LA LIGA

La Liga: Barcelona and Real Madrid take Spanish title race down to wire.

BY PEACE NEWS 

REPORTER;

BARCA AND
MADRID TAKE DOWN THE TITLE
BY PEACE NEWS
REPORTER

(PEACE NEWS)Once again it comes down to Barcelona and arch-nemesis Real Madrid, as two of the most storied teams in club football fight it out to determine who will wear the La Liga crown by the end of Saturday.

Both Barcelona and Real face opponents they should each comfortably beat at 5pm local time, with destiny in the hands of one-point leaders Barca.

The Catalan side needs a win against Granada to secure its 24th La Liga title. But a draw, combined with a win by Real against Deportivo la Coruna, would hand the Madrid team a record 33rd domestic crown.

The latter scenario is unlikely, however, as Granada have lost nearly half of their matches this season, and are on a -20 goal difference -- a stark contrast to Barca's +80. (Real Madrid are on a goal difference of +74.)

This will be the tenth time that Barca have glided into the final day of the season with destiny in its hands -- and it's sealed the deal in all nine of its previous attempts. A win would also ensure Barca's sixth title in its last 10 seasons.

Real have been on a hot streak themselves, winning 11 league matches in a row under manager Zinedine Zidane, who was appointed mid-season. The streak includes a 2-1 win at Barca on April 2 and a 7-1 home win against Celtavigo on March 5.

They have also qualified for the Champions League final, to be played at the end of the month against city rivals Atletico.

"We do still have faith, why not?" Zidane said at a news conference on Friday. "We are just one point behind. We will believe in our chances until the final second.

"This is the game of our lives tomorrow, as we are playing for something very important. Then after this game we will have another to prepare for and win."

"We must start the game strongly," he added, referring to the matchup against Deportivo.

"It will be difficult as it is away from home. Depor are a good team, they know how to play football and their fans will want to end the season the best way possible. We must focus on what we have to do ourselves, from the first minute."

BY PEACE NEWS REPORTER

SADIQ KHAN

London Mayor Sadiq Khan slams Donald Trump's 'ignorant' take on Islam.

BY PEACE NEWS

SADIQ KHAN
BY PEACE NEWS
REPORTER 

(PEACE NEWS)The new mayor of London is criticizing Donald Trump's stance on Islam, describing it as "ignorant" and warning it could make both the UK and the U.S. "less safe."

Sadiq Khan, whose win last week made him the first Muslim mayor of any Western capital, made the comments Tuesday after Trump suggested the Londoner would be exempt from his proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States.

"Donald Trump's ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe -- it risks alienating mainstream Muslims around the world and plays into the hands of the extremists," Khan said.

He rejected Trump's suggestion that he could be an exception to the proposed Muslim travel ban, saying: "This isn't just about me -- it's about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world."

The statement continued: "Donald Trump and those around him think that western liberal values are incompatible with mainstream Islam -- London has proved him wrong."

BY PEACE NEWS REPORTER

MEGHAN TRAINOR

Meghan Trainor pulls video altered to make her thinner.

BY PEACE NEWS

MEGHAN TRAINOR
BY PEACE NEWS
REPORTER

(PEACE NEWS)When Meghan Trainor first started seeing screen grabs from her new music video, "Me Too," she thought fans were fooling around with Photoshop to alter the images and make her waist look smaller.

But it was no laughing matter.

"I saw fans posting it and was like, 'Why are fans ruining my waist? Are you kidding?' " the Grammy-winning artist told USA Today. "Then I went to the video and was like, 'Oh my god.' I texted the editors like, 'I never asked you to touch my waist. I want my waist back.' "

Trainor has been outspoken about body acceptance and even addresses the issue of magazines using Photoshop on women in her 2014 hit "All About That Bass."

So she took seriously her image being altered in the new video. Trainor said she "screamed in my hotel room" and cried when she saw it.

BY PEACE NEWS REPORTER

BAYERN MUNICH

Bayern Munich signs Mats Hummels and Renato Sanches

BY PEACE NEWS REPORTER

MATS HUMMELS
RENATO SANCHES
BY PEACE NEWS
REPORTER

(PEACE NEWS)Bayern Munich has completed the signings of Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels and Benfica teenager Renato Sanches on five-year contracts in a double swoop which could cost in excess of $100 million.

Hummels, who started his career at Bayern, has opted to rejoin his boyhood team one year before the end of his Dortmund contract for an undisclosed fee.

The 27-year-old German World Cup winner, who announced his desire to leave Dortmund last month, will have to play against his future employers in the German Cup final on May 21.

Portugal's Sanches, 18, is widely regarded as one of Europe's brightest prospects and has reportedly drawn interest from several English Premier League clubs, including Manchester United.

BY PEACE NEWS REPORTER

CAPTION AMERICA

Captain America: Civil War: What the critics are saying???

BY PEACE NEWS 

CAPTION AMERICA
BY PEACE NEWS
REPORTER

(PEACE NEWS)"Captain America: Civil War" is the latest Marvel film pitting its heroes against one another, starring Chris Evans leading Team Captain America and Robert Downey Jr. at the head of Team Iron Man.

The film, which opens May 6, also stars Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Marisa Tomei, Tom Holland and Martin Freeman. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo will also be at the helm of the next two "Avengers" movies — Infinity War 1 and 2, which are slated to come out in 2018 and 2019.

As of Thursday, Civil War had a score of 76 on Metacritic and 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics impressed by the Marvel film's clash of the heroes as well as the new faces, Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther. For comparison, "Captain America: The First Avenger" got 66 on Metacritic and The Winter Soldier got a score of 70. "First Avenger" also scored 80 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with "Winter Soldier" ranking in at 89 percent.

Most critics have released rave reviews, with only some on the fence who are saying the latest Marvel film gets to be too much for viewers as it adds characters to the seemingly never-ending Marvel Universe.

The Hollywood Reporter's Sheri Linden writes, "Posing serious questions about violence and vigilantism while reveling in both, Captain America: Civil War is overlong but surprisingly light on its feet. It builds upon the plotlines of previous Avengers outings, bringing together known marquee quantities and introducing the Black Panther and a new Spidey in winning fashion.

"Within genre requirements, they achieve an overall balance between super-kinetic — or numbing, depending on your point of view — action sequences and character detail, although more of the latter would have been welcome. And while the chance to see old-school Steve Rogers and modern guy Tony Stark, aka Captain America and Iron Man, go mano a mano is inherently thrilling only to diehard fans, even nonbelievers who make it to that climactic moment will feel that something is at stake when the two face off."

USA Today's Brian Truitt calls "Civil War" "the most epic Avengers movie so far, even though it's not an Avengers movie." He adds: "The movie also features the impressive introductions of Black Panther, a Wakandan prince bearing claws and a grudge, and a new Spider-Man. Previous movies have had issues balancing the youthful banter and scientific confidence of the comic-book wallcrawler, but Holland nails the role in every aspect."

The New York Times' A.O. Scott says that the film shines more in dialogue than in action, which fans might not expect. "The early chases and fights are hectic, stroboscopic messes, evidence less of the innovative power of digital effects than of the creative fatigue they can induce.

"This very crowded, reasonably enjoyable installment in the Avengers cycle ... reveals, even more than its predecessors, an essential truth about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's not so much a grand science-fiction saga, or even a series of action-adventure movies, as a very expensive, perpetually renewed workplace sitcom."

Time's Stephanie Zacharek called "Civil War" "that rare superhero movie that doesn't grind you down with nonstop action or, worse yet, the usual tiresome cavalcade of smart-ass wisecracks." The review also applauds the "superb new addition, Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther, an African prince turned enigmatic crimefighter. As both man and cat, he's patrician and polished, a touch of class padding quietly onto the scene. Like him, "Civil War," at its best, is blessedly light on its superhero-booted feet."

The Los Angeles Times warns that the film is polarizing for die-hard fans and newer comic book filmgoers, saying "it turns out to be a longer slog than you may anticipate unless you are a Marvel true believer who lives and breathes these characters' every quirk and qualm." Kenneth Turan adds that the Marvel Universe expands and adds new characters in each new film, "making it difficult for random first-time viewers, if such people still exist, to come in off the street and fully enjoy them."

Forbes' Scott Mendelson raves that "there is lots to love and much to appreciate in its thoughtful and deeply personal narrative." He adds, "there is so much that works, and so much that goes against the grain in terms of what we expect from the MCU and from superhero movies in general."

BY PEACE NEWS 

TENNIS

Madrid Open: Andy Murray defeats Rafael Nadal to reach final.

BY PEACE NEWS

MADRID OPEN
TENNIS
BY PEACE NEWS
REPORTER

(PEACE NEWS)Andy Murray defeated Rafael Nadal on clay for only the second time in his career to reach the final of the Madrid Open Saturday.

The Scot overcame the home favorite in straight sets 7-5 6-4 in just over two hours and 11 minutes.

Murray's only other victory over "King of Clay" Nadal came in the final of the same event in 2015.

"It's big, obviously it's not easy," Murray said in quotes carried by the official ATP website after the match. "Not loads of players have won against Rafa on clay throughout his career,"

Murray has made adjustments to his game, particularly his second-serve, in recent weeks as well as practicing with Nadal in Mallorca in anticipation of the clay court season.

And that preparation looked to have paid off as he got the better of the Spaniard in large part due to an array of finely-timed drop-shots and intelligent ground strokes.

BY PEACE NEWS REPORTER

LEICESTER CITY

Leicester City;outclasses Everton before lifting EPL trophy.

BY PEACE NEWS 

LEICESTER CITY
BY PEACE NEWS
REPORTER

(PEACE NEWS)The city of Leicester seems to have barely slept since it's unlikely football heroes secured the English Premier League title earlier this week.

Yet the festivities are certain to continue after the Foxes outclassed a poor Everton side 3-1 before being presented with the EPL trophy Saturday.

A noisy and emotionally charged King Power stadium was serenaded by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who was invited to perform by Leicester's inspirational manager Claudio Ranieri, before the players took to the field.

But it was the newly installed champions hitting the right notes straight from the kick-off.

Read: Leicester City set net $220 million windfall

Star-striker Jamie Vardy opened the scoring after five minutes, pouncing on Andy King's center to flick beyond Joel Robles in the Everton goal.King then placed the ball coolly beyond Robles to double Leicester's advantage just after the half hour mark.Vardy made it three from the penalty spot on 65 minutes after he was felled by Matthew Pennington.

BY PEACE NEWS REPORTER