06/04/2014 BBC Weekend News

International teams searching for the missing Malaysian airliner are

investigating three electronic signals received in the southern

Indian Ocean. It's thought they may come from the black box flight

recorder - 13 ships are now in the area.

Continuing controversy over the Culture Secretary's mortgage claim -

the watchdog says MPs should play no role in policing their expenses.

As counting of the votes begins in Afghanistan, President Obama praises

the country's landmark election. Good afternoon.

International teams trying to locate the missing Malaysian airliner are

now investigating three electronic signals received in the southern

Indian Ocean - two picked up by a Chinese ship and another by an

Australian crew in a separate location. The head of the operation

described the two signals received by the Chinese as "an important

lead" in the hunt for the plane's flight data recorder. Our

correspondent Phil Mercer reports. Could this be the breakthrough this

investigation has waited so long for? A Chinese patrol ship says it

has twice found an acoustic signal during its search for flight MH370.

The frequency of the polls is the same as those emitted by black box

data recorders, but there is no evidence so far that it isn't -- it

is linked to the missing plane. Australia, which is coordinating the

search, remains cautious. While we certainly are throwing everything we

have at it, and while the best brains and technology in the world

will be deployed, we need to be very careful about coming to hard and

fast conclusions. In a further twist, an Australian naval vessel

has heard an unidentified acoustic signal in another part of the Indian

Ocean. Again, there is no evidence at this stage to link it to the jet

that banished a month ago. We have three separate acoustic events, to

with one ship and one with another. We are treating each of them very

seriously and we need to ensure before we leave any of those areas

of detection that there is no connection to MH370. So we will work

in those locations until we can say, yes or no. The multinational

recovery mission is racing against the clock to find the recorders, as

their batteries could run out within days. The hunt for clues is

intensifying off the west coast of Australia. A dozen planes and ships

are scanning an enormous stretch of ocean far larger than the size of

England. Their task is to solve what could be the greatest mystery in

aviation history. Let's speak to our correspondent Jon Donnison, who's in

Perth for us. Optimism that the remains of the

plane might be found? I think they are in courage but cautious. This

time last night, we were just getting the news from the Chinese

ship that signals have been detected. This evening, we have

three possible signals been detected in recent days. What will be of

concern is that the planes have been returning to the airbase behind me

with no sightings of any possible debris and we've had no further news

from that Chinese ship of further signals. We've got HMS echo, the

Royal Navy vassal, heading out there and they should arrive in the next

few hours. We should get further verification.

The Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, has said he would

support changes to the way MPs expenses are overseen in the wake of

the row surrounding the Culture Secretary. Earlier, the chairman of

the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Sir Ian

Kennedy, said a committee of MPs should not be able to overrule

investigators, as they did in Maria Miller's case. Our political

correspondent Alan Soady reports. Another day, another set of bad

headlines for Maria Miller. It is now three days since she apologised

and agreed to pay back almost ?6,000 she had over claimed in expenses on

the mortgage for house in London. She was ordered to apologise in the

Commons by a committee mainly made up of MPs. It was also that

committee which decided how much she had to pay back. Now, the man in

charge of the watchdog which sets the rules says it is wrong for MPs

to be allowed to judge themselves. In an interview in today's papers,

he says, independent regulation is the best, most transparent way

forward. Iain Duncan Smith has defended his colleague today, but he

agrees on the wider point of MPs deciding their own punishments. I'm

very happy about be debated. This goes on and on eating away at the

credibility of Parliament. Today's papers make difficult reading for

the cultural Secretary, with some cutting comments on her. The

government is cutting down on benefits for claimants and yet we

have a well be senior member of the Cabinet who has used the expenses

system and make capital gains from the sale of a house, and she gets

away with a slap on the wrist, effectively. David Cameron still

stands by his minister, saying she has apologised and it is time to

move on. But some are questioning how wise a judgement it might turn

out to be. Workers with grievances will from

today have to go to the conciliation service ACAS before they can bring a

case of unfair dismissal or discrimination against their

employer. Other measures being introduced mean firms that lose

their cases at employment tribunals could be fined.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Cardinal Archbishop

of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, have issued a joint call for a

change in attitudes to people living in poverty in the UK. They said

people should be treated as individuals, not as economic units,

and churches needed to join the debate about how they could help.

President Obama has congratulated Afghanistan on what he said was a

landmark election. He said the poll to choose a successor to President

Hamid Karzai was critical in securing the country's democratic

future as well as continued international support. Election

officials have begun counting the estimated seven million ballots. Our

correspondent reports from Kabul. Ballot boxes were taken under tight

security from polling centres today to be independent election

commission in Kabul. The votes had first been counted in the polling

centres themselves and the results posted outside. The aim is to put

power in the hands of local people, so that any discrepancies will be

known. Already, there have been complaints about fraud. We're

putting our request to the commission and it is up to up to

them to decide. They will look at it carefully. There was no doubting the

enthusiasm of Afghan voters, at least in the cities. There are

increasing reports it was a more mixed picture in the countryside. A

third of the voters were women, a higher number than expected in this

deeply traditional society. To win, a candidate needs more than 50% and

it seems unlikely any one candidate will achieve that in the first

round. This current situation in Afghanistan, we still need to seek

political compromise, because many candidates represent specific

groups. It is for the good of Afghan people in the country if we can

reach a political compromise between the top two contenders. That will be

a better outcome. The process of finding a new president did not

finish yesterday. One leading election observers said it has just

begun. There were chaotic scenes in

Sheffield this morning, where the half marathon was cancelled due to a

lack of water for the runners. Organisers admitted it was

embarrassing for the city, with many competitors setting off despite the

cancellation, and police setting up a road block to try and stop them.

Organisers said they'd been let down by their water supplier and the race

was unable to proceed because of a health and safety risk.

You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News Channel. Bye

for now. Good afternoon. It has been one of

those weekends for the most part. Sunday afternoon and there is a lot

of cloud around, even on the big picture. To the west, somewhat

brighter skies are waiting and it won't be long before we see