Australian police said Monday they are hunting for three suspects over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, designating it a terrorist act.Mask-wearing attackers set the Adass Israel Synagogue ablaze before dawn on Friday, police said, gutting much of the building.Some congregants were inside the single-storey building at the time but no serious injuries were reported.The fire sparked international condemnation, including from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Police have “three suspects in that matter, who we are pursuing”, Victorian police chief commissioner Shane Patton told a news conference.Investigations over the weekend had made “significant progress”, Patton said, declining to provide further details of the operation.Officials from the federal and state police, as well as Australia’s intelligence agency, met on Monday and concluded that the fire was “likely a terrorist incident”, the police chief said.”Based on that, I am very confident that we now have had an attack, a terrorist attack on that synagogue,” he said.Counter-terrorism police have joined the probe.Under Australian law, a terrorist act is one that causes death, injury or serious property damage to advance a political, religious or ideological cause and is aimed at intimidating the public or a government.The official designation unlocks help from other federal agencies for the investigation, said Australian National University terrorism researcher Michael Zekulin.”Basically you get additional resources that you might not otherwise get,” he told AFP.- ‘Heinous act’ -There is no information to suggest further attacks are likely and Australia’s terror threat assessment will remain at its current level of “probable”, said Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has denounced the synagogue attack as an “outrage”, announced the creation of a federal police taskforce targeting anti-Semitism.”Anti-Semitism is a major threat and anti-Semitism has been on the rise,” Albanese told a news conference, citing the synagogue blaze and recent vandalism.The taskforce will be made up of federal police to be deployed across the country as needed, officials said.They will focus on threats, violence and hatred towards the Jewish community and parliamentarians.The war in Gaza has sparked protests from supporters of Israel and Palestinians in cities around Australia, as in much of the world.Netanyahu attacked the Australian government’s stance in the run-up to the fire.”This heinous act cannot be separated from the anti-Israel sentiment emanating from the Australian Labor government,” he said after the attack.”Anti-Israel sentiment is anti-Semitism.”Australia voted last week for a United Nations General Assembly resolution that demanded the end of Israel’s “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.New Zealand, Britain, and Canada were among 157 countries that voted for the resolution, with eight against.Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus rejected Netanyahu’s accusation.”He’s absolutely wrong. I respectfully disagree with Mr Netanyahu,” Dreyfus told national broadcaster ABC on Monday.”Australia remains a close friend of Israel, as we have been since the Labor government recognised the State of Israel when it was created by the United Nations. Now that remains the position.”

Australian police said on Monday they are hunting for three suspects over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, which has been designated as a terrorist act.Mask-wearing attackers set the Adass Israel Synagogue ablaze before dawn on Friday, police said, gutting much of the building.Some congregants were inside the single-storey building at the time but no serious injuries were reported.The fire sparked international condemnation, including from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Police have “three suspects in that matter, who we are pursuing”, Victorian police chief commissioner Shane Patton told a news conference.Investigations over the weekend had made “significant progress”, Patton said, declining to provide further details of the operation.Officials from the federal and state police, as well as Australia’s intelligence agency, met on Monday and concluded that the fire was “likely a terrorist incident”, the police chief said.”Based on that, I am very confident that we now have had an attack, a terrorist attack on that synagogue,” he said.Counter-terrorism police have joined the probe.Under Australian law, a terrorist act is one that causes death, injury or serious property damage to advance a political, religious or ideological cause and is aimed at intimidating the public or a government.The official designation unlocks help from other federal agencies for the investigation, said Australian National University terrorism researcher Michael Zekulin.”Basically you get additional resources that you might not otherwise get,” he told AFP.- ‘Heinous act’ -Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned the fire as an “outrage”, describing it at the weekend as an act of terrorism and pointing to a “worrying rise in anti-Semitism” in Australia.The war in Gaza has sparked protests from supporters of Israel and Palestinians in cities around Australia, as in much of the world.Netanyahu attacked the Australian government over the fire.”This heinous act cannot be separated from the anti-Israel sentiment emanating from the Australian Labor government,” he said on Friday.”Anti-Israel sentiment is anti-Semitism.”His comments came just days after Australia voted for a United Nations General Assembly resolution that demanded the end of Israel’s “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.New Zealand, Britain, and Canada were among 157 countries that voted for the resolution, with eight against.Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus rejected Netanyahu’s accusation.”He’s absolutely wrong. I respectfully disagree with Mr. Netanyahu,” Dreyfus told Australia’s national broadcaster ABC on Monday.”Australia remains a close friend of Israel, as we have been since the Labor government recognised the State of Israel when it was created by the United Nations. Now that remains the position.”

South Korean stocks fell more than one percent Monday as the country was racked with political uncertainty after President Yoon Suk Yeol averted impeachment following his brief imposition of martial law last week.The retreat came on a broadly upbeat day for Asian markets despite another record on Wall Street, while traders were also awaiting a high-level economic meeting in China and keeping tabs on Syria after President Bashar al-Assad’s removal.Equities in Seoul pared their initial losses of more than two percent but investors remained on edge after a near-total boycott of Saturday’s impeachment vote by Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) doomed it to failure.However, the main opposition party said Sunday it would try again, while police arrested the defence minister in charge of the martial law operation and the interior minister resigned.They and Yoon are being investigated for alleged insurrection.The crisis has fuelled concerns about Asia’s number four economy, which was already struggling and faces further pain as Donald Trump heads back to the White House threatening to resume his hardball trade policy.Michael Wan at MUFG said the hit to the country’s markets “may include slower tourism inflows, weaker domestic demand, and a dent to corporate sentiment, especially if street protests become more vociferous and the Budget passage remains in stalemate”.”South Korea was already one of the more vulnerable forex markets in Asia to Trump 2.0’s policies, and the political uncertainty also comes at a juncture just when leadership is needed to navigate these significant global policy shifts.”The won was trading at around 1,431 per dollar Monday, compared with 1,413 on Friday.Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks advanced as top Chinese officials prepare to hold a two-day economic work conference to outline their targets and stimulus plans for next year.The gathering comes as Beijing prepares for Trump’s second presidency amid concerns of another painful trade war between the superpowers.Data released Monday showed Chinese consumer prices rose less than expected last month, reinforcing the need for more support following a raft of measures at the end of September.Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo, Taipei, Jakarta and Wellington also rose while Sydney and Singapore fell.Traders had been given a healthy lead from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both ended at record highs after figures showed the US economy added more jobs than forecast last month.Focus is now on the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week when it is tipped to cut interest rates again.Meanwhile, the euro remained on the back foot but slightly stronger than last week when it took a hit after France’s new government fell after a no-confidence vote.President Emmanuel Macron, who had faced calls to step down, lifted sentiment when he said would serve out his term and that a budget could be passed in the coming weeks.Macron held talks with French political leaders on the left and right on Friday as he sought to quickly name a new prime minister after Michel Barnier’s ouster over his 2025 budget plan.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,197.57 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 19,868.74Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,419.69Seoul – Kospi Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 2,387.14Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0554 from $1.0566 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2741 from $1.2740Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.95 yen from 149.97 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.85 from 82.93 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $67.56 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $71.46 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,642.52 points (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,308.61 (close)