- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong soars again
- Prostitutes, prospectors drive spread in DR Congo mpox capital
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong resumes surge
- Extreme heat another form of death sentence in Texas jails
- Can music help plants grow? Study suggests sound boosts fungus
- Nike earnings drop, says turnaround will take time
- US dockworkers launch mass strike a month before election
- Iron Dome: Israel's key anti-missile shield
- Cranes stand still as US dockworkers fight for 'future'
- GM reports US sales dip, but says EVs grew
- Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first woman president
- Webb telescope detects carbon dioxide on Pluto's largest moon
- Stock markets slump, oil jumps on Middle East concerns
- French PM vows more taxes and spending cuts ahead of budget fight
- Germany inaugurates IBM's first European quantum data centre
- Stock markets diverge as eurozone inflation drops further
- France's richest man takes control of Paris Match magazine
- Anger meets tear gas as Nigeria hardship protests fizzle out
- US dockworkers launch mass strike month before election
- Evacuations from Lebanon: what we know
- Feathers fly at Chanel's Paris fashion return
- UAE oil giant ADNOC swoops on German chemicals firm Covestro
- Eurozone inflation falls under 2% for first time since 2021
- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
Ukraine war puts Indian diamond polishers out of work
India's huge diamond-polishing industry has furloughed around 250,000 of its roughly two million workers because of sanctions on Russia hitting supplies, a trade union said Thursday.
The South Asian nation cuts and polishes 90 percent of the world's diamonds, with Russian diamond miners such as Alrosa traditionally accounting for 30-40 percent of India's imported rough gems.
"This problem has started ever since the Russia-Ukraine war began," Ramesh Zilariya, president of the Diamond Workers' Union Gujarat, told AFP.
"Western countries like the United States and Europe have stopped accepting Russian diamonds that have been polished in India," he said.
Workers were furloughed this month in the western state of Gujarat, the main hub of the industry, Zilariya added, as companies struggle with cash flow and supply disruptions.
Traders say Russian supply has fallen short since Western sanctions forced Moscow out of the SWIFT cross-border payments system, plunging the supply chain into uncertainty.
"Supply is still disrupted and payments are mostly on hold," Sripal Dholakia, director at the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council, told AFP.
Dholakia said imports from Russia are "not adequate" at present, and Indian traders are facing higher bank charges while making direct payments in rupees or rubles.
An industry pitch to the Indian government to make future payments via India's Unified Payments Interface system has gone unanswered.
India exported cut and polished diamonds worth $24 billion in the year ended March 31, data from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council showed.
Top export destinations included the United States, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
Many Western buyers are now refusing to accept diamonds sourced in Russia for fear of violating sanctions.
"They have started asking for a bill which specifies that the goods we are supplying are not Russian," a Mumbai-based jeweller told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Prices too have turned volatile.
"Fifteen to 20 percent instability is a big thing for us because we work on a margin of two to five percent... It becomes difficult," the jeweller said.
The Gujarat diamond union has asked the state government to provide financial aid and re-skilling training to out-of-work polishers to help tide over the crisis.
"(We) asked the government to support workers in the diamond industry because this issue is not going to be resolved in one month," Zilariya said.
"This issue will go on for at least five, six or seven months."
India has called for a cessation of violence but has stopped short of condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The two countries have historically had close ties, with Moscow supplying most of New Delhi's arms.
Y.Ibrahim--CPN