this is bbc news. the headlines at ten. britain says it will protect gibraltar from any soverignty claims by spain during brexit negotiations. the foreign secretary borisjohnson tweeted his support. the uk remains implacable and rock—like in our support for gibraltar. only 5% of existing prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowances of £5,000, bbc news learns. an increase in the living wage for over 25s, £7.50. over two million people will get a pay rise but business groups have again raised concerns that prices may rise to cover the cost. protests in paraguay as the sitting president horacio cartes tries to remove a restriction to allow him to run again. protesters stormed the congress and set fire to the building as anger grew over moves to change the constitution. and coming up, the largest underground

city of its kind found in an archaeological dig in the turkish city of nevsaha. that's in the travel show at 10:30. good morning and welcome to bbc news. downing street has sought to reassure gibraltar that britain will stand up for its interests during brexit negotiations. the british overseas territory has accused spain of trying to manipulate the discussions, in order to further its three hundred year old sovereignty claims. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, insisted that the uk remained "implacable and rock—like" in its support for gibraltar. 0ur political correspondent mark lobel reports. gibraltar has been in british hands in 1713. it shares a border with spain, but rejects any spanish claim of sovereignty. the current proposals mean a deal between the uk and the eu would not apply to gibraltar without an additional agreement between the uk and spain.

gibraltar‘s chief minister has fiercely rejected this as an attempt by spain to encroach on the rock's ability to control its sovereignty. it singles out gibraltar. it is unfair and unnecessary and clearly discriminatory. i am grateful spain has been foolish enough to play this card early in this process and not at five minutes to midnight with an agreement in place, bar the issue of gibraltar. the british government has been quick to affirm its commitment to the territory. foreign secretary borisjohnson tweeted that the uk remains implacable and rocklike in our support for gibraltar. but these are draft proposals, due to be finalised by the eu at the end of the month. theresa may has until then to try to persuade them to drop this controversial clause. 0ur political correspondent

matt cole is here. how do you see this in the context to have wider brexit negotiations at this stage? it's a fly in the ointment at the very least, one not expected. the mood music from madrid had been that this wasn't going to be made an issue of. i've had conversations with spanish officials and people close to the spanish prime minister as recently as three weeks ago who were making it very clear they thought this wasn't going to be the time to bring in the issue of gibraltar. they described the spanish prime minister to me as a man who's not an adventurer, but i think we can perhaps start unpicking it and wonder whether the fact that the eu's made it clear it wants to deal with the terms of the brexit divorce first and then talk future trade deals between the uk and britain could be somewhere at play here. this is why. spain has quite a few of growing business interests

and links with the uk, the likes of santander, for example. 0ne and links with the uk, the likes of santander, for example. one wonders whether perhaps they'll feel they won't have leverage when it comes to the future trade negotiations, therefore perhaps they are thinking now is the time to quickly get this done now so the brexit divorce is done now so the brexit divorce is done and wrap this up in that. either way, it's pressure on theresa may and the negotiating team from britain. they probably could have done without it at this stage. what have the fronts responded? the man himself borisjohnson, have the fronts responded? the man himself boris johnson, the have the fronts responded? the man himself borisjohnson, the foreign secretary, who in his tweet said: yes, rock—like support. i mean for 300 years britain's overseen the territory of gibraltar, its strategic significance at the mouth of the med, ten miles off the north coast of africa, there is a military base there, an raf landing strip, it's not somewhere where the british government would seek to be giving up government would seek to be giving up any time soon and we can

therefore trust that boris johnson is speaking fairly firmly and honestly when he says we are going to be standing by this. now how firmly the spanish and the rest of the eu might get behind that spanish request remains to be seen. remember, this is about whether gibraltar is included in the brexit deal and therefore britain could go ahead and do the entire brexit deal and leave gibraltar on the side. i don't think thing to, but it's a question of there are so many aspects so it's a question of balancing things out and this is the first of many bumps in the road over the next two years. christian hernandez is president of the gibraltar chamber of commerce. he joins us via webcam from gibraltar. good morning. what is your interpretation of the discussions and these claims on either side? well, this is not surprising and frankly to be expected from europe's most corrupt country, they have a

history of using gibraltar as a political football to deflect from their internal problems of which they have many and this is in my view such an instance now. they are already claiming a diplomatic triumph in relation to the inclusion of the gibraltar angle in the eu declaration and it's something that hasn't caught us by surprise. leaving aside your point about corruption, and many might want to argue about the link with europe, let's concentrate on gibraltar and the spanish main land, those issues matter and they need sorting out, don't they? yes. we are the chamber of commerce, we commissioned an independent study two years ago of the effect of the gibraltar economy on the spanish hinterland and it's

affected us massively positively. we are the second biggest employer in the whole of andalucia, we contribute 25% of the gdp in the neighbouring region, we generate one in every fourjobs so the gibraltar influx in nearby spain is a very positive one. but you also have a lot of spanish workers coming your way on a daily basis and need that to continue presumably at the same level and with the same system that you have now. correct. fortunately in gibraltar, we don't really have unemployment, we have a shortage of labour and over 10,000 spanish workers come to gibraltar every day to earn their living. by way of example, ina to earn their living. by way of example, in a nearby town here, there's a 40% unemployment and it would be much higher if gibraltar wasn't there. what of the wider

picture, is there any doubt, question mark in your mind, that at some point throughout this process, there is a danger that gibraltar will, to an extent, be sidelined from the wider negotiations, and that the uk might see gibraltar somehow differently from the rest? well, i think gibraltar is an integral part of the eu—uk, needs to be treated in the same way as scotland, wales and ireland. 0ne would argue that if gibraltar was treated differently, there would be an argument for scotland to say they wa nt to an argument for scotland to say they want to be treated differently as well from the rest of the uk. we think the british government needs to stand first, they need to be the ones not to blink first in the face of spanish bullying and opposition. spain hasa of spanish bullying and opposition. spain has a lot to lose in relation to the trading relations they have

with the united kingdom. thank you very much for coming on. only 5% of prison staff will receive new pay alounges of up to £5,000, bbc news has learnt. the ministry ofjustice said thousands of prison officers would receive the pay boost but an internal briefing note seen by the bbc reveals the number benefitting immediately is more than 1600 prison officers out of more than 30,000 staff working in the public sector prisons. when the announcement of the new allowances was made, the ministry ofjustice said it would apply to band three frontline prison officers in 31 jails where it had been hard to recruit and retain its staff. glyn travis from the probation 0fficers association said it was a divisive decision because it was a divisive decision because it ignored many staff on different pay grades and at other prisons

across the uk. we do have a problem because what we want is, fairness across the entire prison service and estate. we do not want to see sound bytes from the government to say that they're going to increase pay in certain establishments and that they've done a detailed assessment. we have been requesting the information in relation to the assessment of these 31 prisons to justify the increase. we welcome additional money to improve recruitment and retention, but what this system's brought in under the government, and we firmly believe that the secretary of state for justice has been misled by the national offender management service as it was at the time, now her majesty's prisons and public services, we believe she was misled because we don't believe there was a detailed assessment. we do believe that the recruitment and retention problems across the entire estate is a major problem. two million people are set for a pay rise today, as the national living wage goes up to £7.50 an hour.

the change has been broadly welcomed by unions. but employers have expressed concern about the strain of additional costs. here's our business correspondent joe lynam. 23—year—old lewis is already paid more by the national living wage by his employer. he certainly notices the difference from his previous company. i was struggling for money, it was a big concern for me. it was very much go to work come back, spend the night in front of the telly. now i can afford a social life and to do stuff in the local area. yes, i enjoy myself a bit more. from today, workers over 25 must be paid at least £7.50 an hour. if you work a full week you will get at least £281.25. but employers are worried. many members were already paying staff more than the level of the national living wage. for those that weren't, it's adding significant costs to their businesses,

around about £900 a year for staff on average and a further £120 a year with the knock—on consequences for national insurance payments as well. much of that cost will be absorbed by the businesses themselves rather than passing it on in the form of hire prices. and that is not the only change. controversial business rates come into force today. whilst most companies will be paying less, some, especially in the south—east, face much higher bills. and a new system for calculating car taxes starts. hybrid car owners will be paying more than they did. joe lynam, bbc news. around 4,000 households in england earning more than £100,000 a year have received taxpayers' money to help them buy a home. official figures also reveal that the help to buy equity loan scheme has assisted more than 20,000 households who were not first time buyers. labour said it showed the initiative was "badly targeted" but the government insisted it continued to make home ownership a reality for thousands of people. two young boys who have gone missing

with their mother had been removed from her care on the day they disappeared, it has emerged. 42—year—old samantha baldwin from newark, has not been seen since monday and is believed to be with 9—year—old louis madge and dylan madge, who's six. police say they are treating the case as an abduction. demonstrators in paraguay have set fire to the country's congress in protest against a bill that would let the president seek re—election. the head of the main opposition party says an activist had been shot dead. the country's constitution limits the president to a single five—year term. but the sitting president horacio cartes is trying to remove the restriction and run for re—election. greg dawson reports. this was a night of violence in paraguay that's followed months of speculation about the country's future. the protesters were

directing their anger at the riot police and politicians who they believe are steering this country towards dictatorship. hours earlier, a secret vote had taken place hours earlier, a secret vote had ta ken place here hours earlier, a secret vote had taken place here to approve a new bill which could allow president ca rtes to run for bill which could allow president cartes to run for another term of government. the offices of law makers we are set alight with computers and tvs becoming missiles. reports say dozens of people, including police and politicians, we re including police and politicians, were injured. this is the man at the centre of the dispute. horatio ca rtes ca m e centre of the dispute. horatio ca rtes came to centre of the dispute. horatio cartes came to power in 2013, but paraguayan presidents have been banned from re—election since 1992 to try and stop a return to authoritarian regimes. president ca rtes wa nts authoritarian regimes. president ca rtes wants the authoritarian regimes. president cartes wants the restriction removed. . the trouble began earlier in the day with tear gas on the streets of the capital. rubber

bullets were also fired at demonstrators. translation: the people of paraguay can fight against the rubber bullets, they have installed the dictator in this country, the bullets against paraguayans will $0011 bullets against paraguayans will soon be metal. the controversial bill still needs further approval with another vote in the congress. that was due to happen on saturday but has now been postponed. as law—makers and the president appealfor postponed. as law—makers and the president appeal for calm. greg dawson, bbc news. two people are now known to have died and tens of thousands of australians remain stranded following the aftermath of cyclone debbie earlier this week. more than 100,000 homes were left without power and six large rivers were still rising in several areas causing the authorities to order more evacuations. the state of queensland is expecting record levels of flooding next week. we have had two fatalities, two women in new south wales have died asa women in new south wales have died as a result of these floods, and our

thoughts and prayers are with their families. this is going to be a tough time for them, but the important thing is that everyone should stay safe, take care, look out for yourfamily, should stay safe, take care, look out for your family, look out for your neighbours but don't go into those flooded waters — that is the most dangerous part of these natural disasters, getting caught up in floodwaters as we have seen. the uk says it will stand up for gibraltar‘s says it will stand up for g i bra lta r‘s interests says it will stand up for gibraltar‘s interests after the territory accused spain of using brex to it forward its territorial aims. bbc news learns over 5% of prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowances of up to £5,000. two million people set for a pay rise as the uk's national living wage goes up by 4%. sport now and here isjohn watson.

tiger woods has pulled out of the golf‘s first major, the masters which starts next week. he is not tournament ready drew to his troublesome back. he was sidelined for 15 months after two surgeries to try to fix his back. the 14—time major winner won his first major at the masters 20 years ago. this is the masters 20 years ago. this is the statement that he released on his website. we wait to see how long it will be

until tiger woods will return to the golf course. it's the merseyside derby this lunch time. liverpool welcoming everton to anfield in the premier league. liverpool managerjurgen anfield in the premier league. liverpool manager jurgen clone's been impressed with the way that everton have been playing under their manager ronald koeman —— jurgen klopp. they have had a really good run, didn't lose a lot of games in the last few weeks. good results, obviously confident, but yes, we are liverpool, we play at anfield and nobody should underestimate the power of anfield. so whenever we play there, we have to create a special atmosphere. the everton manager's blamed the ireland manager martin o'neill for not protecting the midfielderjames martin o'neill for not protecting the midfielder james mccarthy martin o'neill for not protecting the midfielderjames mccarthy whilst he was away on international duty. the player missed husband club side's last two matches but still linked up with the international team. he injured himself in the warm—up after being picked by o'neill to start the world cup qualifier. o'neill‘s responded, calling him a master tactician of

the blame game. ronald koeman has hit back: now, second maced aberdeen prevented celtic from being crowned scottish championships after beating dundee 7-0. had championships after beating dundee 7—0. had they lost, the title would have been theirs, it was partly down to andrew considine who scored a hat trick. not often you see a defender scoring three. a win for celtic against hearts on sunday will see them clinch the title. mark williams is through to the final of snooker‘s china open after beating his opponent 6—1. williams dominated including making this century break to go four frames up. he'll face either kierin wilson or mark selby in the final, the semi—final is currently under way. roernling federer won a thrilling three—hour match against nick kyrgios to set up a final against

rafa nadal. federer‘s won 18 of his 19 matches so far in 2017. the final isa 19 matches so far in 2017. the final is a repeat of the australian open. three tie—breaks in each set. to set this will one, federer winning the decisive one much to the frustration of the man across the net from him. johan that konta is in action in the women's final, up against wozniacki. for the moment that, is all the sport. don't forget, there is plenty to follow on the bbc sport website. there is skating there at the moment. that is live on the red button. you can follow that as the action unfolds out in finland. the figure skating world championships there. it's the men's free skating there. it's the men's free skating there as well this morning. full coverage on the website. that's all

from me, back with more at around 11. 15. patients referred to the nhs for fertility treatment in scotland will be eligible for three full cycles of ivf treatment. from today, the scottish government is increasing the number of cycles funded by the health service for women under a0 from two to three. it's expected to cost about £1 million a year. helena lee reports. it is thought that around one in seven couples experience difficulty having children. in scotland, up until now, women under a0 have been offered two cycles of ivf on the nhs. that is now changing to up to three. older women between a0 and a2 will also be offered one cycle if they fit certain criteria. in other parts of the uk, the number of ivf cycles on the nhs for women under a0 varies. in england, up to three full cycles are recommended. but local commissioning groups decide, and in half

the areas in england, only one cycle is offered. in wales women under a0 are entitled to two cycles. in northern ireland, just one. the ivf programme in scotland is expected to cost the nhs around £1 million a year. money which has already been put aside. the minister says changes to ivf treatment in scotland make it the fairest and most generous in the uk. the prospect of being held in serbia by hungarians has put off migrants from crossing the country. the camps have attracted criticism and could be delayed by the courts. this camp

is empty. there's space for 250 asylu m is empty. there's space for 250 asylum seekers, so far it's home to just two families. the government says it's locking them up to close a loophole to stop those who seek asylum in hungary slipping away deeper into europe. but detaining asylum seekers automatically is illegal. they should never become illegal. but they are treated as if they were illegal from the first moment. so whereas the european union's law requires to accept that they have a right to stay until the first decision, they are treated first as if they were illegal, second as if they had not entered hungary. call ita they had not entered hungary. call it a reception centre, call it a container camp, by building it the hungarian authorities have issued a direct challenge to the international community. no—one can tell us, they say, how to deal with asylu m tell us, they say, how to deal with asylum seekers. this is our food warehouse. it's one

of two that we have... across the serbian border, volunteers provide food to refugees. they used to rest here on their way to hungary. now they're looking for alternative routes. this is a time of experimentation. the refugees in serbia i think are trying to see if there's any better route, trying to croatian border, romanian border, many have gone back to belgrade. croatian border, romanian border, many have gone back to belgradem a ruined brick factory on the edge of the town, this pakistani refugee contemplates his next move. maybe i will try in the croatian side, the romanian side, because this border is totally closed now. they built another fence there. that's why it's another fence there. that's why it's a problem for us. hungary at great cost has sealed its southern border, so cost has sealed its southern border, so these men travel to plan through romania instead. the artist, gilbert baker who created the rainbow flag that

became an international symbol for gay rights has died aged 65. baker was asked to come up with a flag design for the lgbt community in 1978 by harvey milk who was california's first openly gay elected official. medals in the olympic sport of curling have predominantly been won by scandinavian counties and canada. but britain too has had some success — based mainly on the efforts of the scotland. but now a farmer who lives in the south east of england medals i,' the olympic sport of curling have predominantly down in kent, milking is something rare. outside scotland, curling talent is the future. it's all thanks to a farmer that moved here from scotland an brought the game with him. now staff here split their

time between farming and tending to the ice. there's nothing in england, you know. i came down from scotland where curling was something that all the family did, all the neighbours did, you know, it was really a community thing. when i had the cows, they made a mess, didn't make any money, i got rid of them, brought the curl, in, they make a mess, z still don't make any money! he hasster stirred the passion for the sport, helping nurture future stars who could one day help the scots strengthen the british team. this is only rink outside scotland but later this year another one will openin but later this year another one will open in preston lancashire. such a simple game, you arejust pushing a rock up the ice and it slides up, at any rock up the ice and it slides up, at a ny level rock up the ice and it slides up, at any level you can enjoy it. it's straight, but it could be a bit short. a lot of sweeping to do there. it's straighter than i thought it was going to be. next yea r‘s

thought it was going to be. next year's winter olympics will be the first to feature a mixed doubles competition. not sure i'll be getting the nod from annabel or any of the youngsters here though. getting the nod from annabel or any of the youngsters here thoughlj like sliding because you have to have to have a specific technique to get it right. it takes so much time to per ex. it's down to tactics. it comes down to knowing what the opposition is thinking and where you can put your stones to win the game. this game is like chess. i'll give annabel a couple of tactical signals. the great thing about this sport, is you don't need to be an ice skater. you don't need any skating ability. my you don't need any skating ability. myjob is to sweep as soon as they shout sweep. here we go to try and give it the extra few feet and centimetres. get it into the circle. come on! you don't need to be the most typical athlete to get involved with curling. there are lots of

different types of curlers we've got. it's a great sport because, there's individual skill involved. but you need to play as a team. in this sport, it's never over until the last stone. for the past ten years, young people who've made amazing contributions to their communities have been recognised at the rotary young citizen awards. one of them is 19—year—old grace o'malley. she won her award in 2013, for raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity with her singing. but her fundraising work hasn't stopped there, as she's been explaining. iam grace i am grace o'malley, i'm 19 years old and i'm a soprano studying at the royal college of music. i was nominated for a rowy youngsters award in 2013. i started raising money for charity when i was 12 through my singing. that was my first time, for the royal british

legion when i sang for the remembrance because my grandad was in the army. it kind of carried on from that. i was asked to sing for many different charities. i love singing, soi many different charities. i love singing, so i thought i'd always use my singing to make people happy and to raise money for charity. my to raise money for charity. my hopes and plans for the future are they reach my target of raising about £1 million for charity and also i want to continue my studies here at the royal college of music, another dream of mine is to sing one day at the royal albert hall. hopefully that'll happen one day. all this week, the bbc news channel will be featuring the stories of past and present award winners. and next saturday, we'll be broadcasting the 10 year anniversary ceremony live from manchester.

that's at 10.30 next saturday morning. one local pillow fighters gathered in the city centre to battle it out on the seventh annual international pillow fight date, similar pillow fights are planned later today in several cities around the world, and they include london, new york and madrid. not quite sure how you decide who has won that! time for a look at the weather forecast. todayis today is going to be one of those days where we quite often use the classic phrase, a mixed bag, otherwise known as sunshine and showers, real mix of whether on the way. some of us will miss the rain altogether, others will be caught in altogether, others will be caught in a few