:00:24. > :00:28.Hello, good evening. Early figures suggest there has been a big turnout
:00:29. > :00:33.in Afghanistan's landmark presidential election. More than 7
:00:34. > :00:37.million people have voted, despite threats to their security. Hundreds
:00:38. > :00:41.of thousands of troops were deployed in a massive security operation.
:00:42. > :00:45.There was some violence. The Taliban rocket killed several people at a
:00:46. > :00:52.polling station and two policemen were killed by a roadside bomb.
:00:53. > :00:55.David Loyn reports from Kabul. Election officials here show that
:00:56. > :01:01.the ballot box is empty before sealing it for the day. There is
:01:02. > :01:03.pride in the process, watched by official national election
:01:04. > :01:09.observers, those from the candidates independent bodies. We checked by
:01:10. > :01:16.this light the fingers, like this. I tried out measures to prevent people
:01:17. > :01:21.from voting twice. Ink on one finger and a marked detectable by
:01:22. > :01:25.ultraviolet light on another. This is important for Afghanistan because
:01:26. > :01:26.we saw problems in Afghanistan, a long time the war is going. We need
:01:27. > :02:04.this, down the door. involved the police
:02:05. > :02:08.say many Taliban attacks were foiled. Tonight, counting is already
:02:09. > :02:12.begun in thousands of polling centres across the country.
:02:13. > :02:15.Unofficial early indications could emerge shortly, but the official
:02:16. > :02:21.result will not be known for days, or even weeks to come.
:02:22. > :02:26.The Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps has said it is time to
:02:27. > :02:30.draw a line under the row about Maria Miller's expenses. It follows
:02:31. > :02:34.new claims that the Culture Secretary tried to intimidate the
:02:35. > :02:37.Parliamentary watchdog that was investigating her. Today, the prime
:02:38. > :02:41.minister faced more questions over his support for her as he addressed
:02:42. > :02:46.the Conservatives' Spring Conference. Robin Brant reports.
:02:47. > :02:53.The Prime Minister went shopping first thing. Small business like
:02:54. > :02:57.this butchers could benefit from tax changes on the way next week, but
:02:58. > :03:01.the cloud of expenses has returned and this time it is his Culture
:03:02. > :03:08.Secretary. Should Maria Miller lose her job? He has accepted Maria
:03:09. > :03:10.Miller's apology. She will give back ?6,000 she has ever claimed. The
:03:11. > :03:18.Prime Minister wanted to talk about tax cuts. Let's tell them why we are
:03:19. > :03:22.cutting taxes. It is not because we are ideological committed to a small
:03:23. > :03:29.state, but it is because we get this simple fact. It is your money. This
:03:30. > :03:33.lot are gearing up for elections, as is he, next month, and the big one
:03:34. > :03:36.next May. They are trying to look forward, but the problem is an issue
:03:37. > :03:41.of the past has reared its head again. The questions keep coming for
:03:42. > :03:44.Maria Miller. There are renewed accusations, fiercely disputed by
:03:45. > :03:49.the government, that one of her senior advisers had also threatened
:03:50. > :03:52.a reporter about future press regulation and letters the Culture
:03:53. > :03:55.Secretary exchanged with the investigators have been released,
:03:56. > :03:59.suggesting she was reluctant to fully cooperate. In December last
:04:00. > :04:03.year, she said it would not be appropriate for the commission to
:04:04. > :04:07.broaden its enquiry. Then, she suggested she would go over its
:04:08. > :04:11.head. I think it is for me to write to the Standards Committee, setting
:04:12. > :04:16.out my concerns, she wrote. Labour is continuing the pressure. Well,
:04:17. > :04:20.how dare she abuse and intimidate the Parliamentary Commissioner for
:04:21. > :04:26.standards that Parliament appointed in this way? She is not just an MP,
:04:27. > :04:30.but the member of the government and Cabinet responsible for press
:04:31. > :04:34.freedom in this country. But a fellow cabinet minister says it is
:04:35. > :04:39.time to let it go. Maria Miller has entirely accepted what their
:04:40. > :04:43.recommendation, it has come to Parliament and done that. The Prime
:04:44. > :04:47.Minister has accepted that. There is not much of the place for it to go.
:04:48. > :04:53.In her seat of Basingstoke there is concern. I think she should be
:04:54. > :04:57.sacked. She should leave. If it was an ordinary person, they would have
:04:58. > :05:01.been reprimanded a lot more. She said it was a genuine mistake and I
:05:02. > :05:07.imagine if that is what she said it was, it must be. The Prime Minister
:05:08. > :05:10.has stuck by his Culture Secretary, who was notably one of only a
:05:11. > :05:14.handful of women at the top of the government.
:05:15. > :05:19.The Chinese ship searching for the missing Malaysian airliner is
:05:20. > :05:23.reported to have picked up a signal that may be from the plane's black
:05:24. > :05:26.box flight recorder. China says it is not yet clear if there is a
:05:27. > :05:29.connection with the missing plane, but the frequency is the same as
:05:30. > :05:34.that transmitted by flight recorders. Our correspondent Jon
:05:35. > :05:40.Donnison has more from Perth. Could this Chinese ship finally have
:05:41. > :05:45.provided the breakthrough the search for MH has been waiting for? The
:05:46. > :05:49.reports need to be treated with caution and have not been confirmed
:05:50. > :05:54.by officials, but Chinese media says the ship picked up possible signals
:05:55. > :05:57.from the plane's missing black box flight recorder first on Friday and
:05:58. > :06:02.then again on Saturday. The Indian Ocean search initially began here
:06:03. > :06:07.before moving to this area, further north. The pings were reportedly
:06:08. > :06:14.detected here, in between the two search zones. The signals were
:06:15. > :06:19.apparently at a frequency the same as those emitted by the black box.
:06:20. > :06:23.But it is a race against time. As the flight recorder's battery only
:06:24. > :06:29.lasts around 30 days. Of course, the signals heard may have nothing to do
:06:30. > :06:34.with the missing plane. There are a number of other objects it could be.
:06:35. > :06:39.There are many pieces of kit in the ocean's oceanography and some of
:06:40. > :06:44.those do is transmit on frequencies. Until we know if they have a clear
:06:45. > :06:49.signal, there is a possibility it could be other background noise from
:06:50. > :06:54.ships or even from marine animals. Even if the signals are coming from
:06:55. > :06:57.the black box, recovering at will be valid challenging. This flight
:06:58. > :07:03.recorder is from the Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic in
:07:04. > :07:08.2009, but that was in more shallow water and in nowhere near as remote
:07:09. > :07:13.location. It took two years to raise it from the ocean floor. The search
:07:14. > :07:18.by air and sea has now been going on for almost a month. This could be a
:07:19. > :07:26.significant development. It could also be another false lead.
:07:27. > :07:32.A convicted member of the Mafia, who avoided extradition from the UK last
:07:33. > :07:35.month, has appeared in court again. Domenico Rancadore, 69, was
:07:36. > :07:40.rearrested in west London last night, after a fresh invested -- a
:07:41. > :07:45.fresh international arrest warrant was received in Italy. He was
:07:46. > :07:48.remanded in custody until his next hearing.
:07:49. > :07:52.Sport, after a somewhat chaotic start, Pineau De Re written by
:07:53. > :07:57.Leighton Aspell was the surprise winner of a dramatic Grand National.
:07:58. > :08:01.The horse, trained by a former GP, was not one of the favourites our
:08:02. > :08:07.sports correspondent Andy Swiss reports.
:08:08. > :08:12.Even on the greatest Grand National day, Aintree was a feast of colour
:08:13. > :08:17.of 70,000 flocked for the latest instalment of one of sport's most
:08:18. > :08:21.unpredictable events. First, a false start, before belatedly they were
:08:22. > :08:27.under way. Teaforthree set out as favourite. He did not finish. There
:08:28. > :08:32.were some crashing falls, but for the second year running thankfully
:08:33. > :08:37.no injuries. Across the Bay led for much of the race, but when he was
:08:38. > :08:42.taken out by a loose horse, the path was clear for Pineau De Re, pursued
:08:43. > :08:49.by offers arcing and Double Seven, but to no avail. He will take the
:08:50. > :08:52.Crabbie's Grand National. Victory for the jockey who briefly retired
:08:53. > :08:58.and for the trainer, Doctor Richard Newland, a former GP. Pineau De Re
:08:59. > :09:02.was his first-ever runner at the Rat-macro National. Just what the
:09:03. > :09:07.doctor ordered. He jumped well, you do not know what is behind you. I
:09:08. > :09:11.caught the commentary, I was six lengths clear which is a lovely
:09:12. > :09:15.caution. Even if I was going to tire, nothing would finish to
:09:16. > :09:20.quickly and the National. Jockey on a comeback on a part-time trainer,
:09:21. > :09:23.another victory for Cup national folklore. Despite the soggy
:09:24. > :09:32.conditions another dramatic Grand National and one has earned Pineau
:09:33. > :09:36.De Re a place in racing history. Finally, tributes have been paid to
:09:37. > :09:40.one of the most successful television writers of the 20th
:09:41. > :09:46.century. Rob lobby, who died this week at the age of 79. -- Bob
:09:47. > :09:51.Larbey. He formed a prolific write the partnership creating shows such
:09:52. > :09:56.as The Good Life, Ever Decreasing Circles and Brush Strokes. There is
:09:57. > :09:58.more throughout the evening on the BBC News channel. We are back with
:09:59. > :09:59.the late news that just