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  • Daniss Jenkins, Marcus Sasser see their dream come true as Pistons teammates

    Daniss Jenkins, Marcus Sasser see their dream come true as Pistons teammates

    Daniss Jenkins (left) and Marcus Sasser are key rotation players for Detroit this season.

    DETROIT — The dreamers and believers, they think anything is possible even in the face of astronomical odds.

    Detroit Pistons guards Marcus Sasser and Daniss Jenkins, they are dreamers and believers.

    Growing up together in Dallas, they dreamed they’d be in the NBA. They believed they could.

    And they are also doers. You have to do the work to make dreams a reality.

    Sasser and Jenkins gave the required effort, and now the childhood friends/competitors are NBA teammates. They navigated different trails to the same mountaintop – Sasser’s more direct, Jenkins’ more winding through three universities and one junior college.

    “It’s definitely a dream come true because we wanted to go to the same high school, but it did not end up happening,” Sasser said. “And then we wanted to go to the same college. He was going to transfer to Houston, but it couldn’t happen. Now it’s crazy that we were able to finally get it at the highest level where everyone could see it.”

    This season, Sasser, a third-year guard who was the No. 25 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, averaged 5.2 points and 2 assists per game while shooting 41.5% on 3-pointers. Jenkins, undrafted coming out of St. John’s in 2024, had a breakout season at 9.3 ppg, 3.9 apg and 2.3 rpg while shooting 37.4% on 3-pointers.

    Jenkins gave the Pistons a productive backup to All-Star Cade Cunningham, and when Cunningham missed games due to injuries, Jenkins started 19 games. During that stretch, he posted 17.2 ppg, 7.4 apg and 3.6 rpg on 43.9% shooting overall 35.6% on 3-pointers.

    Daniss Jenkins recorded a career-high 30 points in a win over the Lakers this season.

    The Pistons rewarded Jenkins in February, converting his two-way contract to a standard contract through the 2026-27 season.

    “It just wasn’t an easy path for him from high school to college to junior college, back to college, college, you know what I mean?” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “At any point in time, he could have been discouraged, but he wasn’t. And he just continued to work and continued to get better.

    “And also, it didn’t jade him. If you’re around him every day, he’s a beautiful spirit. A lot of times when people get told ‘no’ and ‘you’re not good enough,’ it changes your personality, but he’s a joy to be around every day.”

    Jenkins started his college career at Pacific, where he played two seasons. He played one season at Odessa College (junior college), played one season at Iona for Rick Pitino. When Pitino left Iona for St. John’s, Jenkins followed him for his final season of college ball.

    Looking at a tattoo on his left thigh that reads, “I JUST DIDN’T QUIT,” Jenkins reflected on his journey.

    “My end goal never changed. Never changed,” Jenkins told NBA.com after a recent practice. “And I never wavered on the game. And my faith in God. I always tell people, if you put your faith and trust in God and you live your life the right way, and you put the work in, there’s some reward. Good things happen to good people. I’m a firm believer in that.

    “And at the end of the day, I have this tattoo because that’s a testament to my life. I didn’t give up. I never stopped.”

    Sasser, Jenkins ‘stacking moments’ as NBA teammates

    Sasser and Jenkins were childhood competitors on the court for different elementary and middle school teams in Dallas. Then they began working out together. They attended different high schools but remained friends and workout partners, dreaming about playing in the NBA.

    The Dallas-Fort Worth area is well represented on the Pistons’ roster. Cade Cunningham is from Arlington, Texas, and Ron Holland II is from Duncanville, Texas.

    Sasser’s dad, Marcus Sr., whose two brothers — Jason and Jeryl — had brief NBA careers, used to run Marcus and Jenkins through drills before and after school at a local rec center.

    “He would put us through a lot of hard workouts,” Sasser said. “He was there, rebounding and motivating us.”

    But let’s be realistic. The chance of any one kid making it to the NBA is small. The chance that two friends from childhood make it to the NBA and end up on the same team is even smaller.

    That didn’t stop their belief in themselves and in each other.

    “I knew how his mindset was, and I knew how hard he always worked,” Sasser said of Jenkins. “I just knew he wasn’t going to let nothing hold him back. I knew he was going to find a way to make it. And just watching his last year at St. John’s, I knew he was an NBA-caliber player.”

    Jenkins returned the praise.

    “Watching him flourish and become a star in college basketball, he just motivated me because I knew how hard we worked,” Jenkins said. “Just to see him doing the same exact stuff that we used to work on every single day and apply it, it just gave me a sense that it can be done.”

    After Jenkins’ final season at St. John’s, he began preparing for the draft and had pre-Draft workouts scheduled. The Pistons showed interest and invited him to Detroit for a workout.

    Daniss Jenkins had multiple stints with Detroit’s NBA G League team before realizing his NBA dream.

    Just like the old days, Sasser and Jenkins found a gym. Not a rec center like when they were kids, but the Pistons’ practice facility, where Sasser had access since he was on the team.

    Sasser rebounded and Jenkins got up shots.

    “I was just giving him words of encouragement, and he went out there and killed it the next day,” Sasser said. “We were just going to do what we did in high school – in the gym all day, work our tails off.”

    No team drafted Jenkins, but the Pistons called after the second round and reached a deal with him on a two-way contract.

    “One of the first people I called was Marcus just to let him know, ‘Man, would you believe that they signed me?’ ” Jenkins said. “It was just everything I really dreamed of. This is just playing basketball. This is me playing with one of my childhood friends.”

    Jenkins still had to prove he belonged in the NBA, and he did that through NBA Summer League, training camp, practices, NBA G League and regular-season opportunities with the Pistons.

    “My impact was loud,” Jenkins said. “I never knew how loud it was going to be, but I knew the impact I would have on the team once I finally got an opportunity. I didn’t know how loud and how crazy and great it would be. So that’s the biggest thing for me. It’s not so much a moment. It was just stacking moments.”

    * * *

    Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.

  • 3 things to watch in Trail Blazers-Spurs Game 3

    3 things to watch in Trail Blazers-Spurs Game 3

    Victor Wembanyama’s health status and Jrue Holiday’s overall play are among the factors to watch as Game 3 nears.

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    San Antonio Spurs All-Star Victor Wembanyama’s availability after sustaining a concussion in Game 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers is the biggest storyline heading into Game 3 of their first-round Western Conference series. 

    If he plays, it means he has met the return-to-participation conditions listed in the NBA concussion policy summary, which includes no concussion-related symptoms at rest, clearance by a team physician, completion of an exertion process and confirmation from the league’s director of the concussion program. 

    “It’s pretty straightforward,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Obviously, we hope he’ll be back at some point. But we’ll allow the protocol to play out. And again, there’s nothing more important than his health.” 

    As the 1-1 series moves to Portland, here are three things to watch in Game 3 on Friday (10: 30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)

    If Wembanyama plays vs. if he doesn’t

    Wembanyama was stellar in Game 1, setting a franchise record for points in a playoff debut with 35 in the Spurs’ victory. In Portland’s Game 2 victory, Wembanyama left the game with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter when he stumbled and hit his face and head on the court. 

    The numbers are stark for the Spurs when Wembanyama is on the court vs. when he is not – it’s nearly a 17-point difference per 100 possessions. If Wembanyama can’t play, center Luke Kornet will get more minutes, and he had 10 points and nine rebounds in Game 2.

    Though they’re not centers, veteran Harrison Barnes and rookie Carter Bryant could receive more playing time in smaller lineups, and Johnson also has veterans Bismack Biyombo and Kelly Olynyk on his bench. 

    The Trail Blazers had success with Robert Williams III on the court in Wembanyama’s absence. Williams had 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks and was plus-13 in 23 minutes in Game 2. The Blazers also have more defensive versatility with Williams and Toumani Camara when Wembanyama is not in the game. 

    Can Blazers’ guards have repeat performance?

    Twenty-year-old Scoot Henderson delivered 31 points on 11-for-17 shooting and Jrue Holiday, a two-time NBA champion, generated 16 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two blocks in Game 2. A similar performance from that backcourt will put Portland in an advantageous position.  

    High-scoring guard Shaedon Sharpe is playing limited minutes since returning late in the season from a left fibula injury, and he is capable of an efficient performance. He had nine points on five shots in 13 minutes in Game 2.  

    Fox’s production will be key

    Of San Antonio’s regular starters, guard De’Aaron Fox is the oldest and the only one with playoff experience before this season. Even though it was just one series when Fox was with Sacramento, he produced against Golden State in 2023, scoring 38 points twice in the seven-game series. He had at least 24 points in four other games and at least nine assists in four games against the Warriors. 

    San Antonio needs that version of Fox even if Wembanyama is available and especially if he’s not. The Spurs acquired Fox at the 2025 trade deadline to provide backcourt experience for these moments. 

    * * *

    Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X. 

  • Gianni Amelio’s ‘No Pain,’ New Works by Martone, Vicari, Kossakovsky, Topline RAI Cinema International Cannes Market Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

    Gianni Amelio’s ‘No Pain,’ New Works by Martone, Vicari, Kossakovsky, Topline RAI Cinema International Cannes Market Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

    RAI Cinema International Distribution is heading to the Cannes market with a promising slate headlined by new works from prominent Italian auteurs and Cannes and Venice aficionados including Gianni Amelio, Mario Martone, Daniele Vicari and Berlin-based Russian helmer Victor Kossakovsky. 

    Amelio, who is best-known for his Oscar-nominated “Open Doors” (1990) and also “Stolen Children,” which won the 1992 Cannes Grand Prix – and, more recently helmed the 2024 drama “Battleground” that bowed in Venice – is now in post on “No Pain” toplining Valeria Golino and Alessandro Borghi (“The Eight Mountains”) (see first-look image above). In “No Pain,” which is tipped for Venice, Borghi plays a quiet man named Davide devastated by a tragic event for which he bears an unwitting responsibility. He finds some peace of mind through his emotional bond with a woman named Elsa, played by Golino.

    Martone, who was in Cannes last year with “Fuori,” is putting the finishing touches on his Naples-set drama “Trick” starring Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”) that is also likely to launch from the Lido.

    Vicari, who was in Venice last year with “Tired of Killing. Autobiography of an Assassin” is completing “Bianco” in which Borghi plays legendary Italian mountaineer’s tragic attempt to climb Mont Blanc in 1961.

    Oscar-nominated Kossakovsky, known for “Gunda,” “Aquarela,” and “Trillion,” has made a new ecology-themed doc titled “Greenworld,” in collaboration with Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso, a pioneer in the plant neurobiology movement who has written several best-selling books including “Tree Stories.” This piece is described as “an invitation to radically reimagine the plant kingdom from a new, ground-breaking perspective.”

    Roughly two years after its launch, Italian state broadcaster RAI’s sales unit will be at Cannes, this time with a robust slate being presented to buyers with promo reels unveiled during two sessions of private screenings during the Cannes Marché du Film. 

    Variety speaks to RAI Cinema head of international sales Fulvio Firrito about the expanding Italian sales company’s raison d’être and his mission and hopes for a Cannes breakthrough.

    What is RAI Cinema International Distribution’s raison d’être and how are you going about growing the company?

    Our mission, simply put, is to make Italian cinema more visible abroad. RAI Cinema contributes to the production of roughly 60 Italian films a year. We can handle sales on roughly ten of those, maybe a few more. Besides that, ahead of the recent Berlin Film Festival, we picked up global distribution of Belgian director Manon Coubia’s “Forest High,” that won a prize. In positioning ourselves on the market we want to also have some foreign films on our slate which helps us to be more recognisable abroad and also helps Italian films get into more sales slots.

    How has it been going?

    Well, we’ve been able to sell Margherita Vicario’s musical comedy “Gloria!” (2024) to over 80 territories. And we sold Trudy Styler’s documentary “Posso Entrare? An Ode to Naples” to Hulu in the U.S. – which is a first for an Italian sales company – and to Disney Plus for U.K., plus to 70 territories. We also also sold Gianni Amelio’s last finished film “Battleground” (2024) to more than 20 territories. So the work is relentless, but we’re confident we can achieve good results, despite a very competitive market.

    “Gloria” is a first work, while Amelio is a veteran auteur. Is this mix typical of your lineup?

    Standout first and second works are very much a part of our mission. Case in point is “Idda” by Irene Dionisio. But there are others.

    Below are other standout fresh titles in RAI Cinema International Distribution slate:

    – “Idda,” the sophomore feature from Irene Dionisio, whose debut “Pawn Streets” launched from Venice’s Critics’ Week. Starring Italy’s two top rising female star Tecla Insolia (“Art of Joy”) and Romana Maggiora Vergano (“There’s Still Tomorrow”), it’s about two childhood friends, now in their thirties, who find themselves during a hike up Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano. 

    – “The Sound of Something New,” a new work by Paolo Genovese (“Perfect Strangers”) who latest concept comedy “Madly” pulled $21 million locally and sold widely via RAI Cinema International. “Six lives intersect in the chaos of everyday life in Milan. Each person is seeking for their own “perfect noise,” something to follow rather than surrender to emotional numbness,” says the synopsis.

    – “Things We Don’t Say,” the latest feature by Gabriele Muccino, whose Hollywood credits include Will Smith-starrer “The Pursuit of Happyness.” It’s an adaptation of Delia Ephron’s novel “Siracusa.” The film follows two couples who go on vacation in Morocco and become entangled in various types of betrayals. It scored more than $8 million locally.

    –– “Christmas Song,” a doc by Roberta Torre (“Tano to Die For”) about female inmates in a Milan penitentiary who are preparing to perform Christmas carols behind bars and provides several backstories of why they are in jail.

  • Bitcoin Exchange Binance Announces Delisting of Two Altcoin Pairs from its Futures Trading Platform! Here Are the Details

    Bitcoin Exchange Binance Announces Delisting of Two Altcoin Pairs from its Futures Trading Platform! Here Are the Details

    Binance Futures, a leading platform in the cryptocurrency derivatives market, has announced its decision to delist certain futures contracts. According to the announcement, the USDⓈ-M margin VINEUSDT and AIUSDT perpetual contracts will be terminated on April 28, 2026, at 13:00.

    The exchange announced that all open positions will be closed and an automated settlement process will be carried out on the specified date. Following the completion of this process, the relevant contracts will be completely removed from the platform. Users are advised to close their positions or make adjustments in advance to avoid potential risks.

    Binance Futures emphasized that it regularly reviews listing and delisting decisions based on specific criteria. These criteria include factors such as trading volume and liquidity levels, network security and stability, regulatory requirements, changes in the token economy, and the activity level of project teams. Furthermore, the level of transparency of projects and their responses to periodic review requests also play a significant role in the evaluation process.

    Experts state that such delisting decisions are made to protect market health and shield users from potential risks. Removing projects with low liquidity or insufficient development from the derivatives market aims to improve overall market quality.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Cryptocurrency Exchanges Upbit and Bithumb Announce They Will Delisting This Altcoin! Here Are the Details

    South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have announced their decision to delist the Resolv (RESOLV) token. According to the announcement, the delisting will take effect on May 26th at 09:00.

    According to information shared by the exchanges, one of the main reasons for this decision was the project team’s inadequate response to the previous investment warning. Furthermore, a comprehensive review revealed that the project did not meet the listing criteria regarding the timely disclosure of important information and transparency of processes.

    Authorities emphasized that such decisions are made meticulously to protect investors. Cryptocurrency exchanges regularly evaluate the assets listed, and projects that do not meet established standards may be removed from the platform. Key criteria in this process include the level of communication within project teams, transparency policies, and technical development activities.

    Analysts note that the delisting of RESOLV could put short-term pressure on the token price. However, it is stated that such steps are aimed at increasing overall market security and providing investors with access to a healthier trading environment.

    This decision by Upbit and Bithumb once again demonstrates the increasing importance of transparency and accountability standards in the cryptocurrency sector.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Man stabs neighbors in clash over dog peeing on his lawn

    Man stabs neighbors in clash over dog peeing on his lawn

    Urine trouble.

    A Queens man apparently upset over a dog peeing on his lawn Thursday stabbed the couple walking the French bulldog during a brawl on the street, even slashing his own father as he tried to calm him down, police sources said.

    The showdown unfolded as the stabber stormed up to the dog walker and her boyfriend, both 39, after he saw the pair’s pooch relieve itself on his lawn on 229th St. near 141st Ave. in Laurelton about 11 a.m., sources said.

    As the argument continued, the man and a friend urinated on his neighbor’s yard in apparent retaliation for the dog’s actions, shocking video obtained by the Daily News shows.

    Blood is pictured on the ground after a man, allegedly enraged over a dog peeing on his lawn, stabbed multiple people on 229th St. near 141st Ave. in Queens on Thursday, April 23, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
    Blood on the ground after a man enraged over a dog peeing on his lawn allegedly stabbed multiple people on 229th St. near 141st Ave. in Queens on Thursday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News) 

    A brawl broke out shortly after that, with one man whipping out a blade and plunging it into the dog walker’s back. The girlfriend suffered a wound to her left hand.

    When the stabber’s 62-year-old father attempted to intervene, he too was cut in the left hand by his son, according to cops.

    Video obtained by the Daily News shows the dog-walking couple arguing with two men at the scene. The video shows the men sauntering down the block, reaching into their trousers and urinating in apparent retaliation on the front yard of another home.

    The footage then shows the woman pulling out her phone to record the lewd act as the two men approach her boyfriend a second time and a fight breaks out. It’s unclear in the video at what point the victims are stabbed in the wild fracas, which lasts for nearly a minute. During the brawl, another man can be seen dashing into the fray in an apparent bid to break up the fight.

    Responding officers took 34-year-old Akeem Alexander into custody. He is charged with assault, cops said.

    “It’s totally shocking,” a relative of the Alexander’s, who refused to give her name, told The News near the scene. “I just want to emphasize that they’re a good family and solid citizens.”

    After a dog peed on a neighbor's lawn (top, circled), two men responded by urinating on the dog owner's lawn (2nd from top). That led to a bloody brawl that left three people stabbed on Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Queens, New York. (Obtained by Daily News)
    After a dog peed on a neighbor’s lawn (top, circled), two men responded by urinating on the dog owner’s lawn (2nd from top). That led to a bloody brawl that left three people stabbed on Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Queens, New York. (Obtained by Daily News) 

    A neighbor witnessed the stabbing’s bloody aftermath.

    “They brought the older gentleman out on a stretcher,” said Jimmy White, 74, a retired Air Force veteran who lives nearby. “There were five ambulances and about seven police cars.”

    “The fight was over the dog. But for them to come out and start stabbing, this couldn’t have been the first time,” he said. “Something had to lead up to this. Now they have to risk Rikers and jail.”

    The dog walker, her boyfriend and the stabber’s father were all taken to Jamaica Hospital, where they are expected to recover.

    Dog feces could be seen lying within a dried pool of blood outside Alexander’s 229th St. home.

    Another neighbor told The News the victims had been called out before for letting their dog relieve itself on other people’s property.

    “(The fight) was over the dog that poops on everybody’s lawn,” said the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous. “They never pick up.”

    The fight was similar to a clash in Brooklyn where a 75-year-old woman was attacked for complaining that a dog walker was not cleaning up the pooch’s poop.

    Blood is pictured after a man, allegedly enraged over a dog peeing on his lawn, stabbed multiple people on 229th St. near 141st Ave. in Queens on Thursday, April 23, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
    Blood on the ground after a man enraged over a dog peeing on his lawn allegedly stabbed multiple people on 229th St. near 141st Ave. in Queens on Thursday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News) 

    Cops have yet to make an arrest in the April 6 clash on President St. near Troy Ave. in Crown Heights.

    Linda Scott was outside her home about 9 a.m. when she got into an argument with two women with two unleashed dogs.

    Blood is pictured on the ground after a man, allegedly enraged over a dog peeing on his lawn, stabbed multiple people on 229th St. near 141st Ave. in Queens on Thursday, April 23, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
    Blood on the ground after a man enraged over a dog peeing on his lawn allegedly stabbed multiple people on 229th St. near 141st Ave. in Queens on Thursday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News) 

    The Brooklyn grandmother was upset that the women were allowing their dogs to defecate in an empty lot next to her property, her son told the Daily News at the time.

    Video obtained by The News shows the victim arguing with the dog owner when the woman in red storms up and starts swinging. The attacker repeatedly punches the elderly victim until she collapses on her front lawn, then kicks her and stomps on her face, the video shows.

  • Hollywood Winners & Losers: Why Sydney Sweeney Won and ‘Michael’ Critics Lost

    Hollywood Winners & Losers: Why Sydney Sweeney Won and ‘Michael’ Critics Lost

    WON: Sydney Sweeney: Sure, her cameo was cut from The Devil Wears Prada 2. Yes, she has many media and social media scolds in a tizzy over her racy scenes in Euphoria, which is hot garbage this season. Also, nobody can stop talking about her in the HBO show — even though she co-stars with Zendaya, arguably the hottest actress on the planet right now. And she’s back as the face of American Eagle, in a far more clearly non-racist jeans campaign this time, after boosting their sales last year. Oh, and Christy — her boxing biopic that was mocked by Sweeney’s detractors for bombing at the box office — just hit No. 1 on HBO Max.

    LOST: David Zaslav: How is this remotely fair? Warner Bros. shareholders approved the Paramount merger that Zaslav worked tirelessly to put together for so many months, yet 82 percent voted against rewarding the man most responsible with some modest compensation for his efforts. He was only expecting upward of $886 million, one of the largest golden parachutes in history. What more does Zaslav have to do to prove himself? Go to the office of every Warner shareholder and lay them off, too? Do you have any understanding of the costs, crew salaries, and maintenance of your average super yacht?

    WON: Curry Barker: You may not have heard of him — yet. But Barker is a 25-year-old TikTok sketch comedy guy who has suddenly become a highly sought-after writer-director — even though his first theatrical release, Obsession, doesn’t come out until next month. Just in the last few days, he landed A24’s reimagining of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and another film he just wrapped for Jason Blum, Anything But Ghosts, sold to Focus Features (Barker also gets to star in that one). Sorry industry veterans reduced to lugging lumber at Home Depot: If AI doesn’t replace us, Gen Z surely will.

    LOST: Michael Critics: Critics have been very tough on Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic about a singer who definitely did not molest young boys despite admitting to letting them sleep in his bed as a 40-year-old man. He was just a delicate and sensitive artist, OK? It’s your fault that you don’t understand a powerful pop star’s need to spoon other people’s 10-year-olds. With only 38 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, many reviewers claim that — aside from various omissions about Jackson’s legacy — the film is a boring, paint-by-numbers effort (a few critics, like ours, were much more positive).

    Taj Jackson has pushed back online, writing, “Sorry media, u don’t get to control the narrative anymore of who Michael Jackson truly was. The public gets to watch this movie … they will decide for themselves.” If the Jackson family really wanted to let fans decide for themselves about the singer’s legacy, the estate wouldn’t have pushed HBO to de-platform its documentary about Jackson’s alleged sins, Leaving Neverland, on a legal technicality. Speaking to THR, the documentary’s director wearily claimed that fans going to see the feel-good Michael, “don’t care that he was a child molester.”

    “Don’t care” indeed: Michael is tracking to earn at least $80 million for a potential record-opening weekend for a music biopic. Its CinemaScore is an A-. This fawning film is going to be huge and critics — and the parts of Jackson’s story that his fans don’t want to think about — can’t stop it.

  • Iranian FM Araghchi to visit Pakistan in step towards US talks resumption

    Iranian FM Araghchi to visit Pakistan in step towards US talks resumption

    Islamabad, Pakistan – Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, is expected to fly into Pakistan’s capital on Friday night with a small delegation, in what officials said was a key step towards  the resumption of direct talks with the United States aimed at ending their war.

    Senior government officials in Islamabad confirmed the development to Al Jazeera, soon after a series of phone calls between Araghchi and Pakistani leaders on Friday.

    For the moment, the Iranian state news agency IRNA said Araghchi’s visit to Pakistan was bilateral in nature — to speak with Pakistani officials, rather than for talks right away with the US. Araghchi, IRNA said, would travel to Moscow and Muscat after Islamabad.

    Still, one Pakistani official said there was now a “high likelihood of a breakthrough” between the US and Iran, after days of escalating brinkmanship and rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

    A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance was expected to arrive in Islamabad at the start of the week for talks, but Iran then said it was not prepared to return for talks, citing the naval blockade of its ports. Donald Trump enforced the blockade on April 13, two days after the first round of negotiations between the US and Iran in Islamabad ended inconclusively.

    Since then, the prospects of further talks have been in limbo – with Iran insisting that the US needed to lift the blockade before it would return. Trump has so far refused to lift the blockade – even after Araghchi said that Iran would reopen the strait, which it had effectively blocked for most ships since early March.

    Against the backdrop of that standoff, tensions have soared in recent days in the strait, where the US first captured an Iranian-flagged ship, only for Iran to also capture two ships and fire at a third.

    By the middle of the week, it was uncertain whether the second round of US-Iran talks would happen.

    That dynamic changed on Friday morning.

    Flurry of calls

    Araghchi spoke by phone with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, on Friday morning.

    Dar underscored the importance of sustained dialogue, while Araghchi appreciated Pakistan’s “consistent and constructive facilitation role”, according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry.

    Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported a separate call between Araghchi and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, though Pakistani authorities neither confirmed nor denied it.

    So far, the US has not confirmed whether and when the Trump administration will send a delegation to meet Araghchi and his team, or who it will be. Vance was joined by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner in the April 11 talks in Islamabad.

    But Iran’s delegation in those talks was led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, widely seen as closer to the influential Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) than Araghchi and Iran’s political leadership under President Masoud Pezeshkian.

    Though talks initially planned for the start of the week were postponed, the US remains prepared to attend the second round of talks, say officials.

    At least nine US aircraft have arrived in the city this week, carrying communications equipment, vehicles, security staff and technical personnel in preparation for the dialogue, whenever it happens.

    It is unclear whether Iran’s apparent willingness to re-engage in talks is the result of economic pressure from the US naval blockade – which has stopped Iranian tankers from exporting to Asian economies – or the outcome of back-channel talks that have yielded a meaningful breakthrough.

    Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions and the future of the Strait of Hormuz are key sticking points that in recent days have threatened to rupture Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

    For the residents of Pakistan’s capital, the equation is simpler – if frustrating: They want the talks to be over and done with as soon as possible, because of the disruption to their lives and the limbo over whether negotiations would be held or not.

    ‘It is like living in purgatory’

    Maheen Saleem Farooqi starts each morning the same way these days. She checks her phone before getting out of bed. Not for news, but for instructions: whether her office has changed plans, whether her children’s school has gone online, whether the road she uses to get to the bakery is open or sealed behind another security cordon.

    “Your entire day is held upright by a carefully planned structure,” the 41-year-old consultant and mother of two told Al Jazeera. “Recalibrating it due to any level of uncertainty is tantamount to chaos. These past few weeks have been non-stop recalibrating”.

    Ahead of the expected second round of talks early this week, authorities severely curtailed movement within the capital. The negotiations are expected to be at the Serena hotel, where the first round of talks was held inside the high-security Red Zone.

    Even though Iran appeared to walk away from talks before showing willingness to negotiate on Friday, the security restrictions remained throughout the week.

    Raja Talha Sarfraz, a 26-year-old advocate at the Islamabad High Court, has not appeared before a bench in over a week.

    The court, inside the Red Zone, has been sealed since last Thursday. Fridays are already a day off under government fuel austerity measures, leaving a full week without a single working court day and no indication of when proceedings will resume.

    For Sarfraz, the disruption has been particularly acute. One of his clients, convicted and sentenced to death, had an appeal listed after a ten-month wait.

    The court was closed when the date arrived. The client has been in jail for four years.

    Another client’s appeal, listed for Wednesday for the first time since September 2025, also went unheard. Sarfraz does not know when it will be rescheduled.

    “My second client has been in jail since 2017,” he said. “Before September, there were four instances when the appeals were put to the roster but were cancelled for various reasons, and now this”.

    Sarfraz also teaches law, but his university lectures have been moved online, an arrangement he finds inadequate. An exam he was due to invigilate has been postponed.

    Living in Islamabad’s suburbs, he has also felt the impact of road closures, choking supply chains into the city since April 19, making even routine grocery runs unreliable.

    With courts closed and classes confined to a screen, he has largely stayed home, relying on whatever supplies were available. “Life is in a limbo,” he said. “It is like living in purgatory, not knowing when it will end”.

    Across Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi, that sense of suspension has settled into daily life.

    In residential areas near Nur Khan Airbase, several roads have been sealed since April 19. The airport is where major foreign dignitaries land when they visit Islamabad.

    The wider city reflects the same strain. The Blue Area, usually Islamabad’s commercial hub, has seen subdued activity throughout the week.

    Islamabad is no stranger to disruption. The city has endured attacks by violent groups, political protests and visits by heads of state, each bringing road closures and cancelled routines.

    What has worn residents down this time is the scale and repetition.

    The first wave of restrictions came in early April for the initial round of talks, and some measures were never fully lifted before the next phase of uncertainty began.

    ‘Things will get worse before they get better’

    Pakistan has found itself at the centre of one of the most consequential diplomatic efforts in recent years.

    Hosting talks between Washington and Tehran carries weight for the country’s global standing and its relationships with creditors and investors.

    But for residents, the cost of sustaining that role is becoming harder to ignore.

    Pakistan remains under a $7bn International Monetary Fund programme. Petrol prices have risen by at least 14 percent, and rolling blackouts have returned. After years of economic strain, many are now confronting yet another layer of disruption.

    For Farooqi, the uncertainty operates on multiple levels. There is a larger fear of a war that has unsettled the global economy since February.

    Then there is the smaller, everyday version: whether the bakery route will be open, whether school will switch online with little notice, whether plans made the night before will hold.

    “Every night was an exercise in checking emails and messages to see if anything had changed, if roads would be open, if the government had announced anything, if anyone knew anything new,” she said.

    “We literally had a moment where my daughter’s school announced it would be physical, and then 30 minutes later, promptly recanted and went online, because there is never any clarity on what is happening,” Farooqi added.

    She said she has tried to hold her routine together, explaining to her children why their school schedule keeps shifting, sometimes within the same morning.

    “Sometimes just the simple act of being able to concentrate on your work is overshadowed by the reality of our times,” she said.

    “Honestly, I can’t see things getting better anytime soon. If anything, it seems more likely that things will get a lot worse before they get better.”

  • ‘SpongeBob Tower Defense,’ Highest-Earning IP-Based Game on Roblox, Launches 2.0 Version in Partnership With Paramount (EXCLUSIVE)

    “SpongeBob SquarePants“-themed game “SpongeBob Tower Defense” is debuting its revamped 2.0 version amid the increasing popularity of the title, which currently sits as the highest-earning game based on existing IP on Roblox.

    Set in the world of Bikini Bottom, “SpongeBob Tower Defense” sees players collect and deploy beloved “SpongeBob” characters as towers to fend off waves of enemies — earning upgrades, unlocking skins, and progressing through content updated every Friday.

    Per “SpongeBob Tower Defense” developer Wonder Works’ description for the title, “the game blends deep strategic gameplay with the colorful charm of the SpongeBob IP, creating an experience that’s accessible to newcomers and compelling to long-time fans alike.”

    Made with Google AI

    Launched in December 2024 as an officially licensed title made in collaboration with Nickelodeon and Paramount, “SpongeBob Tower Defense” has drawn more than 633 million total visitors to the game since its debut. The game, which won Best of IP at the 2025 Roblox Innovation Awards, has peaked at more than 9.6 million monthly active users and on Feb. 14 reached 191,984 peak concurrent users.

    The game launches its 2.0 update Friday (April 24), which will include more than 50 new assets to collect (units, mounts, pets), new maps based on iconic “SpongeBob” settings, new rewards, new economy, and more. The 2.0 release will also see all 296 in-game units updated and rebalanced.

    Below, Variety speaks with Wonder Works CEO Zach Letter to break down the success of “SpongeBob Tower Defense” and plans to expand the partnership with Paramount.

    How did the Wonder Works-Paramount partnership first come about? Did they come up with the concept for the “SpongeBob” game and ask you to execute it, or did you pitch ideas and “Tower Defense” was selected?

    Wonder Works was operating as work-for-hire for multiple years, but I really believed in the team and talent that we had and wanted to move into long-term relationships and experiences. I took a look at the Roblox platform for signals of underserviced genres and players and found something interesting in the tower defense genre: there were only 5 of them in the top 25 earning experiences. While some may see that as oversaturation already, I saw it as an opportunity to come in and do something polished, special, and head-turning. Once I knew I wanted to make a tower defense game, I began thinking about the best IP to pair it with. Most IPs were paying to be on Roblox in one way or another, so I wanted to offer a partner the chance to have a presence on the platform at no cost to them. Instead, they would share in the profit with us.

    I had this idea in August 2024, and a month later at RDC I had two people in mind that I really wanted to approach. I knew that, for this to work, the partner would have to be able to operate quickly, have an interest in experimenting, and be willing to trust us as experts. One of the people I approached was named Jennifer Sharp, and she had just joined Paramount from Activision. I imagined she’d be interested in making changes and showing fast success in her new role, and her being at RDC was a great sign that she would probably be interested in what we do.

    She was kind enough to give me 30 minutes, and I used that time to pitch my grand vision for SpongeBob Tower Defense. SpongeBob was my goal because it’s a brand with immense staying power, and it speaks to people across generations, whether you’re a millennial or Gen Alpha. Thankfully, Jennifer saw the vision, she loved the idea, and she gave me the handshake to do it. So the idea was born in August, the meeting occurred in September, we signed in October, and the game was made six weeks later. Fast forward to today and we’re Roblox’s number one branded experience of all time. It’s honestly incredible to look back on! I don’t think I reflect about this often enough.

    What differentiating factors do you see that have made “SpongeBob Tower Defense” the highest-earning branded game on Roblox? What makes the game so appealing, beyond just the “SpongeBob” IP?

    We took a multi-prong approach with this experience. It wasn’t just about making a great game, which I’m proud to say we achieved, but we also wanted to make sure this game reached the right people, because making a great game isn’t enough. I spent over a decade in full-time content creation, so I always think about content first. How many users can we get in front of? Across how many platforms? So we immediately created a YouTube channel, Discord, and TikTok channel to leak and tease content. That built buzz and community from day one, and it was essential to our success.

    We didn’t wait to promote the game later with hired streamers; we didn’t guess at how to make an impactful social media campaign. A lot of studios in the space are still trying to figure this out, but we have the background in content creation, and we make content that is appealing to players and fans, creating an influencer and building our audience. As the game grew, the influencer grew, and it created this flywheel that just kept feeding each other by design. We also established a robust star creator content program right from the get-go. On day one we had two tiers where smaller creators could receive rewards and items for making content, and larger creators would get early access to updates and exclusive information. That evolved into a star creator program today, where creators have a code that players can enter in the shop to receive a percentage of sales.

    So, this influencer program – that isn’t actually a program – is as core to our game as the gameplay itself. It succeeded in creating an ecosystem across multiple platforms that feeds one’s success into another. We’re really passionate about this at Wonder Works, and it’s one of our biggest advantages. Our goal is to feed influencers. We’ll only feel successful if influencers that cover our experiences can become millionaires from doing so.

    What can we expect in the 2.0 launch? How many of the updates and changes are based on player feedback, and did Paramount have suggestions?

    Our 2.0 launch is almost twice the size of our 1.0 launch. We’ve been working on this release longer than the original game. The original was created in six weeks, and 2.0 has been in development for three months while we maintained weekly support and updates for 1.0, so we’ve been busy. In SpongeBob Tower Defense 2.0, players will experience an entirely new meta. We’re introducing new characters like Cool Bob, a SpongeBob variant, and Robo Plankton. There are 31 new units, and nearly 300 units in the game have been completely rebalanced, and we’ve changed how we approach synergies, status effects, and abilities to make the game feel new and challenging. Players will be experimenting to figure out the most effective tactics available for weeks, if not months.

    We’re also grateful to be making it past a year and topping revenue month over month, so with this rework we’re also saying we’re committed to the next year, and we’re already looking at the year after that. We’re also introducing 11 new mounts, which are like vehicles, plus 3 new pets, which are sidekicks to your loadout. Players will also experience new maps, including New Kelp City, which is our take on New York in an evolving map that changes every 25 waves. Then we’re readying the Pro Mode for May, which will test all your knowledge about tower defense and reward you for your expertise, and the player-versus-player mode in June, where you’re sending towers at your enemies and they are sending defense against your towers, and there’s a lot of strategy and in-game economic complexities that come with that. I could keep going, because there’s more, like an energy system that levels the playing field for our most dedicated players across mobile and PC, but I’ll stop there. 2.0 is truly a rebirth and relaunch.

    Made with Google AI

    With increased concerns about child safety on Roblox, what do you see as the biggest reason why Hollywood and entertainment brands should continue their efforts to make experiences for Roblox? Why take the risk?

    I believe Roblox is taking the proper steps to strengthen safety across the platform and implement new policies and features. They have new safeguards and settings like Roblox Kids and Roblox Select, which modify the features you can access based on your age, and that definitely helps keep users protected. I believe Roblox will continue to release features like these to make Roblox a safe platform. And that’s good news, because Roblox is one of the only ways to reach an unreachable generation of consumers in Gen Alpha and Gen Z.

    They are probably the most sought-after demographic, and they are on Roblox for hours a day, for two and a half hours or more in SpongeBob Tower Defense alone, and this is engagement you can’t buy somewhere else. That’s why we’re passionate about what we do and why we want to work with studios who want to be successful on Roblox, licensing their IP and moving fast. These demographics aren’t watching television like we did; they’re frankly watching UGC on social media and then playing that UGC on Roblox themselves. That’s why SpongeBob Tower Defense is so successful and why we believe our model is the best approach. If an entertainment brand isn’t on Roblox, they’re behind. And if they’re on Roblox but they’re not making the right experience with the right partner, then essentially, they are still not on Roblox. It’s science, art, and passion, and we are truly passionate about it at Wonder Works.

    What is Wonder Works’ long-term strategy, and what other revenue streams are you exploring?

    We’re a boutique studio with a focus on partnering with the right IP. It’s not about quantity; it’s about quality, so we’re going to select a handful of IPs over the next couple of years to enter a long-term, multi-year partnership with. With SpongeBob Tower Defense, the Roblox experience is at the center, and then we have our Krabby Krew YouTube channel, Discord, and social media presence. We use that name for all of our SpongeBob product IP, and we want to make more games and then go into consumer merchandise. We kicked this off last year with Paramount, and we will have many different collections in a major retailer this year.

    We want to reach people in as many ways as we can, which is why we’ll have multiple SKUs in a major retailer – more on that soon – and why we’ve partnered with Overwolf to make a desktop launcher for Krabby Krew, and it will house all of our SpongeBob games. Players will use it to connect, communicate, play, earn rewards, and get notifications on our experiences. We’ll have a mobile app with Overwolf that’ll deliver similar functionality. So we’re treating SpongeBob as a true business within our business, and we’re figuring out how many channels of revenue we can have and how we can expand that revenue and be an extremely valuable partner. Moving forward, our strategy is to find more partners who are willing to move as fast as Roblox moves and build more experiences like SpongeBob Tower Defense, because this model truly works and players are hungry for these transformative, transmedia experiences. And we’re hungry to make more of them!

  • Which is the Safe Haven? Bitcoin (BTC) or Gold? A Chinese Analyst Explains!

    Bitcoin ($BTC) continues to compete with gold, which has long proven itself as a safe-haven asset.

    However, while gold has proven itself as a safe haven, the same is not yet true for Bitcoin. Some analysts argue that $BTC is also a safe haven, while others maintain that it still needs time.

    At this point, on-chain analyst Willy Woo noted that most Bitcoin holders view $BTC as a safe-haven asset, but the reality is more complex.

    Willy Woo said that $BTC needs at least 10 years to be seen as a safe-haven asset.

    According to Woo, it could take at least 10 years for Bitcoin to be accepted as a safe-haven asset.

    According to Woo, Bitcoin has safe-haven characteristics: “It can transcend borders, it can be restored with a mnemonic device in times of conflict, it is theoretically independent of the traditional financial system, and it could be beneficial if that system collapses.”

    However, during periods of uncertainty or war, Bitcoin behaves more like a riskier asset and is highly sensitive to market sentiment.

    In a recent blog post, Woo noted that Bitcoin remains highly sensitive to market volatility during periods of macroeconomic uncertainty or war. He attributed this largely to the fact that institutions and other large-scale capital investors don’t yet see it as a sufficiently proven asset. According to Woo, large funds don’t fully accept Bitcoin’s safe-haven characteristics, viewing it as too new and lacking long-term validation.

    Woo added that this situation caused the $BTC price to move in a manner similar to the Nasdaq.

    Woo believes that Bitcoin may need 10 years or more to gain widespread market acceptance as a safe haven. If this milestone is reached, its market capitalization could rival that of gold.

    *This is not investment advice.