Crimes motivated by hate and xenophobia are at their highest level in Germany since records began in 2001, officials announced on Tuesday.
An Afghan-born activist said hate crimes against children and young people had doubled in the space of a year.
Racist activism and violence against refugees is causing “fear and uncertainty” especially in the former East Germany, experts said.
The number of racially motivated offences and crimes against refugees was up — although those recorded as Islamophobic were down.
“In parts of the population there are tendencies towards radicalisation,” said Holger Muench, president of Germany’s federal criminal police.
“These developments — especially in the areas of right-wing politically motivated crime and hate crime — must be taken very seriously.”
Most hate crimes are linked to the far right, which is believed to have grown in strength during protests against Covid-19 restrictions.
There was a rise in activity linked to the far-right Reichsbuerger movement, which rejects the legitimacy of Germany’s post-war democracy.
The Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) have been linked to two alleged plots to overthrow the German state.
Episodes of right-wing violence have included alleged arson attacks on refugee accommodation in Germany.
Germany’s first MP of African origin, the Senegalese-born Karamba Diaby, last week revealed his office was set on fire by a suspect he said had racially abused him several times.
There is a particularly great danger from right-wing extremism
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser
Analysts said there was a particularly sharp rise in right-wing violence in the former East Germany, where economic problems and a lack of integration have long created a breeding ground for racism.
At least 520 children and young people were subjected to right-wing and racist attacks last year in a sample of mainly eastern states, up from 288 the year before, according to an institute that works with victims.
“Racially motivated attacks against children and young people have doubled in the space of a year and massively influence the everyday lives of affected families,” said Sultana Sediqi from Young People Without Borders.
Ms Sediqi, an activist originally from Afghanistan, said families “all too often feel left high and dry” by the German state.
Police counted 10,038 xenophobic crimes in Germany last year, the highest figure on record, of which 1,139 involved violence.
The annual rate has surpassed the levels recorded during the European refugee crisis of 2015 and 2016, when an influx of people fleeing war in Iraq and Syria led to a backlash on the far right.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she was “especially concerned” about rising attacks on refugees last year, after hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took shelter in Germany from the war with Russia.
“It is inhuman in the highest to attack people who have found protection here from war and terror,” she said. "It shows that there is a particularly great danger from right-wing extremism."
There were 610 Islamophobic crimes, down from 732 a year earlier and the lowest figure since police started counting them in 2017.
The vast majority (532) of the latest figure were motivated by right-wing political views, with five attributed to the left and others to vague ideologies.
Anti-Semitic crimes were down from a peak but authorities said there was “no cause to sound the all-clear” as they warned of the danger of Islamist extremists' hatred of Jews.
The government has promised to tighten gun laws after it emerged that many suspected right-wing extremists were members of legal shooting clubs.
Ms Faeser said the threat of Islamist extremism “remains high” after a foiled ricin plot in January, and she vowed to “continue with our tough stance”.
Authorities also reported a rise in offences linked to climate protests, classed as left-wing politically motivated crime.
Ms Faeser said the government would not allow “urgently necessary support for tackling the climate crisis” to be undermined by disruptive climate-related protests.
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
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Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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