The Eurovision Song Contest is back in Britain for the first time in more than two decades, and this year’s edition is one of the most anticipated ever.

But the famously kitsch competition can be confusing, to say the least.

Here’s what first-timers need to know about Eurovision – and how they can follow Saturday’s grand final.

What is Eurovision?

In simple terms, it’s an international singing competition organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It takes place once a year, and is hosted by the previous edition’s winning country. There are two semi-finals, and a grand final.

The widely told story of the origins of Eurovision is surprisingly noble. Tasked with bringing together a continent torn apart by war, the fledgling EBU organized a musical contest. Seven countries took part the first time around – now around 40 compete each year.

Any member country of the EBU can take part, and that includes countries on the fringes of Europe such as Morocco, Jordan, Israel – and even Australia, which has recently been invited to join.

Why is it in the UK?

For the first time ever, the contest is being held on behalf of another nation.

Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won last year, with a wave of support across Europe sweeping the nation to victory.

But the UK finished second, its best result in decades, and was asked to host the contest once it became clear that Russia’s ongoing invasion would prevent Ukraine from hosting.

Liverpool, the home of the Beatles, was selected to take the honors, and the city has been transformed for the competition. There are Ukrainian-themed displays around the city, and 3,000 discounted tickets were made available to displaced people from Ukraine.

How does it work?

Twenty-six countries will compete in the finals, with the bulk having to compete in semi-finals to meet the handful of nations who are automatic qualifiers – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – as well as last year’s winner Ukraine.

Each country performs a three-minute song once, during a very, very long and somewhat emotionally draining broadcast. Singers can sing in any language – most choose English, but plenty opt for their own – and they don’t even need to be from the competing country.

Then, every country hands out points to their favorite competing nations, separately revealing the scores from an expert jury and the public vote. Countries give 12 points to their top dog, 10 to their second-favorite, and between one and eight for their honorable mentions.

Votes are read out, via satellite link, by a national celebrity in each of the countries that entered the contest, so we get a whistlestop tour of dozens of European capital cities.

How big a deal is it?

It’s huge. Some 161 million people watched last year’s event, according to the EBU. Certain regions within Europe take it especially seriously – Scandinavian nations have long been obsessed and can boast a long list of winners.

In Iceland last year, nearly 97% of televisions that were tuned into something were showing Eurovision, the EBU said.

Ireland has the most wins, with seven, but the majority of those were from the early days of the contest, and Sweden needs just one more victory to equal that record. Monaco is the smallest country to have won, with its David vs. Goliath triumph coming in 1971.

What are the performances like?

Eurovision is well-known for its more eccentric acts, who give the competition its charm and unmistakable style.

In the past few years we’ve seen heavy metal acts, a Norwegian techno duo dressed as yellow wolves, a pair of rapping Montenegrin astronauts, an all-female Polish group who churned butter throughout their performance, and Ukrainian superstar Verka Serduchka, whose iconic and turbocharged performance came in second place.

Not quite every country opts for such an over-the-top spectacle. On Saturday, as is the case every year, there will be a handful of drab ballads about peace, and a few more about love. But with every nation keen to stand out from the pack, even the most straightforward tunes can be presented in some eyebrow-raising ways.

So expect bright colors, perhaps some magic tricks, a few questionable hairstyles… and most importantly, expect the unexpected.

Who can vote?

Viewers in EBU member countries can vote for any nation apart from their own, leading to some infamously political vote-lending.

And this year, for the first time, people anywhere else in the world can vote too.

“The Eurovision Song Contest, the world’s largest live music event, is now approaching its 70th anniversary. In order to keep the event relevant and exciting we regularly update the format to ensure it continues to thrive,” the contest explained.

If you’re in one of the countries that are newly able to vote, you’ll have to visit the official Eurovision website and enter your credit card details in order to ensure the global voting is fair.

All the details are explained by the EBU here.

How can I watch it?

In the United States, Eurovision is being streamed exclusively by Peacock. Its grand final coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. UK time) Saturday.

Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir is providing commentary, for the second year in a row.

Viewers can participate with Weir via “Watch With” by submitting questions to the host as they watch the competition together.

The former professional ice skater is a super fan of the annual competition, which pits singers, who must perform live, from participating countries against each other and has become a worldwide phenomenon.

Across Europe, the contest is shown by national broadcasters. This year’s host broadcaster in Liverpool is the BBC.

Nigerian singer and saxophonist Seun Kuti, youngest son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, appeared in court on Tuesday following his arrest for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

A video that surfaced over the weekend showed Kuti having a confrontation with an unarmed policeman on a busy Lagos highway.

“The police wanted 21 days to detain him further but the court said no. The court gave them 48 hours to grant him bail if they don’t file a charge,” Falana said.

Kuti could face up to three years in prison if convicted of assaulting a police officer, according to Nigerian laws.

Grammy-nominated Kuti turned himself in to authorities Monday, accompanied by his lawyer, after Nigeria’s national police chief ordered his arrest.

A statement from Lagos police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed that Kuti has been placed under arrest while officers investigate the case.

Known for his music activism and outspoken criticism of the government, Kuti has been a vocal advocate against police brutality.

Together with his late father’s former band, Egypt 80, which he now leads, Seun Kuti has performed for audiences worldwide, touring extensively in the United States, France, Japan, and the UK.

With his brother Femi, Kuti has carried forward the Afrobeat legacy of his father who died in 1997. Seun Kuti’s fourth album, “Black Times,” earned a received a Grammy nomination in 2019.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was named the 2023 George Halas Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America on Monday.

The annual award is given to an NFL player, coach or staffer “who overcomes the most adversity to succeed.”

Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after making a tackle and appearing to be hit with a helmet in his chest during the first quarter of the Bills’ Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2.

CPR was performed on Hamlin when he lost his pulse and needed to be revived through resuscitation and defibrillation.

In April, Hamlin was cleared to resume football activities after his cardiac arrest was caused by commotio cordis, which can occur when severe trauma to the chest disrupts the heart’s electrical charge and causes dangerous fibrillations.

The 25-year-old was cleared to resume football activities last month and said he has been planning to make a comeback to the NFL.

“This event was life-changing, but it’s not the end of my story,” Hamlin said in a news conference two months ago.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane said that Hamlin saw several specialists over the offseason, who agreed that the player “is clear to resume full activities just like anyone else who was coming back from an injury.”

AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli says his side believes it can overturn a two-goal deficit against Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinal second leg on Tuesday.

Inter capitalized on a fast start to win the first leg 2-0 last week and is the designated home team for the return fixture – meaning it can allocate more seats to supporters despite sharing the San Siro stadium with its fiercest rival.

While Inter holds almost all the advantage, Pioli says his team has what it takes to beat the odds.

“We have a clear objective, which is to win the tie, therefore we can still reach the final,” he told reporters ahead of the match.

“Nobody predicted that we’d be at this stage of the competition, not least the final, but I know how good my players are.

“Some outstanding feats have been achieved; one needs to believe and we do.”

The Italian city of Milan will once again come to a stand still to watch these two iconic teams battle it out for a place in the final.

The highly anticipated first leg didn’t quite live up to expectations with Inter taking a commanding lead in the first 15 minutes after goals from Edin Džeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

It could have, and probably should have, gotten a lot uglier for Pioli’s side as Inter passed up on several chances to put the semifinal tie beyond AC Milan.

However, Inter still looks the most likely team to reach the final on June 10 in Istanbul.

“We are 90 minutes away from achieving a dream […] my players deserve a lot of credit,” Inter manager Simone Inzaghi told reporters.

“We know we have an advantage, but we have achieved nothing yet. We have to have effort, aggression and determination and with all that we can be confident.”

Rossoneri supporters can take some positives from a much improved second half last week but will hope nerves don’t get the better of the players again.

The team could also be buoyed by the return of star winger Rafael Leão who was forced to miss the first leg through injury.

“We’re focused and determined and preparing in the best way possible in order to give a better performance than the first leg, and to try and win the game,” Pioli said.

How to watch?

The second leg between AC Milan and Inter Milan will kick off at 3 p.m. ET on May 16.

The game can be streamed live in the US on Paramount+.

The winner will face either Manchester City or Real Madrid in the final, with that semifinal fixture tied 1-1 after the first leg. The return leg will take place on May 17.

The Dallas Stars advanced to the NHL Western Conference Final with an exciting Game 7 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Monday.

Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston each grabbed goals for Dallas in a 2-1 victory at American Airlines Center which sealed a 4-3 series victory for the Stars.

It is Dallas’ first trip to the conference final since 2020 where it will face the Vegas Golden Knights for an opportunity to lift the Stanley Cup – the Stars last won the famous trophy in 1999.

“It was our best team game of the playoffs,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer – who improved his undefeated record in Game 7’s to 7-0 – told reporters afterwards.

“I knew our group would respond (from the loss in Game 6). They have all year individually and collectively as a team, and they didn’t disappoint.”

DeBoer became the first coach in NHL history to lead four different teams to the conference final/semifinal round of the postseason in his first season as coach.

The attacking contributions from Hintz and Johnston have been pivotal for Dallas’ playoff run and that was the same again on Monday night.

Hintz scored his ninth goal of the postseason to open the scoring after dispossessing Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak in the second period.

And Johnston, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday, doubled the home team’s lead midway through the third period.

It is the second consecutive game- and series-clinching goal for Johnston, who scored the decisive goal to help Dallas eliminate the Minnesota Wild in Game 6 of the first round.

Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger was a man-mountain in the Dallas goal, making 22 saves to deny the Kraken a route back into the game.

And after the victory over the Kraken, Oettinger believes the Stars can go all the way.

“When you ask me if we think we can win it, I feel like not every year you can honestly say yes. I think this year, I feel like we can win it – and we have everything,” Oettinger said.

“When we play the way we want to play and we do the little things right, I think we can beat anyone and having that belief is pretty cool. I think everyone in the locker room thinks that and that’s a unique thing. Not every team can say that every year.”

Game 1 of the Western Conference Final will take place on Friday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

In the Eastern Conference Final, the Carolina Hurricanes will play the Florida Panthers.

It’s not often a player who has yet to feature in the NBA has the sport’s established stars unanimously gushing.

“He’s like a [NBA] 2K created player, every point guard that wants to be seven foot. Cheat code type vibes,” said four-time NBA champion Steph Curry, while Kevin Durant added: “The league’s really in trouble when he comes in.”

But if you’ve seen anything of the seven-foot-four-inch French teenager Victor Wembanyama, you might understand why the 19-year-old has garnered the attention of the basketball world with his performances in the French professional league and is the widely presumed No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

He will find out his likely destination following Tuesday’s draft lottery, which will see each team find out the position they are selecting in June’s draft.

For over a year, teams have made efforts to increase their chances to be able to acquire Wembanyama. Stars have been traded away, contributing players have been released; all in an effort to have a worse regular season in order to increase their odds at the first pick.

The Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs all have a 14% chance at the No. 1 pick and therefore completely changing the outlook of their franchise, with Wembanyama at the forefront.

With NBA champions, MVPs and All-Stars – LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Curry and Durant to name a few – all expressing their excitement at Wembanyama’s arrival in the US, analysts are likening his arrival in the league to that of James in 2003.

There have been few players whose journey to the pinnacle of basketball have been as highly followed; in figures released by the NBA, Wembanyama is No. 8 on its list of the top-10 most-viewed players on social media this season – despite not even being in the league yet.

‘Wembymania’ is in full flow, something author Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff has seen firsthand.

“He wowed my American students who are used to seeing NBA games. They were really enthralled with it. And I keep having to explain to them that having a sold-out, 15,000-people crowd for a regular French professional basketball game is not normal at all,” she said.

“It is normal for when the NBA comes to town. But that’s once a year. This was not normal at all. I’ve been to Mets 92 games in past years. I was there the year that Boris Diaw came back and played and I was up in their stadium and it was maybe half full, maybe, being very generous. The crowd kind of watched the game, they were into it, but not that into it. I mean, just a vast, vast change.”

Becoming the best

A career in sports was always likely for Wembanyama.

His father was a high jumper, his mother was a former basketball player who is now a coach and his two siblings – older sister Eve and younger brother Oscar – are basketball players.

Even his grandfather, Michel De Fautereau, played for Paris University Club in the 1960s in the topflight in France.

When he was young, Wembanyama tried many sports, including judo and football, as well as basketball.

But his first step in the career he’d eventually come to blossom in happened by chance.

The coach of basketball club Nanterre 92, Michaël Allard, happened to be watching an Under-11 match in which Wembanyama was playing.

Allard’s attention was drawn to an assistant coach on the bench – or so he thought. The assistant coach was in fact an 11-year-old Wembanyama and when he realized his mistake, he called the technical director of the Under-11 program at the French club to inform them of this prospect he’d discovered.

Wembanyama was immediately recruited by Nanterre where he moved up the youth ranks and learned the game as he dove head-first into the sport.

On top of that, Wembanyama’s physical growth has only added to the intrigue surrounding him. He has grown to seven feet, four inches tall, potentially making him one of the tallest players in the NBA, with an eight-foot wingspan.

However, it is his combination of size and skill with the ball which has made him such an intriguing talent.

Most players his size develop into a prototypical NBA center: good at shot-blocking, rebounding machines, known for the defense and threat close to the basket – just take Wembanyama’s compatriot, Rudy Gobert, for example.

But Wembanyama is different. He has become elite at handling the ball, dribbling, passing, jump shooting and from three-point range. Throw all of that together with being over seven feet tall and there is no wonder he’s being touted as the most exciting player to enter the league in 20 years.

In fact, James described Wembanyama as an “alien” and a “generational talent,” while two-time MVP Antetokounmpo said the NBA has “never seen someone like that before.”

Clips on social media of Wembanyama performing remarkable feats of athleticism or skill with the ball have gone viral this season, from crazy blocks or dunks to impressive, weaving in-and-out dribbling followed by a difficult long-range three-pointer.

And the French basketball system where he has been nurtured has helped develop his unique talent, says Krasnoff.

“So unlike the US system where sport is integrated into the school system, in France, as in many other parts of the world, that’s not the case. But the professional clubs, for example, do have this program where they take young promising players into their youth academy system where they are able to train in dedicated way with trainers, with medical support.”

In this focused environment, away from the distractions and bright lights that often come with college basketball in the US, Wembanyama has been able to grow into the multi-faceted player many are predicting will dominate in the NBA when he arrives.

He led the league in scoring, rebounding and blocks in his final season in French basketball, as well as shouldering the burden of being almost a one-man marketing campaign for the league.

Krasnoff recalls attending games around the country which were sold out – when they typically wouldn’t have been – just to catch a sight of Wembanyama.

Wembanyama’s arrival in the NBA could have a transformative effect on one franchise. But more than that, Krasnoff says the hope is it has a revolutionary effect on basketball culture in France; a country with a long history with the game, despite it being “a closeted sport.”

“Certainly, (his drafting) will probably continue to drive the NBA’s popularity in France. That was always kind of a given,” she said. “And it certainly has driven US interest in French basketball, at least as far as Wembanyama is concerned.

“Five years ago, when I would tell people I’m working on French basketball and why are there so many French guys in the NBA, people look at me as if I was an alien with five heads. Over the past six months, that’s totally changed.

“The French press calls him a unicorn. It’s fair and I think everyone recognizes that this is not normally how it’s going to be, but hopefully, it will drive greater awareness and attention, particularly ahead of Paris 2024, where basketball is acknowledged to be, in addition to track and field and swimming, perhaps one of the premier Olympic sports disciplines.”

Wembanyama’s only appearance on US soil only added to the fascination surrounding his abilities, as he played in two exhibition games last season against development team G League Ignite and scored 36 and 37 points respectively.

There are concerns that Wembanyama’s slender frame may lead to injuries down the line – as many players around his height have struggled before with injuries to their lower limbs.

Most notably, Yao Ming – after an illustrious career with the Houston Rockets – was forced to retire at the age of 31 with foot and ankle injuries. And more recently, Chet Holmgren – drafted last year by the Oklahoma City Thunder – missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury. But these injury concerns are not likely to dissuade any team from picking the Frenchman with the No. 1 pick.

Wembanyama’s likely destination will be discovered on May 16 where several teams will be hoping to get lucky enough to be able to draft him.

Through the power of ‘Wembymania’ and the excitement around him, the upcoming season proves to be one of the most fascinating years in the NBA’s history.

A 13-strong rescue team has rescued an “injured and exhausted” dog from England’s highest mountain in an operation lasting more than four hours.

According to rescuers, the 33-kilogram (73-pound) pooch was “refusing to move” from Scafell Pike, located in the Lake District national park, northwestern England, on Saturday.

The canine’s owners requested help at 6:25 p.m. (1:25 p.m. ET), according to the Keswick Mountain Rescue team, which sent 13 members to assist.

Rescuers put the dog in a bag on a stretcher and carried the pet down the mountain, the team said in a statement.

“Despite being quite a large dog at 33kg it was a joy to carry such a relatively lightweight casualty. The casualty remained cool, calm and positively regal throughout,” reads the statement.

The rescue was the team’s 42nd mission this year and took 4 hours 18 minutes in total.

This is not the first time that rescuers have had to help a dog back down the mountain.

In July 2020, a 121-pound St. Bernard named Daisy needed saving from Scafell Pike after showing signs of pain in her rear legs and refusing to move.

The rescue operation took a total of five hours and 16 team members of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team.

Scafell Pike is England’s highest mountain at 978 meters (3,209 feet). It is located in the famous Lake District, a UNESCO-protected area popular with hikers and holidaymakers.

The Lake District is known as one of Europe’s most beautiful places. Wild mountains soar up from vast lakes, while postcard-perfect villages offer truly bucolic places to stay and soak it all up.

The landscape is still worked by traditional sheep farmers, with their livestock inescapable when out tramping over the fells. The walking there is legendary, whether it’s scaling Scafell Pike or exploring wilder hills like Blencathra, further north.

The prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of the late American teen Natalee Holloway will be extradited to the US to face extortion and fraud charges, said officials in Peru, where Joran van der Sloot has been serving time for the murder of a Peruvian woman.

Peru “decided to agree to the request for temporary surrender … (of van der Sloot) … for his prosecution in the United States for the alleged commission of the crimes of extortion and fraud” against Holloway’s mother, Justice and Human Rights Minister Daniel Maurate Romero said in a statement Wednesday.

Holloway was last seen alive with van der Sloot 18 years ago in Aruba.

Separately, van der Sloot was convicted in 2012 of murdering Stephany Flores, 21, in his Lima hotel room and sentenced to 28 years in prison.

A Dutch national, van der Sloot has been indicted in the US on federal charges of extortion and wire fraud in connection with a plot to sell information about the whereabouts of Holloway’s remains in exchange for $250,000, officials said.

The missing 18-year-old’s mother, Beth Holloway, wired $15,000 to a bank account van der Sloot held in the Netherlands and through an attorney gave him another $10,000 in person, the indictment states. Once he had the initial $25,000, van der Sloot showed the attorney, John Kelly, where Natalee Holloway’s remains allegedly were hidden, but the information turned out to be false, the indictment states.

The indictment seeks for van der Sloot to forfeit $25,100, including $100 Beth Holloway initially transferred to van der Sloot to confirm his account.

Holloway was last seen in the early hours of May 30, 2005, leaving a nightclub in Aruba with van der Sloot and two other men.

The three men – van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe – were arrested in 2005 and released due to insufficient evidence. They were rearrested and charged in 2007 for “involvement in the voluntary manslaughter of Natalee Holloway or causing serious bodily harm to Natalee Holloway, resulting in her death,” Aruban prosecutors said at the time.

But a few weeks later, an Aruban judge ordered van der Sloot’s release, citing a lack of direct evidence that Holloway died from a violent crime or that van der Sloot was involved in such a crime. The Kalpoe brothers were also released.

Holloway’s body has not been found. An Alabama judge signed an order in 2012 declaring her legally dead.

‘We are finally getting justice,’ mother says

Van der Sloot would be returned to Peru after legal proceedings against him conclude in the United States, Peru’s judiciary said.

“The requesting country must keep the defendant in custody during the entire (duration of) proceedings in its territory,” the Peruvian judiciary announced on social media. “Once the criminal proceedings against (van der Sloot) conclude, he will immediately be returned to the Peruvian authorities.”

The US State Department would not confirm details of van der Sloot’s extradition “as a matter of long-standing practice” in such cases, an agency spokesperson said.

News of van der Sloot’s impending arrival in the US brought long-awaited relief to Holloway’s family.

“In May 2005 my 18-year-old daughter Natalee Holloway left Birmingham for Aruba to attend her high school graduation trip and was never seen again,” mother Beth Holloway said in a family statement released Wednesday.

“I was blessed to have had Natalee in my life for 18 years, and as of this month, I have been without her for exactly 18 years,” the statement said. “She would be 36 years old now. It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called the suspect’s imminent extradition to Holloway’s hometown of Birmingham “significant.”

“Criminals like him are deceptive & vicious. Alabama moms like Beth Holloway are stronger,” Ivey tweeted Thursday. “Her commendable persistence to obtain justice for Natalee is FINALLY paying off.”

Peru has an extradition treaty with the US and previously had agreed to extradite van der Sloot only after he finished serving the murder sentence, the Peruvian news agency Andina reported, meaning US officials may have had to wait until 2038.

Beth Holloway thanked Peru’s new president and supporters near and far.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to President Dina Boluarte, the President of Peru, the warm people of Peru, the family of Stephany Flores, the FBI in Miami, Florida and in Birmingham, Alabama, the US Attorney’s office in Birmingham, the US Embassy in Peru and the Peruvian Embassy in the US, my longtime attorney John Q. Kelly who has worked tirelessly on this case, and George Seymore and Marc Wachtenheim of Patriot Strategies,” the mother said.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported when Natalee Holloway was last seen alive. She was last seen alive with Joran van der Sloot 18 years ago in Aruba.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported no one was ever charged in Holloway’s death.

On top of the rumbling freight train, the young man says he has been attacked and robbed. There is no shade from the burning sun in the day, nowhere to keep warm in the perishing cold of the night. But still, he says, this brutal journey is worth it.

“Due to crime in my country, we can’t work, we can’t do anything,” he said.

Roberto is one of the tens of thousands of migrants who have been making the perilous journey to the US-Mexico border ahead of Thursday night’s expiration of the Covid-era immigration rule known as Title 42.

Roberto fled the country with his two young children, he said, becoming emotional as he talked about them. “I brought them here to Mexico but they got sick, they almost died,” he said. “I had to send them back to Honduras.”

Roberto was still sick himself, wearing a mask to protect others from his coughs. He said this was the seventh train he had ridden on top of in the past 12 days as he, his father and his sister tried to find a new life. His sister is 15, he said. In other circumstances, she would be celebrating her quinceañera at home with friends and family. But home, for now, was an open train car heading north.

The truck contains metal construction beams, covered in plastic. There are a couple dozen people in this freight car alone, with dozens more riding on top of and within the other cars. The riders flatten cardboard boxes and use dirty clothing to try to give themselves some padding against the hard, uneven surface. But this is still the preferred kind of train car, as it at least offers some protection from falling off.

“You can’t sleep here,” Roberto said as he sat, buffeted by the wind, seemingly exhausted but determined as the train neared Ciudad Juarez, the town across the international border from El Paso.

He, his sister and his father, plan to try to cross into the United States this same day. They believe they have no reason not to.

The lifting of the US’s Title 42 pandemic-era immigration restriction on Thursday has raised concerns that more people will try to enter the United States. Title 42 allowed officials to quickly process people arriving and send many back across the border. The reinstatement of old rules may mean heavier legal penalties, but it is expected to be a longer process.

But the people on the freight train are not talking about US rule changes. Those we spoke with had the singular goal of escaping their countries and starting again in the US, whatever process they had to follow.

Crossing the border is as far as Felipe and Marcela have thought. The couple said they left Colombia, ready to sacrifice themselves for the five children they left behind.

“We don’t know for sure,” Felipe replied when asked where they would go. “We need to get there first, that’s the priority. Once there, we can see what to do, because we don’t have friends, family, anyone who can take us in.”

They said they suffered in the heat and the cold, and were hungry and thirsty. But their worst fear was the threat of violence, especially to women.

“The treatment of women is the worst and also dangerous,” Felipe said. “People get on the train, to look for women.” Marcela added: “Dangerous meaning rape, sometimes people get in looking for that.”

Wind pummels the people in the rail car. Many, like Roberto, are sick and coughing. As the train passed what looked like an incinerator, there was the smell of burning trash and a massive plume of smoke. At other times, the smell of sewage is overwhelming.

Travelers come from many different countries. We even met two from China.

For some of them, this is not their first attempt to get into the US.

Omar Zambrano said he left Venezuela six months ago to escape the crime and violence there, coupled with the economic crisis. “Living in Venezuela is chaotic. If you have breakfast, you don’t have enough money for lunch,” said Zambrano, a chef who said he would try any kind of work in the United States.

He has the address of a friend in Baltimore along with a printout in Spanish of all the circumstances under which he would be allowed to stay in the US.

He said he has tried and been sent back before. But he will try to cross the border again. “They ignore you when you’re trying to do it legally,” he said. “But let’s go for the legal way first to see what happens.”

After clambering down from the final train stop, Zambrano picked up his small bookbag, containing all he has on the journey and prepares to head to the border crossing, walking or perhaps on a truck.

“We are going to turn ourselves in, in the name of God,” he said, somehow wearing a smile under his sunglasses. “Faith moves mountains and you must not lose it.”

The US ambassador to South Africa on Thursday accused the South African government of delivering arms and ammunition to a sanctioned Russian cargo vessel late last year, local media said.

“Among the things we noted was the docking of the cargo ship in Simon’s Town naval base between the 6th to the 8th of December 2022, which we are confident uploaded weapons and ammunition onto that vessel in Simon’s Town as it made its way back to Russian,” Ambassador Reuben Brigety II told local media, including News24.com.

“We are confident that weapons were loaded onto that vessel, and I would bet my life on the accuracy on that assertion,” the ambassador also said in a video released by Newzroom Afrika, a local news channel that was also at the briefing.

“The arming of the Russians is extremely serious, and we do not consider this issue to be resolved, and we would like SA to [begin] practicing its non-alignment policy,” he said, according to both news outlets.

In response to the ambassador’s claims, South Africa has summoned Brigety to Pretoria. In a statement released on Twitter Friday, Clayson Monyela, the head of public diplomacy for the South African foreign ministry, said it would “demarche the USA Ambassador to South Africa following his remarks yesterday.”

Monyela said a detailed statement would be released following the meeting. South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor would also speak to her US counterpart, Secretary Antony Blinken, about the matter, he added.

The presence of the mysterious ‘Lady R’ cargo vessel caused significant speculation when it docked at the naval base in Simon’s Town near Cape Town in December last year. Cargo vessels routinely dock at Cape Town’s civilian harbor, not the naval base.

At the time, opposition member of parliament and shadow Defense Minister Kobus Marais said in a statement that goods were loaded off and onto the ship during the overnight hours and demanded answers from the government.

The US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control added the Lady R to its sanctions list in May last year for alleged weapons shipments, along with a host of other Russian-flagged cargo vessels.

The South African presidency called the explosive allegations “disappointing” and warned that the remarks “undermine the spirit of cooperation and partnership” between the US and South African government officials who had been discussing the matter.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement late Thursday that no evidence had been provided to support these allegations and that the government planned to form an independent inquiry into the matter.

“In recent engagements between the South African delegation and US officials, the Lady R matter was discussed and there was agreement that an investigation will be allowed to run its course and that the US intelligence services will provide whatever evidence in their possession,” the statement read.

“US intelligence services said they had evidence that they would only provide to us via a credible investigation or inquiry. We take the allegations seriously, and we want to have a credible independent voice to state the actual facts of the matter,” he said.

“Otherwise, we risk a back forth series of accusations and denials, which is not going to be helpful in the context of our bilateral relations.”

It is unusual for a US ambassador in South Africa to make such public accusations against the government.

The South African government has come under intense criticism for its stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has routinely abstained from votes condemning Russia at the United Nations General Assembly.

While South African leadership has repeatedly stated that they are neutral in the conflict and have frequently called for a negotiated settlement, their actions have come under increasing scrutiny from Western powers.

In February of this year, South Africa convened naval war games off its coast including both the Russian and Chinese military.

Later this year, South Africa will host the BRICS summit, a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Russian President Vladimir Putin was invited to that summit.

South African officials have flip-flopped in their public commitment to the Rome Statute – the treaty that compels signatory nations to arrest individuals indicted by the court – after Putin was indicted for alleged war crimes in March.

While South Africa’s ruling party African National Congress has an ideological history with Russia and the former Soviet Union, the European Union and the United States are far bigger trading partners.