As police continued to hold eight suspects, including one in Australia, in connection with the car bomb plots in London and Scotland, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has praised the new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith for her handling of the incidents. At a cabinet meeting held at Number Ten Downing Street on Tuesday (July 3), Brown spoke of "the difficult security issues that she's dealt with brilliantly over the past few days." The series of foiled and actual attacks poses a stern test for Brown, a Scot who replaced Tony Blair only last week and who has come under pressure from some quarters to change policy on Iraq and withdraw British troops. Fearing further attacks, police have banned cars and other vehicles from directly approaching airports, and security measures have been stepped up across the country. Authorities kept the threat level at "critical", the highest rating. London police carried out a controlled explosion on suspicious objects in the Hammersmith area of west...