SYDNEY: Australian lawmakers passed anti-hate legislation on Thursday that enforces minimum sentences for a string of offences including a year in jail for a Nazi salute. 

The legislation passed with the support of the centre-left Labour government and conservative opposition following a string of anti-Semitic attacks. Last week, police said they were investigating after finding mining explosives in a caravan on the outskirts of Sydney along with written threats against Jewish entities. In recent months, vandals have torched a Sydney childcare centre, firebombed a Melbourne synagogue and splashed anti-Semitic graffiti on Jewish neighbourhoods. —AFP