Briefly

EUROPE

IMF issues warning of deeper recessions

Downturns in parts of Europe could turn into "deeper recessions" across the continent as energy disruptions threaten economic pain, while a cost of living crisis risks stoking social tension, the IMF said on Sunday. The International Monetary Fund's Regional Economic Outlook report on Europe comes as countries grapple with heightened inflation and a worsening energy crisis that has depressed the purchasing power of households and raised business costs. New government support "only partly "offsets these strains, the IMF said on Sunday. Already, the IMF predicts that Germany and Italy will slip into recession next year.

UNITED STATES

Gunfire on Chicago street kills 3

Three young men were fatally shot and two more were seriously wounded early Sunday during what Chicago police called a caravan of street racers involving about 100 vehicles that took over an intersection on the city's Southwest Side. The shooting happened about 4 am in Brighton Park after the caravan blocked streets leading to the intersection for illegal street racing, Chicago police commander Don Jerome said during a news conference. Those killed were between the ages of 15 and 20, said Jerome, adding that the two wounded are expected to survive. Police made no immediate arrests.

GERMANY

Mashed potatoes splashed on painting

Eco-activists on Sunday splashed mashed potatoes on a Claude Monet painting in a German museum, days after Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers in London was hit by tomato soup. The work Les Meules, or Haystacks, hangs in Museum Barberini in Potsdam and is part of billionaire Hasso Plattner's collection. It is on permanent loan to the museum. The painting fetched $111 million at an auction in 2019 — the highest sum paid for a Monet piece. Dressed in black with orange vests, the two activists poured mashed potatoes on the painting before squatting in front of it and sticking a hand each on the wall.

JAPAN

Minister resigns after church scrutiny

A Japanese minister resigned on Monday following allegations over his ties to the Unification Church, which is under renewed scrutiny after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Daishiro Yamagiwa, minister for economic revitalization, said he did not want the allegations to "affect the parliamentary debate", without naming the church. Last week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered a government probe into the group, which has been in the spotlight because the man accused of killing Abe in July was reportedly motivated by resentment against it. The church has denied any wrongdoing.

Agencies via Xinhua