaming out' over Israeli plans for Gaza
James Elder is UNICEF's global spokesperson and has recently returned from Gaza, having travelled back and forth to the occupied territory since November 2023. Speaking to The Herald in March of 2024, he said the southern city of Rafah was the "last hope" and should a threatened Israeli incursion take place it would take the situation "to a level of darkness we haven't seen, that the world keeps promising itself it won't get to". Read More: Since then things have escalated beyond even that. The International Court of Justice, which is currently considering an accusation of genocide brought against Israel by South Africa, ordered the invasion to be halted, an order with which the IDF did not comply. Donald Trump, the U.S President, has talked about a plan to "clean out" the besieged enclave and move the population to Egypt and Jordan, while earlier this year he declared: "If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land... I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza." Earlier this week Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, laid out a plan to force the entire Palestinian population into the ruins of Rafah and prevent them from leaving. This was described as a 'humanitarian zone' by the minister. Michael Sfard, one of Israel's leading human rights lawyers, called it "an operational plan for a crime against humanity". Mr Elder tells The Herald: "It's beyond troubling, but it's so troubling because statements are being made which, on paper, are breaches of international humanitarian law. 'All the warning signs are there and they're supported by what you see on the ground. 85% of Gaza is under evacuation order, ongoing indiscriminate attacks are killing large numbers of children. 'To see the lack of action from member states when there is an obligation to act if you're aware of grave violations being committed by another member... we have the actions on the ground and all the statements being made. Every warning sign is screaming out for action to be taken. Hamam Al-Farani, center left, sits next to his sister, in white, being comforted, along with other family members as the body of their father, Alaa, killed in an Israeli army strike that also injured the boy, is prepared for burial (Image: AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) 'Palestinians are painfully aware that the world is looking away. "I don't know many other places where everyday people are aware of international humanitarian law, the people of Gaza are very educated and people have said to me: 'we're aware international humanitarian law doesn't apply to us'. 'It's devastating for people to feel they are ignored and forgotten, and being ignored and forgotten means that the bombings can continue, the forced displacement can continue, and the degradation of food, water and medicine can continue. 'There's something lethal in what being forgotten actually means.' Following the collapse of a previous ceasefire, Israel blocked humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for more than two months. Since May 26 a new body, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has taken over much of the aid delivery in the occupied territory which Israel says will prevent looting and stop Hamas from stealing aid. James Elder of Unicef (Image: Supplied) Humanitarian groups have warned that the organisation is a cover for the forced depopulation of the Palestinian people, with over 600 killed and more than 4,000 wounded by contractors hired by GHF, armed gangs, and Israeli forces while seeking aid. An investigation by Haaretz found IDF officers and soldiers were ordered to fire at unarmed crowds at the sites, even with no threat present, while one Palestinian told +972 the scheme amounted to a humiliation ritual, forcing people to take "food wrapped in humiliation and disgrace" from "the hands of our enemy". The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operates four distribution centres, all in areas under full Israeli control, compared to the 400 UN distribution points used during the last ceasefire. Read More: Mr Elder says: "Statements have been made about aid diversion (by Hamas): just show the evidence. The evidence is not there, the statements made around that are an attempt to sideline the humanitarian system. "That system was successful during the Ethiopia famine, in Somalia, in Nigeria, or right now in Sudan. 'A few months ago there were 400 UN distribution points and UNICEF was going door to door – that's how you do humanitarian aid. 'When you have a population under that amount of stress you've got to go to where they are and you've got to work based on data and evidence, you need to know the things you're doing are making a tangible difference. 'During the ceasefire, when we had 400 distribution points, you started seeing malnutrition going down, disease going down, access to water increasing." Mr Elder pauses, and sighs. 'The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation… I haven't quite seen anything like it," he continues. 'In my job you get a key message document passed around and we were very clear: you can't have a handful of distribution points, you can't use aid as bait. What about the elderly? What about single mums? What about the wounded? It's not going to safe because you can't force people into a militarised corridor to get aid. All of those things. 'Then you get there and you see it playing out. I had an old woman who was in tears, she was five miles away from an aid distribution site, she couldn't ever get there. 'I met three brothers who were all in their 20s or 30s who had been seven times and never received aid. 'It's serving a section of the population that is not the most vulnerable, it's the young and strong who go there. They get a sack with flour, cooking oil or sugar and then they sell it. 'It's not serving the needs so you have to ask, then, what was the purpose? 'The arguments around looting and aid diversion just don't stack up. Looting happens because when there's that much deprivation and you're only allowed one aid corridor people will do roadside distributions. When consistent aid is allowed in, as it was during the ceasefire, the black market is gone. 'I think we've now seen 20 different casualty events. I met a 23-year-old woman in a hospital, she had wounds from being pushed into the barbed wire, like it was a cattle pen, but she'll go back because, in her words, 'just don't let me die with an empty stomach'. She's the eldest in her family and her father has a heart condition. 'Dignity is being stripped everywhere and I think that's an important word. Right now we're at the point in Gaza where it's like, 'as long as they're getting food and water' – but dignity matters greatly. 'One man, who had a family, was successful (in getting aid) but he got there are 7-8pm and they had to stand there, caged in, for about four hours. A drone went over and just started firing at people, he saw people shot. 'He spoke perfect English and he asked me, 'James, why did they do that? We did everything right'. It's not my place to say why they did that, but it's a question Palestinians often ask. 'We described these sites so well before they opened: that they were baiting people, that they were using aid to forcibly displace the population – not our words, the words of the government – and then you see the reality that it's might versus right. 'Most people aren't getting a skerrick of aid, and these casualty events are going on while somewhere else in the Gaza Strip the World Food Programme or UNICEF is doing nutrition distribution where people aren't dying and you don't have mass casualty events every single day. 'It would be laughable if it wasn't such a lethal Catch-22, that you can push a population into a militarised zone which is the only place for food and then justify killing them because they're in a militarised zone. 'When I first got there a Palestinian called them The Hunger Games, another said to me recently it was like Judgement Day. 'But people will go again, even knowing they've had a family member shot or killed, because the alternative is quite literally starvation. It's a grotesque system, and what's most frustrating is there was a system several months ago that was starting to change the game in Gaza for the better.'
