try and fl”; e‘filfi fi‘fiig‘flll the middle teens. try and bright with variable amounts of cloud with sunshine for our premier league matches. looking out towards the north—west, the winds are freshening and a weather front is approaching. belfast was the rain as the day develops. but the further south and east you go, a decent day, dry and bright and warm. this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm: britain promises to stand up for gibraltar after the territory accuses spain of using brexit to forward its territorial aims. foreign secretary, boris johnson, tweeted: "the uk remains implacable and rock—like in our support for gibraltar". nearly half of people who used the government's help to buy scheme to purchase a house did not need it, according to new research. the bbc understands 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 centre of the eurovision song contest. the hosts ukraine face expulsion from future competitions unless russia's entrant is allowed into the country. and liverpool comfortably beat everton in the merseyside derby. you can see all the goals in sports day. that's in 45 minutes‘ time here on bbc news. good evening 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 location, ten miles from north africa's coast, has 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, just two days after that commons statement, the eu's draft brexit negotiating 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 weren't the culprits of brexit. the european union looks at the united kingdom as if, you know, they're in an acrimonious divorce. "we are the partner that cuckolded the eu and we are the ones walking away." well, gibraltar wasn't 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.

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 a £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 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 households have benefitted as well. using official data, research found around 4,000 households in england, earning more than £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 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 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 £8.6 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 at 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. speaking earlier, reuben young from priced0ut, a group campaigning for first time buyers and cheaper housing, told us he wanted to see an end to the help to buy scheme. the whole thing should be scrapped. the money should be put into subsidising the supply of housing and not the demand. the more money you have chasing the same supply of homes, the more expensive those homes will become. build more, sure, lift housing revenue caps, let local authorities borrow money to build housing, that's a better way to spend the money. government really has a good grip on the scale of this crisis. they have the right rhetoric. unfortunately, as we saw from the housing white paper, they're not prepared to take the steps necessary

to actually get that done. gavin barwell is always saying there's no silver bullet. allowing local authorities to build housing themselves would be a silver bullet. reviewing green belt policy would be a silver bullet. reviewing property taxes would be a silver bullet. help to buy is just a drop in the ocean. a teenage boy has been critically injured in a gang attack in south london. it's understood the boy was set upon at a bus stop in croydon after the group discovered he was an asylum seeker. police are treating it as a hate crime. 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 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. 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 to 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 berwyn, the newjail in 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, apart from the 31 sites identified, simply isn't sufficient enough. it doesn't compete with other industry. now to some breaking news: reports from colombia say the number of people killed in a mudslide in the south of the country has increased to at least 90. red cross officials said more than 150 have been injured as swollen rivers and heavy rains sent mud onto homes and roads in the city of mocoa late on friday. the local governor told local media that hundreds of families were missing. he said whole neighbourhoods had been swept away by the avalanche. with me is my colleague nicholas rocha from bbc americas. can you give us an update? what do we know? the very latest is that

president santos is travelling to mocoa today. he tweeted that he had heard that 112 people had died. the number is increasing and the money knows how many will eventually be found to be dead, because many people, hundreds, possibly, are missing. the local governor said 17 neighbourhoods has practically been swept away. so the number could increase, and italy. could you describe the region? it is very remote. it leads to the amazon jungle. it is the planes before the amazon, and the newest city with easy access is about four or five hours newest city with easy access is about four orfive hours by newest city with easy access is about four or five hours by road. but with the reins on the weather i'm sure that the roads are not possible at all. they will have to fly in supplies, whatever is needed.

there is an army base there, that is the main source of rescue workers at the main source of rescue workers at the moment. they are struggling to find people alive. it is the rainy season find people alive. it is the rainy season at the moment, isn't it? you can never tell. it has been raining hard, but this changes dramatically from day—to—day. hard, but this changes dramatically from day-to-day. 112 dead, as tweeted by the president. scorers missing, we understand. thank you, nicholas. 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 a million pounds 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. 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.

for the past ten years, young people who've made amazing contributions to their communities have been recognised at the rotary young citizen awards. kirsty ashton was 19 when she won her award, in 2009 for her fundraising work. she suffers from a rare nerve condition, which can mean she can have 100 tumours on her body at any one time. today, she's working hard to raise awareness of disabilities. this is her story... i'm kirsty and some people call me kay. 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 called neurofibromatosis and scoliosis. neurofibromatosis is where tumours grow on the nerve endings. scoliosis 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 0&a with children about disability. the idea of the sessions are that we make them more aware and inspire them about disability and breaking boundaries as well with disabled people. 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. the headlines on bbc news: the uk says it will stand up for gibraltar‘s interests after the territory accused spain of using brexit to forward its territorial aims.

nearly half of people who used the government's help—to—buy scheme to purchase a house did not need it, according to new research. bbc news has learnt that only 5% of prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowances of up to £5,000. documents released by the white house show donald trump's senior staff hold millions of dollars in assets. ethics regulations require white house staff disclose their finances. according to us media, the figures appear to show the individuals are much more wealthy than officials in previous administrations, including barack 0bama's. earlier, our washington correspondent tulip mazumdar said in an lobby surprised. this is

donald trump, a multi—billionaire, who campaigned on that to get into the white house, that is where he 110w the white house, that is where he now is, with some of his very rich friends and family. to take you through some of those numbers, jarrod kershner, his son—in—law and one of his senior advisers, he is reported to have assets of up to $740 million, which he shares with his wife. 0ther high—profile people include steve bannon and kelly anne conway, both senior advisers, include steve bannon and kelly anne conway, both senioradvisers, both multimillionaires. gary cohen, an economic adviser, he is worth at least, at the very least, $230 million. we are talking a staggering amount of money year. the white house itself says, we know these people are privileged. son sean spicer the press secretary said many of these people are blessed and very

successful. but he said they have given upa successful. but he said they have given up a lot to become public servants. i setting aside of their assets. what has the reaction been from the american public? sean spicer‘s defence is that these are successful people, is that enough to calm them, not to be angry at the revelations? some people will be very pleased. and in fact they voted for donald trump because he is a rich businessman who has made billions for himself and he said i can do this for the country. there isa can do this for the country. there is a core of supporters who are actually very pleased that president trump and the people around him are business minded people who have made a lot of money. but there will be those asking, hang on, this is a bunch of millionaires in the white house, what do they know about the struggles of normal americans? how can they relate to it when they have

never experienced it? they are questions that are also being asked at the moment. julep, thank you. 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 5—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 has 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 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've 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. 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 roscke on the hungarian—serbian border. this container camp is still empty. there's 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. for alternative routes. the refugees in serbia, i think, are trying to see if there's 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, wso that's why it's 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 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. earlier i spoke to alsadair rendall. he's the president of the 0gae, the uk's biggest eurovision fan club.

he told me that the row between russia and ukraine goes back to the eurovision song contest last year when ukraine won. 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 of 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 yulia performing live by satellite. the russian broadcasters said no, that's not acceptable. we're sending yulia 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 otherwie 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 unprecedented. the nearest was in 2009 with georgia in the aftermath of the south 0ssetia crisis. there was a song and the lyrics were rather 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 people and 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 hopet his doesn't distract from that too 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 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 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 yulia doing in crimea? i think she performed in a concert within the last couple of years. 0bviously 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 in a wheelchair. a polish singer sang from a wheelchair, but it adds to the whole kind of media hubbub around the story. 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. you might remember the crystal maze — the quiz show in the 1990s. but if you ever wished you could have a go, now could be your chance. the format has been revived as part of an immersive theatrical production which sees people take part, influence the show, and even become characters themselves. tim muffett has been to have a go. the audience as participants, not

just watching a show, but being in it. the crystal maze experience is soon to open in manchester and is based on the early 1990s tv programme. it was a really british tv show. it had a sense of revere nce , tv show. it had a sense of reverence, it was funny, tongue in cheek, it was silly. like the london show that has been selling out for a year, this new manchester production will see audience members compete for crystals to buy time in the crystal dome. when you start the fa ns crystal dome. when you start the fans please was mike! we have broken the disconnect between people being active and passive, wanting to follow a journey rather than just being sat in a dark auditorium. this immersive production might be inspired by a tv game show, but in

recent yea rs inspired by a tv game show, but in recent years many theatre producers have sought out new audiences by making them part of the story. montagu ‘s and caplets, very different version of romeo and juliet, the latest production by this theatre group who are immersive specialists. audiences choose which subplot to follow. there is even dodge ball and 1990s rave. why has it taken off as an idea? it is a response to social media where we are all around protagonists of facebook and twitter. when we go and see a show, i feel that audiences are getting less empathetic to characters they are watching on—screen stage and want something to happen to them. it is very immersive, and maybe not quite what i was expecting. i think the fact it involves everybody in it, that is the whole thing, you're not sitting

separately. the arts council has seen a separately. the arts council has seen a big rise in the number of funding applications from experimental theatre groups, up 42% since 2013. many immersive shows, like this one based on alice in wonderland has proved popular, but some feel the novelty is wearing thin. what has changed is that it has gone from being this art form that was new and exciting to being something that people are going for the experience of. if you've not got something you want to say and achieve by bringing the audience into the show, then you might as well not do it in mercifully, you might as well not do it at all. confusing at times, perhaps audience participation is a must, for the growth of immersive dish is that watching a show is for some no longer enough. inafew in a few moments viewers on bbc one

willjoin kids are voted for a round—up of the news, followed by sportsday, but now we can get the weather. we have had thunder and hail reported. tomorrow, it looks much drier. warm sunny spells for many of us drier. warm sunny spells for many of us but not before a chilly night. under the starry skies, as those showers continued to ease in intensity, sharp across eastern areas. they will ease away foremost and allow temperatures to foreclose the frost levels for scotland and northern islands. ground frost even further south. potentially mist and fog around south. but otherwise, sunday morning