:00:00. > :00:07.International teams searching for the missing Malaysian airliner are
:00:08. > :00:13.investigating three electronic signals received in the southern
:00:14. > :00:17.Indian Ocean. It's thought they may come from the black box flight
:00:18. > :00:22.recorder - 13 ships are now in the area.
:00:23. > :00:25.Continuing controversy over the Culture Secretary's mortgage claim -
:00:26. > :00:30.the watchdog says MPs should play no role in policing their expenses.
:00:31. > :00:30.As counting of the votes begins in Afghanistan, President Obama praises
:00:31. > :00:56.the country's landmark election. Good afternoon.
:00:57. > :00:58.International teams trying to locate the missing Malaysian airliner are
:00:59. > :01:02.now investigating three electronic signals received in the southern
:01:03. > :01:05.Indian Ocean - two picked up by a Chinese ship and another by an
:01:06. > :01:11.Australian crew in a separate location. The head of the operation
:01:12. > :01:15.described the two signals received by the Chinese as "an important
:01:16. > :01:23.lead" in the hunt for the plane's flight data recorder. Our
:01:24. > :01:26.correspondent Phil Mercer reports. Could this be the breakthrough this
:01:27. > :01:33.investigation has waited so long for? A Chinese patrol ship says it
:01:34. > :01:38.has twice found an acoustic signal during its search for flight MH370.
:01:39. > :01:42.The frequency of the polls is the same as those emitted by black box
:01:43. > :01:51.data recorders, but there is no evidence so far that it isn't -- it
:01:52. > :01:57.is linked to the missing plane. Australia, which is coordinating the
:01:58. > :02:00.search, remains cautious. While we certainly are throwing everything we
:02:01. > :02:07.have at it, and while the best brains and technology in the world
:02:08. > :02:13.will be deployed, we need to be very careful about coming to hard and
:02:14. > :02:18.fast conclusions. In a further twist, an Australian naval vessel
:02:19. > :02:22.has heard an unidentified acoustic signal in another part of the Indian
:02:23. > :02:27.Ocean. Again, there is no evidence at this stage to link it to the jet
:02:28. > :02:37.that banished a month ago. We have three separate acoustic events, to
:02:38. > :02:41.with one ship and one with another. We are treating each of them very
:02:42. > :02:49.seriously and we need to ensure before we leave any of those areas
:02:50. > :02:56.of detection that there is no connection to MH370. So we will work
:02:57. > :03:01.in those locations until we can say, yes or no. The multinational
:03:02. > :03:06.recovery mission is racing against the clock to find the recorders, as
:03:07. > :03:11.their batteries could run out within days. The hunt for clues is
:03:12. > :03:16.intensifying off the west coast of Australia. A dozen planes and ships
:03:17. > :03:21.are scanning an enormous stretch of ocean far larger than the size of
:03:22. > :03:26.England. Their task is to solve what could be the greatest mystery in
:03:27. > :03:33.aviation history. Let's speak to our correspondent Jon Donnison, who's in
:03:34. > :03:42.Perth for us. Optimism that the remains of the
:03:43. > :03:46.plane might be found? I think they are in courage but cautious. This
:03:47. > :03:49.time last night, we were just getting the news from the Chinese
:03:50. > :03:55.ship that signals have been detected. This evening, we have
:03:56. > :04:00.three possible signals been detected in recent days. What will be of
:04:01. > :04:06.concern is that the planes have been returning to the airbase behind me
:04:07. > :04:11.with no sightings of any possible debris and we've had no further news
:04:12. > :04:15.from that Chinese ship of further signals. We've got HMS echo, the
:04:16. > :04:19.Royal Navy vassal, heading out there and they should arrive in the next
:04:20. > :04:25.few hours. We should get further verification.
:04:26. > :04:29.The Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, has said he would
:04:30. > :04:32.support changes to the way MPs expenses are overseen in the wake of
:04:33. > :04:35.the row surrounding the Culture Secretary. Earlier, the chairman of
:04:36. > :04:38.the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Sir Ian
:04:39. > :04:41.Kennedy, said a committee of MPs should not be able to overrule
:04:42. > :04:48.investigators, as they did in Maria Miller's case. Our political
:04:49. > :04:52.correspondent Alan Soady reports. Another day, another set of bad
:04:53. > :04:57.headlines for Maria Miller. It is now three days since she apologised
:04:58. > :05:02.and agreed to pay back almost ?6,000 she had over claimed in expenses on
:05:03. > :05:07.the mortgage for house in London. She was ordered to apologise in the
:05:08. > :05:11.Commons by a committee mainly made up of MPs. It was also that
:05:12. > :05:16.committee which decided how much she had to pay back. Now, the man in
:05:17. > :05:21.charge of the watchdog which sets the rules says it is wrong for MPs
:05:22. > :05:26.to be allowed to judge themselves. In an interview in today's papers,
:05:27. > :05:37.he says, independent regulation is the best, most transparent way
:05:38. > :05:42.forward. Iain Duncan Smith has defended his colleague today, but he
:05:43. > :05:49.agrees on the wider point of MPs deciding their own punishments. I'm
:05:50. > :05:56.very happy about be debated. This goes on and on eating away at the
:05:57. > :05:58.credibility of Parliament. Today's papers make difficult reading for
:05:59. > :06:05.the cultural Secretary, with some cutting comments on her. The
:06:06. > :06:14.government is cutting down on benefits for claimants and yet we
:06:15. > :06:18.have a well be senior member of the Cabinet who has used the expenses
:06:19. > :06:21.system and make capital gains from the sale of a house, and she gets
:06:22. > :06:27.away with a slap on the wrist, effectively. David Cameron still
:06:28. > :06:32.stands by his minister, saying she has apologised and it is time to
:06:33. > :06:35.move on. But some are questioning how wise a judgement it might turn
:06:36. > :06:39.out to be. Workers with grievances will from
:06:40. > :06:42.today have to go to the conciliation service ACAS before they can bring a
:06:43. > :06:44.case of unfair dismissal or discrimination against their
:06:45. > :06:47.employer. Other measures being introduced mean firms that lose
:06:48. > :06:53.their cases at employment tribunals could be fined.
:06:54. > :06:56.The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Cardinal Archbishop
:06:57. > :06:59.of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, have issued a joint call for a
:07:00. > :07:03.change in attitudes to people living in poverty in the UK. They said
:07:04. > :07:06.people should be treated as individuals, not as economic units,
:07:07. > :07:12.and churches needed to join the debate about how they could help.
:07:13. > :07:16.President Obama has congratulated Afghanistan on what he said was a
:07:17. > :07:19.landmark election. He said the poll to choose a successor to President
:07:20. > :07:21.Hamid Karzai was critical in securing the country's democratic
:07:22. > :07:24.future as well as continued international support. Election
:07:25. > :07:36.officials have begun counting the estimated seven million ballots. Our
:07:37. > :07:41.correspondent reports from Kabul. Ballot boxes were taken under tight
:07:42. > :07:45.security from polling centres today to be independent election
:07:46. > :07:49.commission in Kabul. The votes had first been counted in the polling
:07:50. > :07:52.centres themselves and the results posted outside. The aim is to put
:07:53. > :07:59.power in the hands of local people, so that any discrepancies will be
:08:00. > :08:06.known. Already, there have been complaints about fraud. We're
:08:07. > :08:10.putting our request to the commission and it is up to up to
:08:11. > :08:18.them to decide. They will look at it carefully. There was no doubting the
:08:19. > :08:22.enthusiasm of Afghan voters, at least in the cities. There are
:08:23. > :08:27.increasing reports it was a more mixed picture in the countryside. A
:08:28. > :08:31.third of the voters were women, a higher number than expected in this
:08:32. > :08:37.deeply traditional society. To win, a candidate needs more than 50% and
:08:38. > :08:44.it seems unlikely any one candidate will achieve that in the first
:08:45. > :08:50.round. This current situation in Afghanistan, we still need to seek
:08:51. > :08:53.political compromise, because many candidates represent specific
:08:54. > :08:59.groups. It is for the good of Afghan people in the country if we can
:09:00. > :09:07.reach a political compromise between the top two contenders. That will be
:09:08. > :09:10.a better outcome. The process of finding a new president did not
:09:11. > :09:15.finish yesterday. One leading election observers said it has just
:09:16. > :09:18.begun. There were chaotic scenes in
:09:19. > :09:21.Sheffield this morning, where the half marathon was cancelled due to a
:09:22. > :09:24.lack of water for the runners. Organisers admitted it was
:09:25. > :09:27.embarrassing for the city, with many competitors setting off despite the
:09:28. > :09:32.cancellation, and police setting up a road block to try and stop them.
:09:33. > :09:36.Organisers said they'd been let down by their water supplier and the race
:09:37. > :09:43.was unable to proceed because of a health and safety risk.
:09:44. > :09:48.You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News Channel. Bye
:09:49. > :10:11.for now. Good afternoon. It has been one of
:10:12. > :10:16.those weekends for the most part. Sunday afternoon and there is a lot
:10:17. > :10:21.of cloud around, even on the big picture. To the west, somewhat
:10:22. > :10:22.brighter skies are waiting and it won't be long before we see