this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm: seniorfigures in gibraltar have demanded that the british government stands firm and resists moves by spain to regain sovereignty of the rock. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, tweeted his support: "the uk remains implacable and rock—like in our support for gibraltar." research says that nearly half the people who used government help—to—buy scheme to buy a house did not need it. bbc news learns that only 5% of existing prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowances of £5,000. also in this hour — the row at the heart of the eurovision song contest the hosts ukraine face expulsion from future competitions unless russia's entrant is allowed into the country. and at 2.30 — the stories of five people who saw extraordinary moments in history first hand.

that's witness coming up in half an hour. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the government has said that britain will defend the interests of gibraltar during the brexit negotiations, following warnings that spain is attempting to use the process to regain sovereignty of the rock. the eu has suggested that a brexit deal won't cover gibraltar without a separate agreement between london and madrid. here's our political correspondent, matt cole. the imposing rock at the mouth of the mediterranean has been in british hands since 1713. its fortified low case ten miles from

—— low indication —— location. north africa's coast‘s made it a key strategic base for britain's military, as well as home to 30,000 british subjects. the outpost shares a border with spain which has long sought to reclaim it, but this week, theresa may made it clear that would not happen as part of brexit. gibraltar is not a separate member of the eu nor is it a part of the uk for the purposes of eu law. but we're very clear that it is covered by our exit negotiations. we're committed to fully involving them in the work that we're doing. yesterday the draft guidelines were issued, including this clause, which said, no future agreements between the eu and the united kingdom may apply to gibraltar without the kingdom of spain's approval. some say spain is trying to exploit brexit. every country looks to look after its own interests and this is what spain is now trying to do over gibraltar. it's absolutely wrong that any future free trade

agreement, any future security, bilateral arrangements, or anything else, should depend on britain giving some concession to madrid over gibraltar. in gibraltar, officials are furious. we are not going to be a pawn in brexit, we want the culprits of gibraltar. -- we weren't the culprits of brexit. we are the partner of the eu and we are the ones walking away, but we are not responsible for that. the letter handed to the eu on wednesday, triggering the article 50 leaving process for britain, didn't include reference to gibraltar, some critics say it should have. what this perhaps underlines is the challenge facing britain as it begins negotiating as a single nation against 27, each of which has their own vested interests. labour's claire moody is the mep for the south—west and gibraltar. she explained why she was encouraged by the foreign secretary, boris johnson's response. the foreign secretary, boris johnson's response. i was very pleased to hear that he'd made that

statement, because actually my first gibraltar shock this week was on wednesday, when i saw the article 50 letter, where it appeared that the uk government had glossed over, indeed left out, the interests entirely of gibraltar. the reason why i am very clear on picking this up why i am very clear on picking this up is because if the uk government is about to go into the most detailed negotiations that we have seenin detailed negotiations that we have seen in decades, and it is vital that they are up to the job. so, it is really important to say, right, you weren't on the game on wednesday. you now have to step up to the plate for gibraltar. i'm pleased to see they have been doing. in future, as well, this isn'tjust about gibraltar it's about representing the interests of all british citizens. thousands of households on high incomes have received taxpayers

money to buy a home, according to official figures. they reveal that the help to buy scheme, which offers subsidies to buyers, has helped 4,000 households in england earning more than £100,000 a year to purchase a home. our business correspondent, joe lynam, reports. introduced four years ago when the uk economy simply wasn't growing at awe, the help to buy scheme aimed —— at all, the help to buy scheme aimed to stoke up house building and help mostly first—time buyers get on the ladder. since then, 250,000 people have bought property using the help to buy schemes. research by labour suggests that existing home owners from wealthy house hoeds have benefitted as well. using official data, research found around 4,000 households in england, earning more tan £100,000, used the help to buy equity loan scheme and 20,000 households used it, even though they weren't even first time buyers. this

scheme in place playing a valuable pa rt scheme in place playing a valuable part in helping people get into the housing market for the first time should only be there for first—time buyers. and really shouldn't be there for people who are earning over £100,000 a year. itjust doesn't make sense. the help to buy equity loan scheme offers buyers up toa equity loan scheme offers buyers up to a fifth of the cost of a new—build home, so they only need to provide a 5% deposit. the government says almost 400,000 people have been helped and 8. £8.6 billion has been promised for it in england until 2021. lenders now, once again, are not scared about falling house prices and are prepared to advance money to people who want to buy homes. the question is — has it now gone on for too long and is it now artificially pushing up house prices, particularly those of new build homes? the fact that the help to buy scheme has helped existing and sometimes wealthy households will worry some eeconomists. they have long seen concerns about

consumer indebtedness, rising house prices and savings the an all—time record low. if the cost of living continues to rise, as it has in recent weeks and months, that will make the problem even worse. bbc news has learned thatjust 5% of prison officers in england and wales will benefit from new allowances of up to £5,000. the ministry ofjustice announced the new payments two months ago, after criticism that low pay and morale were leading to a crisis in the prison service. mark fairhurst from the prison officers association said giving some staff pay allowances, and not others, was demoralising their members and failing get to the heart of recruitment problems. those of us who are experienced are very demoralised. because we haven't had a pay rise in over seven years. those new recruits, for example, a new recruit at the new jail those new recruits, for example, a new recruit at the newjail in wrexham will be receiving £21,000 a

year, wrexham will be receiving £21,000 a yea r, yet wrexham will be receiving £21,000 a year, yet someone with the same level of experience as them, with only ten weeks in the job, working in brixton, will be receiving £31,000 a year. now that's no incentive to stay in the job. they need to tackle the real issue, the real issue we can't retain staff is because of the violence, because of the working conditions and because of the severe lack of support from management, when we deal with that violence. the other issue is the starting salary throughout the country ah, part from the 3 —— apart from the 31 sites identified, simply isn't sufficient enough. it doesn't compete with other industry. nottinghamshire police say they're becoming increasingly concerned for the safety of two young children, who are believed to have been abducted by their mother. 42—year—old samantha baldwin, from newark, has not been seen since monday and is believed to be with nine—year—old louis madge and dylan madge, who's six. police say they are treating the case as an abduction. from door to door, the police are

looking for clues in their search for the missing boys and their mother. samantha baldwin, nine—year—old louis and six—year—old dyla n nine—year—old louis and six—year—old dylan vanish on tuesday. the previous day nottingham family court had ordered her sons should be removed from her care. the police are now treating it as an abduction inquiry. i would like to say to samantha directly, please do the right thing and return the boys safely to the court. secondly, to anybody out there, across the nation, who has any information, however small that may be, to contact us. that includes anyone who i’u ns contact us. that includes anyone who runs 01’ owns contact us. that includes anyone who runs or owns bed—and—brea kfasts, hotels, caravan parks, camp sites or holiday lets to check your registers, check who you've got occupying your premises and please bearin occupying your premises and please bear in mind the group could be

staying under a different name. the two boys have now been made wards of court. their mother regarded as posing a risk of harm. the police haven't ruled out the pont someone else —— ruled the possibility of someone else —— ruled the possibility of someone else might be involved in harbouring samantha. 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 after months of speculation about the country's future. the protesters were directing up 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 here to approve a new bill which could allow president cartes to run for another term of government. the offices of lawmakers were set alight, with computers and tvs becoming missiles. reports say dozens of people, including police and politicians, were injured. this is the man at the centre of the dispute. horacio 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 in the country. president ca rtes wants the restriction removed. trouble began earlier in the day, with tears and tear gas on the streets of the capital. rubber bullets were also fired at demonstrators.

translation: the people of paraguay can fight against these rubber bullets. they have installed a dictator in this country. the 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 lawmakers and the president appealfor calm. 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 40, from two to three. it's expected to cost around £1 million a year, as helena lee reports. it's thought that around one in seven couples experience difficulty having children. in scotland, up

until now, women under 40 have been offered two cycles of ivf on the nhs. that's now changing to up to three. 0lder nhs. that's now changing to up to three. older women, nhs. that's now changing to up to three. 0lderwomen, between 40 nhs. that's now changing to up to three. older women, between 40 and 42, will 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 40 varies. in england, up to three full cycles are recommended. but local clinical commissioning groups decide and in over half of the areas in england only one cycle is offered. in wales, women under 40 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 been put aside already. the public health minister said the changes made access to ivf treatment in scotland the fairest and most generous in the uk.

officials in australia warn that swollen rivers are still threatening tens of thousands of people in queensland and new south wales. the police commissioner in the city of rockhampton in queensland said the flooding would be the worst in nearly a century. the floods come in the aftermath of tuesdays category four tropical cyclone debbie. tammi walker has this story. authorities in australia have warned local residents, stranded by floodwaters, to remain vigilant in the aftermath of a powerful tropical cyclone. swollen rivers continue to rise, threatening tens of thousands of people living near major rivers in queensland and new south wales. cyclone debbie hit the eastern coast on tuesday, with inds up to 260 kilometres an hour, causing major damage to buildings, roads and crops. it's unbelievable, mate. it's picked it up like a big eskie and

whipped it across the road. malcom turnbull confirmed fatalities. two women in new south wales have died asa women in new south wales have died as a result of these floods. 0ur thoughts and prayers are with their families. this is going to be a tough time for them. military and rescue teams have been mobilised to help with the emergency. rescuing stranded people and distributing supplies, such as food, water and fuel. 0fficials stress the danger will continue for some time. we hope by the end of the day we will see easing of those conditions and improvement into tomorrow. but it's not over yet. after three days of chaos and destruction, the people of queensland and new south wales are left with the damage and trying to rebuild their lives. the headlines on bbc news: the uk says it will stand up for gibraltar‘s the uk says it will stand up for g i bra lta r‘s interests the uk says it will stand up for gibraltar‘s interests after the territory accused spain of using brexit to forward territorial aims. research says that nearly half the

people who use the government's help to buy scheme, to purchase a house, did not need it. bbc news learns that only 5% of prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowances of up to £5,000. the authorities in hungary are ready to start transferring asylum seekers to container camps on the border with serbia. the prospect of being held there has already put off some migrants and refugees from transiting the country. the camps have also attracted criticism and could be delayed by rulings in the european court of human rights. nick thorpe reports from the hungarian—serbian border. this container camp is still empty. there is space here for 250 asylum seekers. so far, it is home to just two families. the government says it is 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. 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 are illegal, second as if they had not entered hungary. call it a reception centre, called 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 asylum seekers. yes, this is our food warehouse, one of two that we have... just across the serbian border, volunteers provide food to refugees. they used to rest here on their way to hungary, now they are looking for alternative routes. this is a time of experimentation. the refugees in serbia,

i think, are trying to see if there are any better routes, trying the croatian border, the romanian border, and many have gone back to belgrade to get a rest. in a ruined brick factory on the edge of the town, this pakistani refugee contemplates his next move. maybe i will try from the croatian side, from the romanian side, because this border is now totally closed. they built another fence there, which is why it is a problem for us. hungary, at great cost, has sealed its southern border, so zarar and his friends plan to travel through romania instead. the artist, gilbert baker — who created the rainbow flag that became an international symbol for gay rights — has died. he was 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.

the organisers of the eurovision song contest have threatened to ban this year's hosts, ukraine, from future competitions unless russia's entrant is allowed into the country. last week, ukraine barred yuliya samoilova because of a visit she made to crimea after it was annexed by russia three years ago. with me is alisdair rendall. he's the president of the 0gae, the uk's biggest eurovision fan club. thank you forjoining us. just give us thank you forjoining us. just give us the background to this row, a visit to crimea, was there a bit more to this? this goes back to last year when ukraine won eurovision. the lyrics were deemed to be a bit political, perhaps anti—russian. skip forward 12 months and kiev is getting ready to host the contest. russia at the very last minute, there was a bit will they, won't they take part. they submitted their song at the last minute. then the

ukraine said, hang on, she's visited crimea, that's illegal. she cannot come to kiev to perform. so the ebu looked at a compromise which may have involved her performing live by satellite. the russian broadcasters said no, that's not acceptable. we're sending julia to ukraine. we now have reports that the director—general of the ebu has contacted the broadcaster in ukraine to say hang on, this has got to be sorted out or you will face sanctions. this has never happened before in eurovision history, yet there's no love loss between russia and ukraine. there's not. it's fairly unprecedentedlet the near —— unprecedented. the nearest was in 2009 with georgia. there was a song and the lyrics were anti—putin. they had to withdraw. this stand—off, there's a bit of brinkmanship going on here. it difficult to see how it's going to be resolved. should politics be involved in something that's meant to be fun, it's entertainment, bringing the nations

together? absolutely not. the clue's in the title, the eurovision song contest. there's enough politics in europe at the moment. we need a bit of escapism from that. it's inevitable with the olympics and the world cup, when you have big, international events that politics will play a part. no, for the fans, for the viewers, for the musicians, it's a song contest. and let's hope this doesn't distract from that too much. we'll come back to what the fa ns much. we'll come back to what the fans think in a moment. may 13 is the date, could this be resolved by then? it's going to have to be. we don't know what the resolution will be. i know the ebu were working really ha rd be. i know the ebu were working really hard to find a solution that pleases everyone. but with the clock ticking just a few weeks to go until the contest, we're all interested to see what's going to happen. it's ha rd see what's going to happen. it's hard to see what the way out is. you run the biggest uk eurovision fan club, what are the fans saying? the fans are saying this is not a

politics contest. it's a song contest. it gives fuel to the fire to all those people who like to criticise eurovision and say it's all about politics, that's why the uk will never do well. at the heart of it is the best song will win. let's hope this doesn't distract too much from that. what was she doing in crimea? i think she performed in a concert within the last couple of years. obviously since the occupation of crimea by russia, that's seen as something that the authorities in ukraine asjust a no—no, if she wants to perform in kiev. she's quite an interesting performer as well. she's performing from a wheelchair, is that right? exactly. yes. she is disabled. she wouldn't be the first disabled artist or even the first performer ina artist or even the first performer in a wheelchair. a polish singer sang from a wheelchair, but it adds to the whole kind of media hubbub around the story. we will leave it there for now. thank you very much. curling is one of team gb‘s most

success winter sport. that's thanks to scotland. in the future they could be getting help from south of the border. we've been to a farm in kent, where they've built england's first dedicated curling rink. once they milked cows, they're farming a new breed. in kent, milking is something very rare outside scotland curling talent of the future. it's all thanks to a farmer, who moved here from scotland and brought the came with him. now staff here split their time between farming, and tending to the ice. staff here split their time between farming, and tending to the icem was really because there's nothing in england. i came down from scotland, where curling was something that all the family did, all the neighbours did. it was realingly a community —— really a community thing. when i had the cows, they made a mess, didn't make any money. i got rid of them, got rid of the curling, they make a mess, still don't make any money.

but he has stirred the passion for the sport in southern england, nurturing future stars who could one day help the scots to strengthen the british team. at the moment this is the only dedicated purpose—built curling rink outside scotland. later this year, another one will open at preston. such a simple game. it's just pushing a rock up the ice. it slides upment at any level you can enjoy. it -- 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 will get the nod from any of the young curlers there? you have to have a specific technique to get the sliding right. it's all down to tactics. it comes down to knowing what the other opposition is thinking and where you can put your stones to win the game. this game is like chess. i'm going

to give annabel a couple of tactical signals. the great thing about this sport is you don't need to be able to ice skate. it's one of the few ice sports that you don't need any skating ability to take part. it's myjob to sweep when they say sweep. they're shouting. there we go to get ita they're shouting. there we go to get it a few extra centimetres. get it into the circle. come on. oh, that's our own stone! you don't need to be the most, a typical athlete to get involved. there's lots of types of curlers. 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 quite over until the last stone. for the past ten years, young people who have made amazing contributions to their communities have been

awarded. kirsy was 19 when they won her award in 2009. awarded. kirsy was 19 when they won heraward in 2009. she awarded. kirsy was 19 when they won her award in 2009. she suffers from a rare nerve condition, which can mean she can have up to 100 tumours on her body at any one time. today she's working hard to raise awareness of disabilities and this is her story. i'm kirsty. i'm from manchester. i'm 26 years old and i won the rotary young citizen award in 2009, because of the amount of money i've raised for when you wish upon a star and helping dreams come true. i live with a condition. it's where tumours grow on the nerve endings. scoliosis is curvature of the spine. i do volu nta ry is curvature of the spine. i do voluntary radio presenting for uk health radio. i have a show called the sunshine uk health show. i have become a role model for scope. that

means i come into high schools and i will do a q&a with children about disabilities. the idea about the sessions is that we make them more aware and inspire them about disability and breaking boundaries as well with disabled people. ne. next saturday, we will broadcast the ten year anniversary ceremony live from manchester at 10. 30am next saturday morning. music often provides an escape from the real world. but in hull one sound installation aims to give listeners a better connection to their surroundings. the work celebrates the humber bridge by incorporate rating sounds made by the structure itself. visitors can listen to the music as they walk across the bridge. here in leeds, something magical is

taking place. musicians from opera north are putting the finishing touches to a recording which will evoke the essence of one of yorkshire's most iconic sides, the —— sites, the humber bridge. many of us —— sites, the humber bridge. many of us will have driven across the bridge, taking in the sights of the humber river. this unique proinject is hoping to inspire people to walk along its mile—long length and get lost in incredible sounds. opera north is working with norwegian composers to create this musical—guided walk. composers to create this musical-guided walk. it's a fantastic construction. it's so much bigger than i expected. it's been interesting to walk across the bridge together and to actually hear the sound of the bridge in itself. meanwhile, the opera north orchestra is recording its part. it's a truly beautiful sound produced by top—class musicians. beautiful sound produced by

top-class musicians. how could we blend different instruments into that and then building melodies on top of it or chords or sounds? the musicjust felt like it top of it or chords or sounds? the music just felt like it was like top of it or chords or sounds? the musicjust felt like it was like a natural blood running through your veins. some of the musicians are using their instruments in a very unusual way. the opera north chorus also has a part to play in creating the sound escape. it's very atmospheric. and part of the problem is that we only know our bits and there's at least seven other layers, as far as there's at least seven other layers, as farasi there's at least seven other layers, as far as i can tell. so i have no idea what the end product is going to be. the finished piece will be heard through head sets as people walk across the bridge. what's particularly amazing is that it makes you look at everything com pletely makes you look at everything completely differently when you're listening as well. it creates a com pletely listening as well. it creates a completely — you look at everything much more carefully. it's really great. let's catch up with the weather.

jay, | let's catch up with the weather. jay, i think we've got spring weather proper now. it's a mixed bag. we have a mixed bag of sunshine and showers this afternoon. some pretty lively downpours as well. the showers have been quite frequent across northern parts of england and really quite wet for some places. nowhere really immune from the showers. top temperatures 16 celsius, closer to 12—13 further west you go. overnight, the showers become few