MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian police suspect explosives stashed on Sydney’s outskirts were evidence of a deadly escalation in a campaign of antisemitic arson and graffiti crimes that has been waged in major cities for months, officials said on Wednesday.

Police say public revelations about vehicle, believed to have been intended to blow up synagogue, compromised ongoing probe into series of antisemitic attacks in Australia

As real estate buying and selling heats up again for 2025, Victoria has been surpassed as the nation’s auction mecca, with more auctions scheduled in another state for most of February. Melbourne will be surpassed by Sydney as the nation’s auction capital this weekend.

Australia has been grappling with a spate of antisemitic attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war in late 2023.

Sydney will take centre stage at Rugby World Cup 2027 while a embarrassing situation where Melbourne could have been completely overlooked for even a single match was only avoided by late night talks 48 hours out from the deadline.

An antisemitic campaign featuring arson and graffiti has been waged in major cities for months, authorities said.

An Australian state has committed more police to investigate a spate of antisemitic crimes after a childcare center was torched near a Sydney synagogue.

While many Australians are set to enjoy a warm and sunny long weekend, those in the country’s south east are being warned to prepare for extreme heat conditions throughout the day.

The extreme temperatures brought back memories of the catastrophic 2019-2020 "Black Summer" that saw fires destroy an area the size of Turkey, killing 33 people and billions of animals.

Police say they are stepping up investigations after building was graffitied with anti-Jewish slogans and then burnt, causing massive damage but no injuries

The vandalism unfolded in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Australia Day is a divisive holiday that critics see as a symbol of racism and oppression.

Thousands of police officers have been deployed to patrol Melbourne suburbs to tackle what Chief Commissioner Shane Patton describes as a “huge rise” in antisemitism across Victoria.