Five people were wounded in amass shooting near the University of Iowa campusafter a large brawl that broke out early Sunday, police confirmed — as they shared a photo of five “persons of interest” in the carnage.
“One victim is in critical condition and the other four victims are in stable condition,” Iowa City Public Safety said in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon.
Police shared a photo of five potential suspects in the mass shooting near the University of Iowa.Iowa City Public SafetyFive people were hurt in the melee as a massive brawl broke out amid the shooting.X/RawsAlerts
The posting includes a picture of five young men, and cops are asking for the public’s help in finding and identifying them.
“Anyone with information on the people pictured here are asked to contact Detective Cade Burma at cburma@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5275.”
Police were responding to a fight at the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City around 1:45 a.m. involving as many as 100 people when gunshots rang out.
Dramatic video of the melee shared on social media showed dozens of people crowded around a group of men throwing haymakers at each other.
The brawl took place in a popular bar area that is just one block from some parts of the Big Ten campus.
Twisted Hamas terrorists are sexually exploiting women in Gaza, bribing slain members’ desperate widows and young moms with food in exchange for sex, according to residents in the Palestinian enclave.
Harrowing interviews from the Gaza Strip reveal the scope of the rampant sexual abuse by the Iran-backed terrorists as they target vulnerable women trying to feed their families.
Women in the Gaza Strip have accused Hamas of targeting vulnerable widows and young moms to sexually assault and exploit.Jusoor News
“It’s being done by all their employees and members, as though it’s an organization set up for sexual harassment, psychological abuse and harassing young women,” a woman told Jusoor News.
Women said the Hamas members are specifically targeting people who reached out to them in desperation, such as widows, recent divorcees and young or single mothers, promising them even simple things such as rice and sugar in exchange for sex.
“A guy will say, ‘Come, we have a relief package for you.’ He represents an Islamic organization, a movement whose name I won’t mention, but it is a political organization,” a woman told the outlet.
” ‘If you come with me and do so and so, I’ll give you so and so,’ ” Hamas members allegedly tell their victims.
A Hamas member said he was told to stay silent after finding colleagues taking advantage of the wives of slain terrorists.Jusoor News
“And the women, who have no life experience, end up getting exploited.”
A man who claimed to be with Hamas recalled how the wife of a friend reached out directly to his commander for help before she was taken advantaged of.
“His behavior is disgraceful,” the government employee told Jusoor. “We investigated the matter and found her in a tent in the Gharabli area where a bunch of Qassam members were taking advantage of her.
“We informed the leadership, but they told us we had to keep silent about it,” he said.
Hamas has served as the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip for nearly 20 years.Anadolu via Getty Images
Another member of the terror group echoed the experience, saying he also was told to keep quiet after finding Hamas military members taking advantage of the wives of dead fighters in the Gharabli refugee camp.
“We told them it was an insult to honor and dignity,” the government staffer said. “We then tore down the tent, but all they wanted from us was to beat and shoot anyone who insults Hamas.”
The testimonies from Jusoor highlight similar incidents reported during the height of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza last year, where hundreds of thousands of people were at risk of hunger because of the war and aid blockade by Israel.
The terror group has been accused of human-rights violations against the people of Gaza, in addition to other heinous crimes.Storyful
A 38-year-old mother of six had told The Associated Press how she was coerced into having sex with a man linked to an aid group in exchange for $30, a box of medicine and food and a promise for work that never materialized.
Humanitarian groups have warned of this outcome, which is all too common in conflict zones where there is little aid coming in.
May Golan, Israeli Minister For Social Equality & Women’s Advancement, called for scrutiny of the aid groups operating in Gaza whose members are accused of targeting women.
Israeli woman Naama Levy seen being abducted on Oct. 7, 2023 after the Hamas attack at the Nova music festival in Israel.
“One expects little from vile murderers whose only contribution to humanity is a perverse ingenuity in committing violent sexual crimes,” she told The Post of Hamas before turning to the aid groups.
“Expectations do, however, exist for aid organizations that adorn themselves with the language of human rights while in practice doing more than anyone else to sustain the forces of darkness.
“They will not awaken on their own. Their naive donors should make clear to them the standard expected of human beings,” shesaid.
The situation in Gaza underscores the sexual-assault allegations against Hamas by Israeli victims who were kidnapped during the war.
Thecurrently closed Strait of Hormuz, situated between Oman and Iran, connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, and has emerged as a major flashpoint in the US-Iran war. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, off Yemen's coast, has also remained a focal point among critical maritime chokepoints, given ongoing threats from Iran-linked Houthi rebels.
While both critical chokepoints have been in sharp focus in the news cycle and among US officials, institutional research desks, intelligence analysts, observers, the OSINT community on X, and even everyday viewers watching Fox News or CNN, there is also another set of regional and transregional straits that warrant additional monitoring given their importance to global energy flows and commercial shipping.
Shifting from the Hormuz chokepoint, the latest data from Bloomberg, citing AIS ship-tracking data, shows that tankers bound for China transiting from the Gulf area through the Strait of Malacca is yet another maritime chokepoint, especially for energy and trade flows into Asia.
The Strait of Malacca, at its narrowest point, is only 1.7 miles wide, creating a natural bottleneck. Most of the tankers transiting the tiny but very critical strait are hauling crude and LNG bound not just for China, but also for Japan, South Korea, and other countries in the region. This strait is a key link between Hormuz and China's coastal refineries.
The list of narrow maritime chokepoints through which energy products flow on tankers should be very concerning to Beijing, given the US blockade of Hormuz and its potential to serve as a pressure campaign against China ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting.
Strait of Hormuz
This is the most important upstream chokepoint for China's Gulf oil imports. A large share of Chinese crude from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar must exit through Hormuz first.
Strait of Malacca
This is China's main downstream maritime bottleneck. Even after oil clears Hormuz, much of it still has to pass through Malacca on the way to East Asia. This is the classic "Malacca dilemma."
Singapore Strait
Operationally linked to Malacca. Disruption here would compound any pressure on vessels transiting between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
Lombok and Makassar Straits
These are major alternative routes if Malacca becomes constrained. Pressure here would matter because Chinese shipping would likely try to reroute through Indonesia.
Sunda Strait
Less ideal than Lombok, but still a secondary bypass route. It matters mainly in a broader interdiction or diversion scenario.
Bab el-Mandeb
This would affect Chinese crude and product flows tied to the Red Sea/Suez route, including some cargoes from North Africa or Atlantic Basin-linked trade. It is less central than Hormuz or Malacca for Gulf oil, but still important.
Our assessment here is that China's crude import routes are highly vulnerable at Hormuz and Malacca, and the US can certainly throw a wrench in that system and disrupt those flows, as Hormuz has proven.
Zoltan Pozsar of advisory firm Ex Uno Plures explained it best: the Trump administration is "methodically building a portfolio of assets" to pressure China, centered on strategic energy supply nodes and maritime chokepoints that have historically supported Beijing's cheap crude imports.
The obvious question is what happens if China doesn't play ball with the US ahead of Trump's upcoming Xi meeting. Beijing can clearly see the emerging pattern in which the Trump administration is willing to use US naval power, maritime chokepoints, and even the threat of blockade to generate leverage. That's why the other straits noted above should serve as a warning to the Chinese leadership.
Algeria, a gas-rich OPEC member, launched a 2026 oil and gas licensing round on Sunday, offering seven exploration blocks in an effort to boost output and attract foreign investment, the government said.
The bidding round, branded "Algeria Bid Round 2026", was announced at a ceremony attended by representatives of international energy companies in Algiers.
The offered blocks are located in Ouargla, Illizi, Touggourt and El Bayadh, including a mix of oil and gas prospects that officials said are estimated to contain hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and significant volumes of natural gas.
The technical phase of the bidding process will begin on June 1, with access to tender documents and online presentations, followed by data sessions and clarifications running until October 31.
Bid submissions are due on November 26 and hydrocarbon contracts with state-owned Algerian energy company Sonatrach to be signed on January 31 next year under production-sharing or participation agreements depending on the block.
Algeria has been working to strengthen its upstream sector and sustain its role in global energy markets.
"The new bidding round will help strengthen global energy security and reinforce Algeria's role as a regional energy hub," said Hydrocarbons Minister Mohamed Arkab.
