Pocket Reader - News in English

They Grew Up on Mexican Coke. Trump’s Cane Sugar Plan Makes Them Uneasy. NYT &rt; World News After President Trump announced that Coke will be made with cane sugar in the U.S., as it is in Mexico, foodies of Mexican heritage said in interviews that they weren’t excited.

Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s Decade of Legal Woes Ends NYT &rt; World News ​The South Korean Supreme Court’s ruling dispels uncertainty​ over Lee Jae-yong’s leadership as the tech giant faces challenges from tariffs and chip making rivals.

Syria’s President Condemns Israeli Strikes on Damascus NYT &rt; World News President Ahmed al-Shara said the attack threatened to escalate sectarian violence in his sharpest criticism of Israel since coming to power.

Israel, Mixing Force With Diplomacy, Takes ‘Discordant’ Approach to Syria NYT &rt; World News For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

Trump’s Brazil Tariff Threats Rekindle Support for President Lula NYT &rt; World News Once called the planet’s most popular politician, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil faced long odds in next year’s election. President Trump’s tariffs are changing that.

Dozens of People Are Killed in Iraq Shopping Mall Fire NYT &rt; World News The local governor announced three days of mourning for those killed, who include children.

Fire Ravages Tomorrowland Music Festival’s Main Stage NYT &rt; World News Organizers of the major electronic festival in Belgium said that they were focused on finding solutions after the stage was severely damaged.

Lauren Southern, Former Right-Wing Commentator, Says Andrew Tate Assaulted Her NYT &rt; World News Ms. Southern’s account of a 2018 encounter, made in a self-published memoir, adds to the allegations against Mr. Tate, the online influencer. “She is lying through her teeth,” Mr. Tate’s lawyer said.

Thursday Briefing: Israel Strikes Damascus NYT &rt; World News Plus, the many takes on Superman.

Germany’s Merz and UK’s Starmer Meet to Cement Ties as U.S. Steps Back NYT &rt; World News Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s trip to London on Thursday is the latest sign of a new world order, in which European nations are uniting amid growing instability.

K-Beauty Fans Stock up on Cosmetics After Trump’s Tariff Threat NYT &rt; World News American consumers of Korean cosmetics and skin-care products are bulk buying, as President Trump threatens 25 percent tariffs on imports.

China’s Aircraft Carriers Push Into Waters Long Dominated by U.S. NYT &rt; World News Recent drills near Japan reflect China’s ambitions to extend its navy’s reach and exert greater influence, in the Pacific and beyond.

Trump Has Promised More Tariffs on Mexico. What Happens Next? NYT &rt; World News President Trump has threatened to increase Mexico’s tariff rate to 30 percent starting Aug. 1, claiming the country hasn’t sufficiently tackled drug cartels.

Why So Many Afghans Have Been Forced Out of Iran NYT &rt; World News More than 1.4 million Afghans have been forced out of Iran since January amid a governmental crackdown. Elian Peltier, an international correspondent at The New York Times, reports from the Afghanistan-Iran border. There, he met with Afghans grappling with an uncertain future, as they return to a country with widespread poverty and severe restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights.

African Nation Says It Will Repatriate Migrants Deported by U.S. NYT &rt; World News The Trump administration sent five deportees to Eswatini, an African kingdom, saying that their own countries would not take them. But Eswatini says it will send them home.

Thursday Briefing: Israel Strikes Damascus NYT &rt; World News Plus, the many takes on Superman.

Carney Moves to Reduce Canada’s Chinese Steel Imports in Response to Trump’s Tariffs NYT &rt; World News Canada’s steel industry fears that Chinese steel facing steep tariffs in the United States will be sent north and overwhelm the Canadian market.

London’s Kew Gardens Will Renovate Iconic Glasshouses NYT &rt; World News The Palm House and the Waterlily House, two hulking greenhouses built in the Victorian Era, will close in 2027 for four years of major renovations.

Norwegian Olympic Skier, Audun Groenvold, Dies After Lightning Strike NYT &rt; World News Audun Groenvold, 49, won a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Mosaic of Lovers, Taken by Nazi Officer, Is Returned to Pompeii NYT &rt; World News The mosaic, which depicts a couple in an intimate bedroom scene, is among thousands of artifacts stolen from the ancient Roman city.