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Medieval scribes filled volumes called bestiaries with illustrations and descriptions of fantastic creatures. The manuscripts containing representations of these animals also depended on a menagerie of beasts: The covers of these and other volumes were fashioned from the skins of calves, goats, sheep, deer, pigs and, in some macabre instances, humans. Most of these hides … Read more

The European Union is responding to President Trump’s sweeping trade war with a handshake and a punch: It is promising the administration potential wins while also preparing its own retaliatory tariffs on American products starting next week. The questions are whether the enticements are enough, and whether a show of strength could backfire. “Europe can … Read more

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Tuesday that two Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces had been taken as prisoners of war. Mr. Zelensky said that the two Chinese citizens had been captured while fighting in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. He added that Kyiv had information that “there are many more such … Read more

For attending galas, cutting ribbons and meeting diplomats, a Belgian prince takes home a royal allowance of 100,000 euros, nearly $110,000, a year. But what will happen when he stops working? For that, Prince Laurent of Belgium is seeking government benefits. A court this week agreed in part, recommending that the country’s lawmakers consider drawing … Read more

A satire of expatriate life in trendy Berlin, a tale of an antiquarian book dealer stuck in a time loop, and a fictionalized retelling of a migrant boat tragedy in the English Channel, are among the six titles that will compete for this year’s International Booker Prize, the award’s organizers announced on Tuesday. Perhaps the … Read more

Talks between the United States and Iran, which President Trump said on Monday would begin on Saturday in Oman, face considerable problems of substance and well-earned mistrust. But time is short for what is likely to be a complicated negotiation. “We’re at a fork in the road, heading toward a crisis,” said Sanam Vakil, the … Read more

We are living, all of us, in an exhausting world, and the Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka is not immune. You don’t become as profoundly invested in art and politics as he has been over his long life unless you care to your core about the path that we as a species are charting. “I’m a … Read more

He was often provocative and absolute, only to change his mind and contradict himself with equal conviction. Laurent Bayle, who succeeded Boulez at IRCAM and Cité de la Musique, and recently published the book “Pierre Boulez, Aujourd’hui” (“Pierre Boulez Today”), said, “There is no ideologue in music like him.” Because Boulez was so powerful, his … Read more

A major Western leader announces an unorthodox economic policy, panicking the financial markets, driving down the country’s currency and fueling a blizzard of warnings about the dire long-term consequences. President Trump did all this with his across-the-board tariffs, announced last week, but before him, there was Liz Truss, Britain’s former prime minister, with her rollout … Read more

“I do think there is so much to be said for your ability to exist, even in the presence of that — it takes a very strong cookie,” Ms. Herd told Meghan, adding, “When I was going through the media storm and being called this and that, and this and that, at Tinder, I didn’t … Read more