News and stuff for April 5

From BBC:
Pakistani couple get death sentences  for blasphemy.  A Pakistani Christian couple have been sentenced to death for blasphemy after allegedly sending a text message insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
The couple, named as Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar, were found guilty of sending the text message to the imam of their local mosque.
Allegations of blasphemy against Islam are taken very seriously in Pakistan.
Several recent cases have prompted international concern about the application of blasphemy laws.
The imam brought a complaint against the couple last July.....

Protests against government in Bahrain


From SouthChinaMorningPost:
Chinese ship detects suspected beacon from missing MH370 flight
A pulse signal suspected to be from the black box recorders on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been detected by the crew of the Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01, China's state media reported on Saturday evening..........

From Reuters:
U.S. knocks plans for European communication network.  The United States on Friday criticized proposals to build a European communication network to avoid emails and other data passing through the United States, warning that such rules could breach international trade laws.

In its annual review of telecommunications trade barriers, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said impediments to cross-border data flows were a serious and growing concern.

It was closely watching new laws in Turkey that led to the blocking of websites and restrictions on personal data, as well as calls in Europe for a local communications network following revelations last year about U.S. digital eavesdropping and surveillance.
"Recent proposals from countries within the European Union to create a Europe-only electronic network (dubbed a 'Schengen cloud' by advocates) or to create national-only electronic networks could potentially lead to effective exclusion or discrimination against foreign service suppliers that are directly offering network services, or dependent on them," the USTR said in the report.....

From YahooNews:
....3 missionaries from Italy, Canada are kidnapped   in Cameroon; pope praying for them.  Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun working as missionaries in northern Cameroon were abducted before dawn Saturday in their residences by two armed groups in the western African country, Italian government and Catholic church officials said.
Italy's foreign ministry identified the priests as Giampaolo Marta and Gianantonio Allegri, but declined to give other details, including the Canadian's identity, to avoid compromising efforts for the missionaries' release. It noted that its website cautions against travel in the area, 30 kilometres from the border with Nigeria "in consideration of the risk of kidnappings due to presence of jihadist elements coming from Nigeria."
A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs in Ottawa says they are aware of the report........

Volcano Tungurahua eruption in Ecuador


From Globe&Mail:
Afghan polling stations have closed after nearly 10 hours of voting that saw a massive turnout, including in some of the most dangerous areas of the country.
Electoral workers wearing blue vests with the logo of the Independent Election Commission pulled the paper ballots out of boxes and carefully showed them in footage shown live on national television Saturday.
Partial results are expected as soon as Sunday.
Saturday’s vote was a sharp contrast from Afghanistan’s 2009 election, which was marred by widespread allegations of vote-rigging that tarnished President Hamid Karzai’s re-election.
Afghans flocked to polling stations nationwide on Saturday, defying a threat of violence by the Taliban to cast ballots in what promises to be the nation’s first democratic transfer of power. The turnout was so high that some polling centres ran out of ballots.
The excitement over choosing a new leader for the first time appeared to overwhelm the fear of bloodshed in many areas, as Afghans embarked on a major transition nearly 13 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the rule of the Taliban.
President Hamid Karzai, the only leader the country has known since the Islamic movement was ousted, is on his way out, constitutionally barred from a third term. International combat troops are leaving by the end of the year. And Afghans are left largely on their own to face what is likely to be an intensified campaign by the Taliban to regain power, even as authorities face higher public demands to tackle entrenched poverty and corruption........

Hungary is on to something good.