内容摘要：(Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): A Parisian bookseller gets invited to the Jane Austen writers’ residency in this contemporary Austen-inspired romantic comedy written and directed by Laura Piani.

(Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): A Parisian bookseller gets invited to the Jane Austen writers’ residency in this contemporary Austen-inspired romantic comedy written and directed by Laura Piani.

There is an unwritten code of honor among these traders and a slip of paper noting the transaction suffices for credit. No one is a complete stranger here and reputations are built or broken over time. The most trustworthy buyers have access to generous lines of credit.The increasing popularity of lab-grown, cheaper diamonds, and the banning of diamonds originating from Russia by the European Union and G7 countries have adversely affected the industry. But the biggest recent threat is from U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on imports, including diamonds. An even bigger 27% tariff on Indian exports to the United States has been delayed for 90 days as the Trump administration negotiates trade deals. But even the 10% cut in profits is hurting.

Employees cut and polish diamonds at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)Employees cut and polish diamonds at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)A trader inspects diamonds at his office in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

A trader inspects diamonds at his office in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)Four out of five of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished in Surat, where generations have known no other skill or trade. Behind the grimy facades of several buildings in the market lie swanky workshops equipped with sophisticated technology to design and cut the raw diamonds arriving from Australia, Canada, Russia and parts of Africa.

Only a small percentage of Surat’s output is absorbed by Indian consumers. The rest is exported to the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Belgium and other countries. The U.S. has no diamond mines. But two of the three main institutes for grading the gems are in the United States, and diamonds cross multiple borders before they are finally sold in their finished form.

The United States accounted for about 30% of gem and jewelry exports from India in 2023-24. About half of that was in the form of cut and polished diamonds. The future of this trade is now uncertain, depending on what Trump does about his tariffs.“Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation,” it said, referring to the post-World War II rivalry between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union.

“No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the U.S. itself,” it said, alleging that Washington is also undermining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.Hegseth said in Singapore on Saturday that Washington will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan.

China’s army “is rehearsing for the real deal,” Hegseth said. “We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.”The Chinese statement said the matter of Taiwan is China’s internal affair and that the U.S. should “never play with fire” with it. The statement also alleged Washington had deployed offensive weaponry in the South China Sea, was “stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific” and “turning the region into a powder keg.”