IHT Quick Read: April 17

NEWS The explosives that killed three people and injured more than 170 during the Boston Marathon on Monday were most likely rudimentary devices made from ordinary kitchen pressure cookers, except they were rigged to shoot sharp bits of shrapnel into anyone within reach of their blast and maim them severely, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Katharine Q. Seelye reports from Boston, and Scott Shane and Eric Schmitt from Washington.

A letter sent to a Mississippi senator tested positive for the poison ricin, federal authorities revealed Tuesday, adding to security concerns in the Capitol after the Boston Marathon bombing. Jonathan Weisman reports from Washington.

Tensions escalated in Venezuela on Tuesday as the newly elected president, Nicolás Maduro, and his opponent blamed each other for the violence that the government said had left seven people dead, and Mr. Maduro accused the United States of being behind that violence. William Neuman reports from Caracas.

The authorities in Belgium raided 48 homes nationwide on Tuesday and detained six men implicated in what prosecutors described as a jihadist recruitment drive for the insurgency in Syria, where an increasingly international array of rebels is fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad. James Kanter reports from Brussels, and Rick Gladstone from New York.

Wednesday’s funeral rites for Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister, have become a matter of dispute in Whitwell, where many lost their jobs during the 1980s coal battles. John F. Burns reports from Whitwell, England.

European lawmakers voted on Tuesday to cap banker bonuses at the region’s largest institutions, as part of a major set of reforms designed to curb the financial industry’s risky behavior. Mark Scott and James Kanter report from Brussels.

Italian officials on Tuesday broadened their investigation into whether the Japanese investment bank Nomura had helped hide losses at the troubled lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena by ordering the police to seize assets worth $2.35 billion. Jack Ewing reports from Frankfurt and Gaia Pianigiani from Rome.

Focusing on immediate economic concerns over future environmental ones, the European Parliament narrowly rejected a proposal to cut the number of pollution permits. Fewer permits would have raised companies’ costs to emit greenhouse gases, which scientists have linked to global warming. Stanley Reed reports from London.

ARTS The galloping success of the play “Once” is set to continue in a London production whose quietest moments are its most piercing, while another, “Narrative,” takes getting used to but rewards the audience in the end. Matt Wolf reviews from London.

Time will tell how the Zurich Opera House fares under the new leadership of Andreas Homoki, but judging from his fascinating staging of Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” it is in good artistic hands. George Loomis reports from Zurich.

SPORTS Francesco Totti was born a Roma fan and probably will die an idol in the city where, for 20 years now, his profile has been higher than that of any rock star or politician. Totti is 36 now, but age cannot wither his desire to go on playing for his club, and maybe even for country. Rob Hughes writes from London.

Hong Kong ArtWalk Remembers its Roots

HONG KONG â€" When Hong Kong ArtWalk started in 2001, a bunch of us sat down at the offices of HK Magazine, a free weekly where I was working. We drew up a map of what was then considered a new, up-and-coming neighborhood called Soho. We had cobbled together about 15 galleries and found some local restaurants to sponsor us with bottles of house wine and cheese cubes with toothpicks in them. This seemed pretty impressive to us at the time.

Our map would be clutched in the hands of curious art-seekers as they navigated the hilly, narrow streets of a mixed neighborhood that still had as many butchers and street vendors as galleries, cafes and boutiques. Gallery owners were so unsure of the crowds that some hung their art higher on the walls, lest those who got tipsy on our free plonk crash into their canvases.

This was before Hong Kong became the world’s third-largest auction market. It was before major fairs like Art Basel, which is holding its first Asia event here next month, would ever deign to look at us as a destination. It was when West Kowloon â€" the site of a planned mega-cultural district expected to cost 21.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, or about $2.8 billion â€" was an empty patch of land that hardly anyone had heard of. (As construction hasn’t begun, it’s still a mostly empty patch of land, but at least everyone has heard of it).

This was before there were Soho offshoots with silly, vaguely New York-y names like Noho, Boho and Woho. (That would be South of Hollywood, North of Hollywood, Below Hollywood and West of Hollywood. Tip for art lovers: Go to Hollywood Road).

Hong Kong ArtWalk 2013, which is taking place on Thursday, has more than quadrupled in size to 70 galleries. You can’t walk the whole thing any more, because it includes alternative art spaces in old factory warehouses in non-touristy neighborhoods like Chai Wan on Hong Kong Island’s eastern edge, and Aberdeen on its south shore.

Hong Kong’s newly moneyed art market has attracted some big international names. The Gagosians, White Cubes and Ben Browns of the world now have branches here. But none of them are participants in ArtWalk, which has stayed refreshingly local. It’s a great way to see the real on-the-ground art scene.

For many years, ArtWalk proceeds have gone to the Society for Community Organization, a small, local charity that helps the poorest in this city. This year, they will be showing images of Hong Kong’s homeless by the photographer Lei Jih-sheng at Schoeni Art Gallery‘s Hollywood Road branch.

Like the art scene itself, Hong Kong ArtWalk is not just much bigger, but much better. The range and quality of the works have greatly improved. And, I must say, so has the quality of the hors d’oeuvres.

ArtWalk takes place on Thursday from 4:30-11:30 p.m. Tickets are 450 Hong Kong dollars, or about $60. If you’re in Hong Kong, stop by one of the selling points listed at hongkongartwalk.com. Overseas visitors can email hongkongartwalk@gmail.com.

Security Reviewed Abroad After Boston Bombings

LONDON â€" France stepped up security patrols on Monday and, in Britain, organizers began a review of measures to protect next Sunday’s London Marathon, as authorities responded to a possible heightened threat following the Boston bombings.

Nick Bitel, chief executive of the London event, the next major race in the international marathon calendar, said there were no plans to cancel.

However, organizers and police would be reviewing security for an event at which half a million spectators are expected to turn out along the 26-mile course to watch 36,000 runners.

“It is a very sad day for athletics and for our friends and colleagues in marathon running,” Mr. Bitel said of the events in Boston.

In Australia, organizers of a scheduled half-marathon in Sydney next month announced a similar review. “We continually assess our safety and security needs, working with local authorities, and will specifically assess whether any changes are required following the Boston tragedy,” a spokesman for the sponsors said.

In France, Manuel Valls, the interior minister, responded to the Boston bombings by ordering authorities to immediately reinforce patrols carried out by the military as part of the country’s anti-terror measures.

A high-level red alert is already in force in France, and security measures were stepped up when the government of President François Hollande launched a military intervention against Islamist militants in Mali in January.

The interior ministry said there was no specific threat to France and no cause for panic. However, in the light of the Boston bombings, the public was urged to maintain vigilance and be on the lookout for suspicious packages.

In London, police now face a double security challenge this week as they prepare for Wednesday’s funeral of Margaret Thatcher, an event that is likely to attract demonstrators who opposed the policies of the former prime minister.

John Reid, a former British minister for home affairs, said: “While the culprits and motivation behind the U.S. terror attacks are still unclear, this will obviously entail a review of security arrangements for both Lady Thatcher’s funeral and the London Marathon.”

The city last year succeeded in holding two major events â€" the Summer Olympic Games and the Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth â€" without disruption.

Hugh Robertson, the British sports minister, urged people to turn out for Sunday’s London Marathon. “This is one of those instances where the best way to show solidarity with Boston is to continue and send a very clear message to those responsible that we won’t be blown off course,” he told the BBC.

Keith Luxom, a British runner who completed the Boston course before the twin blasts, said he would be competing in the London event on Sunday. And he planned to wear his Boston Marathon shirt for the occasion.

IHT Quick Read: April 16

NEWS Two powerful bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, killing three people, including an 8-year-old child, and injuring more than 100. The F.B.I. took the lead role in the investigation on Monday night, and the special agent in charge of the bureau’s Boston office described the inquiry at a news conference as “a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.” John Eligon reports from Boston, and Michael Cooper from New York.

In the first Iraqi elections since the American troop withdrawal, Sunni candidates are being attacked and killed in greater numbers than in recent campaigns, raising concerns in Washington over Iraq’s political stability and the viability of a democratic system the United States has heavily invested in over years of war and diplomacy. Tim Arango reports from Baghdad.

In its first such agreement with a European country, China signed a free-trade deal with Iceland on Monday, an accord meant to eliminate most tariffs over the next few years. While Iceland cannot offer much in the way of significant new market growth, it could help China in its quest for more influence in the Arctic. David Jolly reports.

No longer treated with profound deference, King Juan Carlos and the rest of the monarchy in Spain are under scrutiny, and some residents are even calling for an elected head of state. Raphael Minder reports from Spain.

The publication Monday of the estate holdings of the 38 cabinet members of the French government was a veritable event, a moment of unprecedented transparency in France that was anticipated by politicians with dread, pleasure or disgust, but rarely indifference. Scott Sayare reports from Paris.

Many Germans, egged on by local media, are angered over a European Central Bank study that concludes they are among the poorest people in Europe. Jack Ewing reports from Frankfurt.

After weeks of outrage in Germany and Turkey over how seats for members of the foreign news media were allocated at the trial of a prominent neo-Nazi, a state court in Munich said Monday that it would delay the opening of the trial by three weeks to allow for a new accreditation process. Melissa Eddy reports from Berlin.

The European Parliament will vote Tuesday whether to let the European Commission take steps that would probably raise the price of emissions credits. At the current prices, polluters have little incentive to clean up their smokestacks. Stanley Reed reports from London.

ARTS Every 10 years since 1983, the London-based literary magazine Granta names the 20 writers it considers the Best of Young British Novelists. On Monday night, in a ceremony broadcast on the BBC, Granta announced its fourth list, whose character differs substantially from that of its predecessors and is likely to generate an animated discussion about what it means to be British in the 21st century. Larry Rohter reports.

FASHION How fitting, that 30 years after Margaret Thatcher feminized her work wardrobe with a pussycat bow blouse â€" following an Yves Saint Laurent fashion trend â€" the blouse is back in style. Suzy Menkes writes from London.

SPORTS Adam Scott is the first Masters winner and the fourth winner in the last six majors to use an anchored putting stroke, which soon could face a ban by golf’s governing body. Karen Crouse reports from Augusta, Georgia.

IHT Quick Read: April 16

NEWS Two powerful bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, killing three people, including an 8-year-old child, and injuring more than 100. The F.B.I. took the lead role in the investigation on Monday night, and the special agent in charge of the bureau’s Boston office described the inquiry at a news conference as “a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.” John Eligon reports from Boston, and Michael Cooper from New York.

In the first Iraqi elections since the American troop withdrawal, Sunni candidates are being attacked and killed in greater numbers than in recent campaigns, raising concerns in Washington over Iraq’s political stability and the viability of a democratic system the United States has heavily invested in over years of war and diplomacy. Tim Arango reports from Baghdad.

In its first such agreement with a European country, China signed a free-trade deal with Iceland on Monday, an accord meant to eliminate most tariffs over the next few years. While Iceland cannot offer much in the way of significant new market growth, it could help China in its quest for more influence in the Arctic. David Jolly reports.

No longer treated with profound deference, King Juan Carlos and the rest of the monarchy in Spain are under scrutiny, and some residents are even calling for an elected head of state. Raphael Minder reports from Spain.

The publication Monday of the estate holdings of the 38 cabinet members of the French government was a veritable event, a moment of unprecedented transparency in France that was anticipated by politicians with dread, pleasure or disgust, but rarely indifference. Scott Sayare reports from Paris.

Many Germans, egged on by local media, are angered over a European Central Bank study that concludes they are among the poorest people in Europe. Jack Ewing reports from Frankfurt.

After weeks of outrage in Germany and Turkey over how seats for members of the foreign news media were allocated at the trial of a prominent neo-Nazi, a state court in Munich said Monday that it would delay the opening of the trial by three weeks to allow for a new accreditation process. Melissa Eddy reports from Berlin.

The European Parliament will vote Tuesday whether to let the European Commission take steps that would probably raise the price of emissions credits. At the current prices, polluters have little incentive to clean up their smokestacks. Stanley Reed reports from London.

ARTS Every 10 years since 1983, the London-based literary magazine Granta names the 20 writers it considers the Best of Young British Novelists. On Monday night, in a ceremony broadcast on the BBC, Granta announced its fourth list, whose character differs substantially from that of its predecessors and is likely to generate an animated discussion about what it means to be British in the 21st century. Larry Rohter reports.

FASHION How fitting, that 30 years after Margaret Thatcher feminized her work wardrobe with a pussycat bow blouse â€" following an Yves Saint Laurent fashion trend â€" the blouse is back in style. Suzy Menkes writes from London.

SPORTS Adam Scott is the first Masters winner and the fourth winner in the last six majors to use an anchored putting stroke, which soon could face a ban by golf’s governing body. Karen Crouse reports from Augusta, Georgia.