protect

Brazil’s proposal

The issue is set to come to a head next week, as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) holds its 20th meeting.

Heightened restrictions on brazilwood are scheduled to be raised for a vote at the conference.

Since 1998, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the tree as endangered.

But a proposal authored by the Brazilian government would increase CITES protections for brazilwood, placing it in the highest tier for trade restrictions.

CITES regulates the international trade of endangered species, and it classifies animals and plants in three appendices.

The third is the least restrictive: If a species is endangered in a given country, then export permits are required from that country.

The Appendix II has tighter standards: Export permits are required from wherever the species is extracted. Most endangered species, including brazilwood, fall into this category.

But Brazil hopes to bump brazilwood up to appendix one, a category for species faced with extinction.

Trade of plants and animals in that appendix is largely banned, except for non-commercial use. But even in that case, both import and export licences are required.

In its proposal, Brazil argues the upgraded restrictions are necessary to fight the plant’s extinction.

Only about 10,000 adult brazilwood trees remain. The population has shrunk by 84 percent over the last three generations, and illegal logging has played a dominant role in that decline, according to the proposal.

“Selective extraction of Brazilwood is still active, both inside and outside protected areas,” the proposal explains.

“In all cases recently detected, the destination of these woods is the bow-making industry for musical instruments.”

It adds that “520 years of intense exploitation” have led to the “complete elimination of the species in several regions”.

One operation launched by Brazilian police in October 2018 resulted in 45 companies and bowmakers being fined.

Nearly 292,000 bows and blanks — the unfinished blocks of wood destined to become bows — were seized.

Another investigation, between 2021 and 2022, led police to conclude that an estimated $46m in profits had come from the illegal brazilwood trade.

“The majority of bows and bow blanks sold by Brazilian companies over the past 25 years probably originated from illegal sources,” Brazil wrote in its proposal.

Trevor Penning couldn’t help but smile and chuckle after arriving in the brisk El Segundo weather from New Orleans early Wednesday morning.

It was fewer than 24 hours after he’d been told of the trade of which he wasn’t expecting, standing in front of his new end-of-the-hallway locker in the Chargers’ clubhouse. A placard listing Penning’s high school-recruiting rating, and the schools he attended, had yet to be placed atop his stall next to long snapper Josh Harris.

“It’s pretty crazy — overnight,” said the fourth-year offensive lineman, a former 2022 first-round draft pick of the Saints. “You get five more wins on [the record]. … I’m excited to be here.”

Penning, acquired by the Chargers (6-3) just before the NFL trade deadline Tuesday — New Orleans received a 2027 sixth-round draft pick in exchange for the 6-foot-7, 325-pound tackle — joins a team fighting with the Broncos atop the AFC West.

When the Northern Iowa alumnus checked into the Saints’ facility Monday, he was on a team with the worst record (1-8) in the NFC.

Now, Penning will try to bolster the Chargers’ protection of quarterback Justin Herbert, who has been sacked 28 times — third most among all NFL quarterbacks this season. The Chargers were in desperate need of a lineman after losing offensive tackle Joe Alt to a season-ending ankle injury.

“[Penning’s] just getting the basics down of just getting our cadences and getting adjusted to our play calls and things like that,” Herbert said. “Obviously, I’ve known of him, and obviously, [I’m] a big fan. A lot of respect for his game. It’s a cool opportunity — I’m sure he’ll pick up the offense very quickly.”

Penning said that he, like many football players and fans, had been familiar with Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh‘s attitude and approach while growing up. The formerly unranked high school prospect from Clear Lake, Iowa — turned Missouri Valley Football Conference star — said he believed his traits on and off the field match the Chargers’ culture.

“It’s good to hear,” Harbaugh said when asked about Penning’s comments. “I like guys who like football. Guys who like football seem to like me back. … [Penning] strikes me as a guy who’s all about his business, and came in [and] has done everything right. Really happy that we have him on our team.”

The Chargers have worked Penning at both tackle spots during practice this week. He played left tackle in 2022 and 2023, right tackle in 2024, and some left guard in 2025.

Where and how Penning fits is still a question waiting to be answered, and Sunday’s game against the Steelers could provide answers.

Penning is ready for the fresh start awaiting him.

“I’m excited to play anywhere they need me,” Penning said. “I think I have the versatility.”

Nov. 6 (UPI) — The Trump administration has moved to end deportation protections for those from South Sudan as the United Nations warns the country is on the brink of war.

Amid President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on immigration, the Department of Homeland Security has targeted countries that have been given Temporary Protected Status, which is granted to countries facing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters or other extraordinary conditions.

TPS enables eligible nationals from the designated countries to live and work in the United States legally, without fear of deportation.

DHS announced it was ending TPS for South Sudan on Wednesday with the filing of a Federal Register notice.

The termination will be in effect Jan. 5.

“After conferring with interagency partners, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem determined that conditions in South Sudan no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements,” DHS said in a statement, which explained the decision was based on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services review of the conditions in South Sudan and in consultation with the Department of State.

South Sudan was first designated for TPS in November 2011 amid violent post-independence instability in the country, and the designation has been repeatedly renewed since.

The Trump administration has sought to end TPS designations for a total seven countries: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Venezuela and now South Sudan. Court challenges have followed, with decisions staying, at least for now, the terminations for all of the countries except for Afghanistan and Cameroon, which ended July 12 and Aug. 4, respectively.

The move to terminate TPS for South Sudan is also expected to be challenged in court.

The announcement comes a little more than a week after the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned the General Assembly that the African nation is experiencing escalating armed conflict and political crisis, and that international intervention is needed to halt mounting human rights violations.

A civil war erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, just two years after the country gained independence — a conflict that came to an end with a cease-fire in 2018.

Barney Afako, a member of the human rights commission in South Sudan, said Oct. 29 that the political transition spearheaded by the cease-fire agreement was “falling apart.”

“The cease-fire is not holding, political detentions have become a tool of repression, the peace agreement’s key provisions are being systematically violated and the government forces are using aerial bombardments in civilian areas,” he said.

“All indicators point to a slide back toward another deadly war.”

The DHS is urging South Sudanese in the United States under TPS to voluntarily leave the country using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection smartphone application. If they do, they can secure a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 “exit bonus” and potential future opportunities for legal immigration.