Autoblog

Following meetings between the head of security for the Lisbon-Dakar Rally and government authorities in Mauritania, race organizers, undeterred by recent terrorist attacks in the country, have announced that the event will go on as planned.

Last week, terrorists in Mauritania shot and killed four French tourists and four Mauritanian soldiers. Reports indicated that the attacks were perpetrated by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the infamous terrorist network's North African wing, praying on fears that the militants were expanding southwards from their previous activities in Morocco and Algeria.

Last year's rally had two stages canceled due to security concerns regarding Algerian rebels. This year's rally is set to depart from Lisbon, Portugal, on January 5, passing through Mauritania on January 11 en route to the finish line in Dakar, Senegal, on January 20, covering a total of 9000km (5600 miles).

[Source: Autosport]

The UK at the moment is being terrorized by a series of letterbomb attacks that seem to target the country's motoring authorities, including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), an accountancy firm associated with Speed Check Services that provides digital speed cameras to the country's law enforcement, and the London offices of Capita that runs the city's congenstion charge system. So far, four letterbombs have exploded since last Saturday. In total, seven people have been injured, including three women in the latest attack at the DVLA in South Wales, one of whom was hospitalized. Though the first attack, which targeted a 53-year-old man at his home in Kent, doesn't appear to be related to the other bombings, police are still investigating if there's a connection. Car enthusiast groups and critics of speed cameras being used in the country have been quick to disassociate themselves with the attacks, which are really being classified now as terrorist attacks though they were likely perpetrated by a native individual or group.

[Source: Thisislondon.co.uk]