Germany will strengthen its security services, clamp down on “enemies lists” and convene a special task force on hatred targeting Muslims as part of a major package of measures against far-right extremism.
The set of 89 proposals was signed off by Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet on Wednesday after a series of far-right atrocities that rattled Germany.
The package includes tighter gun laws, measures to tackle online hatred and closer co-operation between security services.
There will also be more funding for education and civil society groups and a new government-commissioned study into racism in Germany.
“Never before has the government done so much to tackle right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism,” said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.
“It is a central ambition of this government to strengthen the defences of our democracy.”
One of the specific proposals is for the distribution of enemies lists, also described by the government as “death lists”, to be made a specific criminal offence.
The lists are used by extremists to intimidate their enemies into silence because they fear reprisals from the far right, the government said.
Reforms to the security services will include closer co-operation between criminal investigators and a military counter-intelligence service.
Measures will be drawn up to tackle extremism in the German Army after a report found hundreds of suspected cases in the security services.
Another proposal envisages an Independent Expert Council on Islamophobia, which will issue a report within two years on racism against Muslims.
The body appears to sideline the Ministry of the Interior's own German Islam Conference and is tasked with an independent look into the overlap between Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
In a separate measure by regional authorities, the anti-Islam protest movement Pegida is set to be placed under tighter surveillance in its home state of Saxony.
Pegida responded by urging its supporters to gather for a socially distanced rally in Dresden, the capital of Saxony, next week.
Package aims to tackle far-right ideology
Meanwhile, Germany’s Culture Ministry will get €30 million ($36m) to help steer people away from extremist ideologies.
The ministry said it would seek to improve young people’s media literacy and their political and historical understanding.
“Hate, exclusion and discrimination have to be confronted where they begin: in the mind and also in the language that people use,” Culture Minister Monika Gruetters said.
“That means we have to engage early and pre-emptively with young people in the fight against right-wing extremism and racism.”
Among the projects receiving money is an archive of victims of the Nazi regime, which belongs to Unesco’s register of world documentary heritage.
The proposals emerged from a cabinet committee chaired by Mrs Merkel, which was set up last year after an extremist opened fire at two shisha lounges in Hanau and killed 10 people.
Last year, there were more than 23,000 far-right crimes registered in Germany, the government said, including the Hanau attack.
In January this year, German neo-Nazi Stephan Ernst was sentenced to life in prison for murdering pro-migration politician Walter Luebcke.
In 2019, two people were killed after a neo-Nazi tried to enter a synagogue in Halle on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
Mr Seehofer said the new package was a solid foundation on which future governments could build, with an election drawing nearer in which Mrs Merkel's party could lose power.
"Much has been done, but anyone who wants to defend our country in the long term against the enemies of our open society must see the fight against extremism as a permanent political task," he said.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Based: Dubai, UAE
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The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
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The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fixtures
Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11
August 9
Liverpool v Norwich 11pm
August 10
West Ham v Man City 3.30pm
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Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm
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Shower or bath after being outside.
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
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Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Liverpool v Manchester City, Sunday, 8.30pm UAE
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
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