<p>Days after the deadly terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, a car with festive decoration was torched on Thursday (Dec 25). The car belonging to a local Rabbi had a ‘Happy Chanukah’ sign. The incident happened in Melbourne about 3 am on the day of Christmas, prompting his family to flee from their St Kilda East home as the unoccupied vehicle burned. The police have launched an investigation into the incident and identified a person of interest.</p><p>The arson attack has sparked strong criticism from the Jewish community in Australia, which has called the incident an “antisemitic attack”. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Ministry has accused officials of “turning a blind eye to incitement”.</p><p>On Friday (Dec 26), investigators urged John Argento, a person of interest named in the arson attack, to contact the police. The 47-year-old has been described by the police as being 185 centimetres tall with a thin build, blue eyes and grey hair.</p><p>According to the officers, he lived in a transient lifestyle in Melbourne's inner north and south and may currently be sleeping rough, ABC reported. The police added that he has an outstanding arrest warrant against him for stealing a credit card. Investigators will also question him regarding a broken vehicle near the arson attack about 20 minutes later.</p><p>The incident is being seen as a targeted attack, although the police do not believe that there is a broader threat to the Jewish community.</p><p>Assistant Commissioner Chris Gilbert told reporters “the most important thing” was to determine the motive for the attack and “make sure the community doesn't live in fear as a result of this incident.”</p><p>“Our responsibility at this stage is to make sure we don’t take anything off the table,” he said. “We look at it, and certainly, if it was racially or religiously motivated, we will follow that angle.”</p><p>“We are here in numbers. We are here to support them,” Assistant Commissioner Gilbert added. “We’ll be here all day and night, but we want to bring this matter to a close quickly, for certainty for the community.”</p>

On Friday (Dec 26), investigators urged John Argento, a person of interest named in the arson attack, to contact the police.

Days after the deadly terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, a car with festive decoration was torched on Thursday (Dec 25). The car belonging to a local Rabbi had a ‘Happy Chanukah’ sign. The incident happened in Melbourne about 3 am on the day of Christmas, prompting his family to flee from their St Kilda East home as the unoccupied vehicle burned. The police have launched an investigation into the incident and identified a person of interest. The arson attack has sparked strong criticism from the Jewish community in Australia, which has called the incident an “antisemitic attack”. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Ministry has accused officials of “turning a blind eye to incitement”. On Friday (Dec 26), investigators urged John Argento, a person of interest named in the arson attack, to contact the police. The 47-year-old has been described by the police as being 185 centimetres tall with a thin build, blue eyes and grey hair. According to the officers, he lived in a transient lifestyle in Melbourne's inner north and south and may currently be sleeping rough, ABC reported. The police added that he has an outstanding arrest warrant against him for stealing a credit card. Investigators will also question him regarding a broken vehicle near the arson attack about 20 minutes later. The incident is being seen as a targeted attack, although the police do not believe that there is a broader threat to the Jewish community. Assistant Commissioner Chris Gilbert told reporters “the most important thing” was to determine the motive for the attack and “make sure the community doesn't live in fear as a result of this incident.” “Our responsibility at this stage is to make sure we don’t take anything off the table,” he said. “We look at it, and certainly, if it was racially or religiously motivated, we will follow that angle.” “We are here in numbers. We are here to support them,” Assistant Commissioner Gilbert added. “We’ll be here all day and night, but we want to bring this matter to a close quickly, for certainty for the community.”

<p>On Friday (Dec 26), investigators urged John Argento, a person of interest named in the arson attack, to contact the police.</p>

‘We’ll be here all day and night’: Melbourne police pleads with person of interest in Rabbi car arson case to contact them

<p>An anti-Covid vaccine lockdown protest on the streets of Melbourne turned chaos on Tuesday after the police fired pepper balls and stinger grenades in a bid to disperse the agitators.</p>

<p>More than 1,000 demonstrators dressed as construction workers clashed with police for the second consecutive day and rampaged through the centre of Australia's second-largest city, lighting flares, throwing bottles, attacking police cars and chanting their opposition to vaccines and lockdown restrictions.</p>

<p>Police said 62 protesters were arrested and three police officers were injured along with one journalist.</p>

<p>Victoria’s police chief commissioner Shane Patton said officers used pepper balls, foam baton rounds, smoke bombs and stinger grenades which deploy rubber pellets.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">This is seriously out of control and someone is going to get hurt. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoHome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoHome</a> now <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Melbourne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Melbourne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/protests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#protests</a> <a href="https://t.co/jgbpIKWMQx">pic.twitter.com/jgbpIKWMQx</a></p>
— Níal Ó Fionnagáin (@NialFinegan) <a href="https://twitter.com/NialFinegan/status/1440194156643557383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>“These crowd control equipment munitions were necessary … because we can’t allow this type of conduct to go on,” he told reporters later in the day.</p>

<p>Video footage on social media showed police cars trying to leave one area before a mob attacked the vehicles with bottles and smashed windows. A line of riot police, weapons raised, then drove the protesters back.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Didn't catch the really big bang but this was when it started getting scary <a href="https://t.co/yA0ud17bXY">pic.twitter.com/yA0ud17bXY</a></p>
— Michael Irving (@MikeIrvo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeIrvo/status/1440183951063093255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p><strong>Also read</strong> |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/asked-to-put-on-mask-angry-customer-shoots-petrol-station-worker-in-germany-414648">Asked to put on mask, angry customer shoots petrol station worker in Germany</a></p>

<p>Patton said they had a tip-off that protests have been planned again for Wednesday and he implored people to stay at home.</p>

<p>“No one benefits from this type of conduct, we will be out in force again, I can assure you of that,” he told reporters.</p>

<p>“I won’t disclose what our tactics will be tomorrow, but they will be different. Please just stay home, we do not want a confrontation.”</p>

<p>Melbourne&nbsp;has been in strict lockdown for seven weeks, as the city struggles to curb an outbreak of the fast-spreading Delta variant.</p>

<p>Several clusters have been linked to construction sites, where Covid containment measures are said to be lax.</p>

<p>In response, authorities have introduced ever-tougher restrictions, closing work site tea rooms, announcing mandatory vaccination for labourers and, most recently, closing almost all construction sites for two weeks.</p>

<p><em>(WIth inputs from agencies)</em></p>


An anti-Covid vaccine lockdown protest on the streets of Melbourne turned chaos on Tuesday after the police fired pepper balls and stinger grenades in a bid to disperse the agitators.

An anti-Covid vaccine lockdown protest on the streets of Melbourne turned chaos on Tuesday after the police fired pepper balls and stinger grenades in a bid to disperse the agitators. More than 1,000 demonstrators dressed as construction workers clashed with police for the second consecutive day and rampaged through the centre of Australia's second-largest city, lighting flares, throwing bottles, attacking police cars and chanting their opposition to vaccines and lockdown restrictions. Police said 62 protesters were arrested and three police officers were injured along with one journalist. Victoria’s police chief commissioner Shane Patton said officers used pepper balls, foam baton rounds, smoke bombs and stinger grenades which deploy rubber pellets. This is seriously out of control and someone is going to get hurt. #GoHome now #Melbourne #protests pic.twitter.com/jgbpIKWMQx — Níal Ó Fionnagáin (@NialFinegan) September 21, 2021 × “These crowd control equipment munitions were necessary … because we can’t allow this type of conduct to go on,” he told reporters later in the day. Video footage on social media showed police cars trying to leave one area before a mob attacked the vehicles with bottles and smashed windows. A line of riot police, weapons raised, then drove the protesters back. Didn't catch the really big bang but this was when it started getting scary pic.twitter.com/yA0ud17bXY — Michael Irving (@MikeIrvo) September 21, 2021 × Also read | Asked to put on mask, angry customer shoots petrol station worker in Germany Patton said they had a tip-off that protests have been planned again for Wednesday and he implored people to stay at home. “No one benefits from this type of conduct, we will be out in force again, I can assure you of that,” he told reporters. “I won’t disclose what our tactics will be tomorrow, but they will be different. Please just stay home, we do not want a confrontation.” Melbourne has been in strict lockdown for seven weeks, as the city struggles to curb an outbreak of the fast-spreading Delta variant. Several clusters have been linked to construction sites, where Covid containment measures are said to be lax. In response, authorities have introduced ever-tougher restrictions, closing work site tea rooms, announcing mandatory vaccination for labourers and, most recently, closing almost all construction sites for two weeks. (WIth inputs from agencies)

Melbourne anti-Covid vaccine protests turn violent as police fire pepper balls, smoke bombs

<p>Australian police on Friday&nbsp;confirmed that one person died while two others are being treated in hospital after a rush hour stabbing incident in Melbourne's central business district.</p>

<p>News agency AFP quoting police sources reported that suspected attacker was shot in the chest and is in a critical condition under guard in hospital.</p>

<p>"Police are currently at an incident on Bourke St in the CBD. Police initially responded to a report of a car on fire near the corner of Swanston Street about 4.20pm. A man was arrested at the scene and has been taken to hospital under police guard in a critical condition," the police said on their Twitter handle.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Police are currently at an incident on Bourke St in the CBD. Police initially responded to a report of a car on fire near the corner of Swanston Street about 4.20pm. A man was arrested at the scene and has been taken to hospital under police guard in a critical condition. (1/3) <a href="https://t.co/y4MorEbrOC">pic.twitter.com/y4MorEbrOC</a></p>
— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/VictoriaPolice/status/1060781258727284736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Paramedics said they assessed three people at the scene, one with a neck injury: "They are in a suspected critical condition. A second person has been taken to hospital with a head injury. Condition not yet known. A third person has also been taken to hospital."</p>

<p>"Police are not looking for anyone further at this early stage. A small number of people are being treated for stab wounds. The exact circumstances are yet to be determined at this stage. The area has been cordoned off and the public are urged to avoid the area," the police said.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Anyone with information or who witnessed the incident is asked to go to Melbourne West Police Station to make a statement. We will provide further information when it comes to hand. (3/3)</p>
— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/VictoriaPolice/status/1060781263798161408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Some Twitter users said they heard a "loud bang" and then saw a car on fire. Others posted that the man who was inside the car attacked the police with a knife.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Anyone know what’s going on in Melbourne CBD? Car explosion outside my office. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Melbourne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Melbourne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a></p>
— Kaushi Kogar (@Champoothai) <a href="https://twitter.com/Champoothai/status/1060765320321724417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Holy shit, a car on fire in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Melbourne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Melbourne</a> city <a href="https://t.co/yIryxRRKK3">pic.twitter.com/yIryxRRKK3</a></p>
— sarah (@_sarah_sarah) <a href="https://twitter.com/_sarah_sarah/status/1060766176303734784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Video from my friend Michael in Melbourne (not on Twitter) who saw the car on fire and started filming. Then saw the guy attack the cops. Shot fired at the end. So scary. Stay safe out there people. <a href="https://t.co/mkwY7E9Xjs">pic.twitter.com/mkwY7E9Xjs</a></p>
— Brian Chase Olson (@BrianChaseOlson) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianChaseOlson/status/1060775747579572225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Local media showed footage of a large man slashing wildly at police officers before being shot.</p>

<p>Police warned people to avoid the area, although the suspect is believed to have been detained.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Australian police on Friday confirmed that one person died while two others are being treated in hospital after a rush hour stabbing incident in Melbourne's central business district.

Australian police on Friday confirmed that one person died while two others are being treated in hospital after a rush hour stabbing incident in Melbourne's central business district. News agency AFP quoting police sources reported that suspected attacker was shot in the chest and is in a critical condition under guard in hospital. "Police are currently at an incident on Bourke St in the CBD. Police initially responded to a report of a car on fire near the corner of Swanston Street about 4.20pm. A man was arrested at the scene and has been taken to hospital under police guard in a critical condition," the police said on their Twitter handle. Police are currently at an incident on Bourke St in the CBD. Police initially responded to a report of a car on fire near the corner of Swanston Street about 4.20pm. A man was arrested at the scene and has been taken to hospital under police guard in a critical condition. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/y4MorEbrOC — Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) November 9, 2018 × Paramedics said they assessed three people at the scene, one with a neck injury: "They are in a suspected critical condition. A second person has been taken to hospital with a head injury. Condition not yet known. A third person has also been taken to hospital." "Police are not looking for anyone further at this early stage. A small number of people are being treated for stab wounds. The exact circumstances are yet to be determined at this stage. The area has been cordoned off and the public are urged to avoid the area," the police said. Anyone with information or who witnessed the incident is asked to go to Melbourne West Police Station to make a statement. We will provide further information when it comes to hand. (3/3) — Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) November 9, 2018 × Some Twitter users said they heard a "loud bang" and then saw a car on fire. Others posted that the man who was inside the car attacked the police with a knife. Anyone know what’s going on in Melbourne CBD? Car explosion outside my office. #Melbourne #auspol — Kaushi Kogar (@Champoothai) November 9, 2018 × Holy shit, a car on fire in #Melbourne city pic.twitter.com/yIryxRRKK3 — sarah (@_sarah_sarah) November 9, 2018 × Video from my friend Michael in Melbourne (not on Twitter) who saw the car on fire and started filming. Then saw the guy attack the cops. Shot fired at the end. So scary. Stay safe out there people. pic.twitter.com/mkwY7E9Xjs — Brian Chase Olson (@BrianChaseOlson) November 9, 2018 × Local media showed footage of a large man slashing wildly at police officers before being shot. Police warned people to avoid the area, although the suspect is believed to have been detained. (With inputs from agencies)

One dead in Melbourne stabbing 'incident': Police