IHT Quick Read: Thursday, Nov. 1

NEWS The New York region struggled to return to normalcy after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. James Barron reports from New York.

Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Turkey's prime minister and pledged that the European Union would continue to pursue talks “in good faith” over Turkey's accession to the bloc. Melissa Eddy and Chris Cottrell report from Berlin.

The rising prominence of a monk said to be President Vladimir V. Putin's spiritual adviser, raises questions about the Orthodox Church's growing power. Sophia Kishkovsky reports from Moscow.

The British bank Barclays disclosed on Wednesday that it faced two new investigations by American authorities, including one examining whether the company had violated anticorruption laws in its capital-raising efforts during the financial crisis. Mark Scott reports from London.

ARTS Merce Cunningham's “Un Jour ou deux,” which opened at the Paris Opera Ballet on Wednesday night on a double bill with Marie-Agnès Gillot's “Sous Apparence,” is a curiosity even for Cunningham aficionados. Roslyn Sulcas reports from Paris.

The 15th edition of the annual Asian Art in London event, which opens Thursday, focuses on Asian art from antiquity until today. Participating galleries - mostly from London, but also from Europe and Asia - are holding special exhibitions, while auction houses including Christie's, Sotheby's and Bonhams are holding sales pitched toward Asian art collectors. Ginanne Brownell reports from London.

SPORTS The New York Marathon, the world's largest such event with a field of nearly 50,000 runners, is scheduled for Sunday morning - barely six days after Hurricane Sandy left parts of the city in ruins and crippled its transportation system. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and marathon organizers have said the race will go on as scheduled, a plan that has stirred controversy. Ken Belson and Mary Pilon report from New York.

The bitter dispute over the future of the Heineken Cup is a small step closer to being resolved after the latest round of discussions between European rugby's major power brokers. Emma Stoney reports from Wellington.