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Europe Edition

Germany, Vanilla Beans, Riz Ahmed: Your Friday Briefing

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Good morning. Germany braces for more neo-Nazi protests, India pushes back against a crackdown and Campbell Soup goes back to its roots.

Here’s the latest:

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Credit...Jens Meyer/Associated Press

A rampage in Chemnitz this week was a high-water mark in the outpouring of anti-immigrant hatred that has swelled in Germany.

For a few perilous hours, an angry mob, pictured above, owned the eastern city’s streets, chasing after dark-skinned bystanders as outnumbered police officers failed to intervene. Some in the crowd flashed Nazi salutes.

The scale of the unrest reflects a more assertive far right that has started pushing into the mainstream, as Germany struggles to absorb nearly a million asylum seekers who entered after Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the borders in 2015.

Some say Chemnitz is becoming a test of Germany’s postwar democracy. More marches are planned in the city Saturday.

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Credit...Anne-Christine Poujoulat/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Gérard Depardieu, the film star, is accused of rape.

Prosecutors are investigating claims that Mr. Depardieu, above, a towering figure in French cinema whose career spans more than 200 movies, sexually assaulted a young actress on two occasions this month at his home in Paris.

Mr. Depardieu’s lawyer said the actor was “stunned” by the accusations and “absolutely contests any sexual assaults.”

He is the second prominent French film figure accused of rape this year, after the director Luc Besson.

The French response to the accusations against Mr. Besson was muted, compared to the #MeToo movement in America that arose from similar charges against Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer. French television news did not dwell on the Depardieu story, suggesting another subdued reaction was likely.

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Credit...Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

• “Democracy is under siege in India.”

That’s how many in India see the arrests of five activists this week.

The activists were taken into custody on suspicion of abetting communist groups, plotting the assassination of government officials and inciting riots. Several other activists were accused of similar crimes in June.

The arrests have sparked an outcry from the media, intellectuals and others who say the charges are thinly veiled attempts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to stifle dissent. Above, protesters speaking out against the arrests.

Discontent with Mr. Modi’s policies doesn’t stop there. Two years ago, the prime minister suddenly invalidated large chunks of the country’s paper currency in a bid to rid the economy of “black money” and deter criminals, including tax evaders and terrorists.

But a report from India’s central bank found that 99 percent of the value of the old bills pulled from circulation found its way back into the financial system.

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Credit...Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times

“It’s like cocaine in Latin America.”

The price of vanilla in Madagascar has skyrocketed from $50 a kilogram to about $600, making it more valuable than silver.

While the plant pods have helped make the economy a little sweeter, it has also created lawless criminal networks that revolve around the prized commodity.

Our reporter takes a look at Madagascar’s vanilla trade from plant to port.

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Credit...Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Campbell Soup Company plans to sell off its fresh food and overseas businesses, retreating from its efforts to cater to health-conscious shoppers. The canned soup giant also left the door open to selling its entire business, as sales and gross margins fell.

The European Union’s top trade official said the bloc would be willing to remove all tariffs on cars as part of a limited trade agreement, if the U.S. reciprocates. “It’s not good enough,” said President Trump.

Argentina’s central bank, trying to slow the fall of its plunging currency, raised interest rates by 15 percentage points, bringing the benchmark lending rate to 60 percent and prompting a sell-off of other emerging-market currencies.

Do you respond to emails during your work commute? Maybe that should count as part of your working day.

Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

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Credit...Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

President Trump reaffirmed his decision in June to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea, pictured above, because they cost too much. Many South Koreans are worried about the president’s commitment to the decades-long alliance. [The New York Times]

Street urinals in Paris, already derided as eyesores, have been vandalized by protesters who see them as sexist. Unidentified vandals plugged two urinals with cement and decorated them with tampons and protest stickers. [The New York Times]

Omaui, an idyllic coastal town in New Zealand, is home to a vast assortment of rare bird species, and just 35 humans and seven to eight cats. But a new proposal to preserve the unique wildlife would phase out the feline friends. [The New York Times]

The U.S. Justice Department sided with Asian-American students who are suing Harvard University for affirmative action policies that they claim discriminate against them. [The New York Times]

Iran is complying with the restrictions on its nuclear activities set out in the 2015 international accord that lifted sanctions on the country, according to a confidential report by the U.N. atomic watchdog. But the deal, which President Trump pulled out of this year, now hangs by a thread. [Reuters]

The New Academy prize, the alternative to the scandal-ridden Nobel literature prize that was canceled this year, has announced its shortlist, which includes Neil Gaiman and Haruki Murakami. [The Guardian]

Tips for a more fulfilling life.

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Credit...Craig Lee for The New York Times

Recipe of the day: There’s nothing quite like having a tray of homemade tiramisù in the refrigerator.

Small things can have big ramifications.

Open offices are awful. These desk improvements will make your 9-to-5 more bearable.

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Credit...Krista Schlueter for The New York Times

Riz Ahmed, above, the British actor and rapper, is a shapeshifting, genre-bending talent who defies pigeonholes and seems to be able to do it all. Just don’t call him a Renaissance man.

Scientists call it the “woman in red” effect: when male pregnant pipefish see a more appealing female, they abandon their offspring.

In memoriam: Paul Taylor, the choreographer and dancer who bought poetry and lyricism to modern dance. He was 88.

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Credit...Robert Walker/The New York Times

Tennis tournaments can lead to debates about gear, and this year’s have been no exception (see: Serena Williams, catsuit). But few controversies can compare to the furor at the U.S. Open in 1977 over the so-called spaghetti racket (pictured here).

Michael Fishbach, a player from Long Island, qualified for the U.S. Open with a racket described by The Times as “doublestrung and reinforced with fishnet line, adhesive tape and plastic tubing, creating the spaghetti effect.” That made the ball spin and bounce in unpredictable ways.

Fishbach, ranked 200th, upset his first- and second-round opponents. He lost in the third round, though even his opponent, John Feaver, was confounded by the bounce off Fishbach’s racket: “You don’t know what’s going on with the bloody thing.”

Talk of a ban gained traction a few weeks later at another tournament, after a player walked off the court in protest during a match against Ilie Nastase, who was using a spaghetti racket.

The United States Tennis Association banned the racket soon after, and the International Tennis Federation followed the next year, adopting a rule that defined a tennis racket for the first time. “The purpose, of course, is to get rid of the spaghetti racquet,” The Times wrote.

Jillian Rayfield wrote today’s Back Story.

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