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A nurse who is in the middle of an employment tribunal against NHS Fife has been called to a separate disciplinary hearing by the health board.

Sandie Peggie claims she was subjected to unlawful harassment by being made to share a changing room at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, with Dr Beth Upton – who is a transgender woman.

Her claim is disputed by the health board and the doctor. On Friday, the tribunal judge adjourned the case until July.

The BBC has learned that NHS Fife has scheduled a conduct hearing to examine allegations against Ms Peggie of misconduct, failures of patient care and misgendering Dr Upton. The potential outcomes range from no case to dismissal.

The hearing was originally due to take place on Friday but has been rescheduled at Ms Peggie’s request.

In response, her legal team are planning further action in the form of another tribunal claim.

NHS Fife said it was unable to comment on matters relating to individual staff members.

The employment tribunal previously heard how Ms Peggie had encountered Dr Upton in the women’s changing room on two occasions in August and late October or early November 2023.

Ms Peggie, who has been a nurse at NHS Fife for more than 30 years, said she felt “uncomfortable” and waited outside of the room until Dr Upton left.

On a third occasion on Christmas Eve 2023, the pair exchanged words in the room and Ms Peggie said the doctor should not be using the women’s changing area.

Both sides have disputed exactly what was said.

During her evidence, Ms Peggie confirmed she had called Dr Upton a man and said she believed the medic was a biological male.

She acknowledged that this would be considered harassment under NHS Fife’s diversity and equality guidance.

Dr Upton told the tribunal the incident was “quite scary” and claimed the nurse compared the situation to the case of Isla Bryson, a transgender rapist who attacked two women while known as Adam Graham and was initially remanded to a women’s prison.

“I felt really distressed, really awful,” the doctor added. “I’ve never had somebody say things like that to me before.”

Dr Upton complained and the nurse was put on leave. She was then suspended for eight weeks while the health board carried out an investigation into alleged bullying and harassment.

But Ms Peggie said it was discriminatory for Dr Upton, who was not registered female at birth, to use the women’s changing room.

The nurse claims she was “subjected to sexual harassment” by the medic and that NHS Fife had breached the Equality Act.

NHS guidance states that trans men and women are allowed to use the changing rooms that align with their gender identity.

Ms Peggie also criticised how long the investigation into the bullying allegations had taken and said she had not been asked for her side of the story.

In January, it was decided that the tribunal would be heard in public and that Ms Peggie and her legal team were allowed to refer to Dr Upton as a man.

After two weeks of evidence, the hearing was expected to have concluded.

The delay is due to questioning of witnesses taking longer than anticipated, and the judge and lawyers’ availability.

So far, Ms Peggie, Dr Upton and nursing manager Esther Davidson have given evidence among others.

Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said his constituents had contacted him about a “witch hunt” against Sandie Peggie “who was simply standing up for her legal right to access single-sex changing facilities in her place of work”.

He told BBC Scotland’s Drivetime programme: “Instead of taking that request seriously, she was suspended by NHS Fife for making that complaint and now is having to go to an employment tribunal to try and have her rights restored.”

The MSP said he plans to question the Scottish government in parliament about the issue later this week.

He added: “I cannot see how it is justified for the senior management on the board of NHS Fife to continue to spend what now must be hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money on a case they are bound to lose.

“That is why it is beyond the point where Neil Gray and the Scottish government need to step in and bring a stop to this.”

The tribunal will resume again on 16 July and is expected to last a further 11 days.

Zeeshan Ali has been a drag artist for 10 years and has taken his show all over India.

Central to his performance is a collection of around 45 wigs.

“It’s an alter of identity, helping me transition from my everyday self into exaggerated, glamorous or whimsical characters. The right wig makes me feel more authentic and empowers me to command the stage,” says Ali, who is based in Mumbai.

But getting that look right wasn’t easy in the early days.

“When I started my career the accessibility of the wigs was extremely difficult in India. Most of them were to be sourced from abroad or I used to make wigs sourced from whatever was available to me like wool, fabric,” he says.

But things are different now.

“The trend is changing. Wigs are no longer just meant for drag or movie artists, but many straight women wear wigs to look different. It’s no longer just a hair accessory but a style statement.”

Indian hair has always been in demand for wig-making. The nation is the world’s biggest exporter of human hair, supplying 85% of global demand.

Kolachi Venkatesh, based in Avadi, Chennai, has been collecting hair for 20 years. He started at the bottom of the industry as a picker – collecting hair from households and rescuing it from the rubbish.

“My parents were hair pickers and then I started doing the same,” he says.

Hair collected by pickers from homes, salons and barbershops is called non-Remy hair.

It requires more processing than Remy hair, which is carefully shaved straight from the scalp. Nevertheless, it has value.

“It’s just thrown away but it’s gold,” says Mr Venkatesh.

Those pickers typically sell hair to local traders like Mr Venkatesh for between 10 cents and $1 (£0.80) per kilogram, depending on the quality and length of the hair.

Shorter or damaged hair fetches less, while longer strands bring higher prices.

For the individual picker, there’s not much money in it.

“A diligent collector might gather 1–5 kilograms of hair in a day, earning anywhere from 59 cents to $6 per day. This income level is often below minimum wage standards, particularly in rural areas,” says Mr Venkatesh, who has 50 pickers working for him.

“While our work contributes to a billion-dollar global market our earnings remain meagre. Intermediaries control prices.”

Most of the Indian hair collected by traders like Mr Venkatesh is exported to China where it is made into wigs.

“China has a huge wigmaking industry which is worth five to six billion dollars,” says Benjamin Cherian from Plexconcil, the hair industry body that promotes the Indian industry and liaises with the government.

If India wants a slice of the lucrative wig market, he says, then it has a lot of catching up to do.

“When we look at China there are hundreds of factories spread across the country which add value to the hair industry, whereas in India the value addition still needs to be picked up,” Mr Cherian says.

He says the government needs to help promote investment in the hair industry.

“It needs automated sorting systems, sophisticated hair treatment procedures for the hair collected, innovative production techniques for manufacturing of wigs which will make India stand out.”

Instead of exporting hair for hundreds of dollars, India should be selling wigs worth thousands of dollars says Mr Cherian.

“We have started working on it but it’s a long way to go. We need to have research and training centres,” he says.

One Indian business trying to make inroads is Delhi-based Diva Divine Hair, co-founded by Nidhi Tiwari in 2009.

The idea was to create high-quality hair extensions and wigs that would appeal to a broader range of customers.

“There is a growing need for these solutions due to rising issues of hair loss and thinning among women in India,” says Ms Tiwari.

The company has been helped by a shift in attitude.

“Once considered a niche or taboo topic, wigs and extensions are now openly discussed, thanks to evolving social norms and a shift toward acceptance,” she says.

Wigs have also seen a lot of development making them more attractive and comfortable.

“Technologies such as 3D-printed wigs and digital colour-matching tools offer highly personalised options. Lightweight, breathable wig caps and improved adhesives have given customers to wear it for long time without discomfort,” says Ms Tiwari.

At the top end of the hair market is Temple or Remy hair.

Much of the supply comes from Hindu temples in the south of the country where hair is shaved off in an act of veneration and faith.

Raj Hair International is one of the biggest traders in the Temple hair business.

Craftsmen at the company’s Chennai factory sort and grade the hair according to colour, texture and length.

“Remy hair has aligned cuticles, hair flows uniformly in one direction, which leads to less tangling and a silkier texture. This is high-value hair,” says George Cherion, the company’s chief executive.

The firm tries to waste as little of the hair as possible. To help with that it developed a machine to untangle the hair. It’s allowed them to work faster with fewer staff.

“Our mission is to constantly upgrade the technology,” says Mr Cherion.

Business is booming.

“Indian human is in demand globally due to its high quality, natural look, and thinness. The demand is skyrocketing,” he says.

Back in Mumbai Zeeshan Ali wants to see more Indian wigs on the market.

As well as making them more affordable, he has a design suggestion: “A wig that can create a wow factor.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said any Ukraine peace deal would require a “US backstop” to deter Russia from attacking its neighbour again.

Speaking after a hastily convened meeting with European leaders in Paris, the prime minister repeated that he would consider deploying UK troops to Ukraine in the event of a lasting peace agreement.

But he said “a US security guarantee was the only way to effectively deter Russia”, and vowed to discuss the “key elements” of a peace deal with US President Donald Trump when the pair meet in Washington next week.

Sir Keir said Europe would “have to do more” to defend the continent in the face of the “generational” security challenge Russia poses.

He was keen to avoid explaining exactly what he meant by a “backstop” – but his allies suggest this could involve air support, logistics and intelligence capabilities.

European leaders convened at the Élysée Palace to discuss concerns over the Trump administration’s decision to initiate peace talks with Russia – due to start in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday – alone.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv did not know about the talks and would not recognise any agreement made without its involvement.

US officials have suggested European nations would be consulted on peace talks with Russia, but not directly involved in them.

The Paris summit also took place days after US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said Europe would have to be primarily responsible for guaranteeing its own security going forward.

In his statement to reporters following the talks, Sir Keir said the US was “not going to leave Nato”, but that it was “time to take responsibility for our security, our continent”.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said transatlantic relations were in a “new stage”, and that the meeting had confirmed the time had come for “a much greater ability for Europe to defend itself”.

Sir Keir has indicated any troop contributions from the UK would be part of a multinational force to police the border between Ukrainian-held and Russian-held territory.

But experts say to do so effectively would be a massive undertaking that would require a large increase in defence spending.

Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute, said that, unlike UN peacekeeping forces there to observe, if the force being proposed is intended to deter Russian attacks, “it’s a whole different matter altogether”.

“You need credible, well-armed forces – and you not only need frontline forces, you need back-up forces, and air forces, and so on,” he told the BBC. “That’s a much bigger ask.”

General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, a former Nato commander, said: “This cannot be a token force, it cannot be something that observes bad behaviour and stands on the sideline.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that it would have to do “effectively what Nato does on its own turf – really deter aggression”, and would need to be “underpinned by a grand strategy for containment of Russia” that would make clear any future conflict would not be contained to Ukraine.

“Essentially, the force needs to be large enough to defeat an incursion,” he added.

The former head of the British Army, Lord Dannatt, previously estimated such a force would need around 100,000 troops – with the UK contributing about two-fifths.

“We just haven’t got that number available,” he said on Saturday, adding that getting the military into shape to perform this role would come at a considerable cost.

The UK currently spends around 2.3% of its total economic output on defence. The government has committed to increasing defence spending to 2.5%, but has not said when this will be achieved.

Sir Keir earlier told reporters that the government would set out a path to meeting the 2.5% commitment once it finishes its strategic defence review.

“Part of my message to our European allies is that we’ve all got to step up on both capability and on spending and funding,” he said.

“That includes the UK, which is why I’ve made that commitment to spend more.”

Some European figures have signalled their agreement with this.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Europe had to “step up” defence spending and support for Ukraine, as “Russia is threatening all of Europe now, unfortunately”, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a “surge” in defence spending.

Sir Keir was also joined in Paris by the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, as well as the president of the European Council and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Prior to the meeting, European leaders had also expressed concern after Hegseth said it was “unrealistic” to expect Ukraine will return to its pre-2014 borders – before Russia annexed Crimea and took parts of the nation’s south and east in its 2022 full-scale invasion.

Hegseth also downplayed the prospect of Ukraine joining the mutual defence alliance Nato – something Sir Keir has said it was on an “irreversible” path towards.

Gen Sir Bradshaw noted these potential concessions to Russia, and said: “If we can’t return Ukraine to what it was as a sovereign nation before this war, we have absolutely got to make it a lasting peace.”

No 10 confirmed Sir Keir’s trip to Washington earlier on Monday, after a minister said the UK could serve as a “bridge” between the US and Europe.

The BBC understands the PM offered to host a follow-up meeting of European leaders following the Washington trip.

Poland’s Tusk has already indicated his nation would not send troops into Ukraine, but would continue to support it with military, financial and humanitarian aid.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, meanwhile, told reporters following the Paris meeting that discussing sending troops to Ukraine at present was “completely premature” and he was “a little irritated” with the topic.

UK government sources argue it is “no surprise” there was a difference of opinion between leaders, and that not every nation is willing to show their hand quite yet.

British diplomats do not believe every nation would need to commit to contributing troops – but some would. And whatever Europe’s eventual role, US involvement would still be required.

Prof Chalmers said: “Having significant numbers of Nato troops on Ukrainian soil after a ceasefire would be a failure for Russia, so it’s hard for me at this point to see Russia accepting such a presence as a part of the deal.”

Deploying British troops would also require the approval of Parliament, something Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said he was confident “all sides of the house are likely to agree with”.

Sir Keir’s spokesperson said Parliament would be consulted “as appropriate” but this was “getting ahead of discussions” with other world leaders.

Meanwhile, fighting on the ground in Ukraine continued over the weekend, with at least three civilians killed in Russian strikes on Sunday, according to local authorities.

Several areas of Ukraine are under an emergency blackout following attacks on energy infrastructure, while Russia’s defence ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 90 Ukrainian drones on Sunday night.

A star-studded cast have taken part in a three-hour special to celebrate the 50th anniversary of legendary US comedy show Saturday Night Live.

The SNL50 show took place on Sunday (not Saturday) – but it was live, as always, from Studio 8H in New York City’s Rockefeller Centre.

The programme, famed for its sketches and celebrity hosts, premiered in October 1975 and is responsible for launching the careers of comedy legends including Eddie Murphy and Bill Murray.

Some returned for the anniversary special, alongside younger acts. Here are some of the highlights:

Woman of the moment Sabrina Carpenter kicked off the show by performing a duet alongside Paul Simon of folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel. The pair sang a rendition of the band’s 1966 hit Homeward Bound.

Simon first appeared on the comedy series back in 1976, singing the same song with The Beatles’ George Harrison.

Espresso singer Carpenter joked that neither she nor her parents had been born then.

Nirvana returned to the stage with surprise guest Post Malone – introduced by actor Adam Sandler. The actor reminisced about the original bandmates’ last SNL performance with frontman Kurt Cobain shortly before his death.

Post Malone joined Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear to play the band’s iconic hit Smells Like Teen Spirit.

It came after the surviving members of the 90s rock band reunited for another special performance last month to raise money for the LA fires relief fund.

SNL’s jokes regularly centre around politics or news events, so it seemed unlikely that one of the most high-profile current celebrity showdowns – between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively – would be spared.

The It Ends With Us stars are currently embroiled in a bitter legal dispute, with a court date set for 2026.

In what appeared to be a reference to the drama, Lively’s husband (who is also named in the complaint) Ryan Reynolds was part of a Q&A in which Tina Fey and Amy Poehler appeared on stage to take questions from the audience.

Asked how he was doing, Reynolds replied “Great!” Then, seeming concerned, he asked: “Why, what have you heard?”

US actress Aubrey Plaza made one of her first public appearances since the death of her husband.

Director and screenwriter Jeff Baena died in January at the age of 47. The pair had been together for more than a decade and married in 2021.

On Sunday, Plaza popped up in the audience to introduce Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard for a performance of Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U.

She paid tribute to Baena wearing a tie-dye shirt – it is unclear if it belonged to him but the couple wore tie-dye outfits for their wedding after the director got into the hobby during Covid.

An almost unrecognisable Meryl Streep made her SNL debut in a sketch hitting on Pedro Pascal and calling her character a “bad girl”.

She also referenced her iconic film in which she played fierce fashion boss Miranda Priestly, joking: “This devil wears nada.”

What would this special be without a face from the very first season of the show? It was fitting for Garrett Morris, an original cast member and the first black person on set of Saturday Night Live, to return to the studio.

He started the sketch declaring “I am Garrett Morris” to a big cheer, and joked that back when he joined the cast he had “no idea ya’ll that I would be required to do so many reunion shows”.

Domingo was back. There was no surprise that arguably the most viral character of the last season would return for this special.

Previously, we saw him at the wedding of Kelsey and Matt, when her bridesmaids revealed in a musical ensemble that she had been having an affair with Domingo.

On the anniversary special, Domingo’s brothers turned up at the couple’s vow renewal. Santiago, aka musician Bad Bunny, and Reynaldo, played by Pedro Pascal, joined in when the groomsmen formed their own ensemble.

It was revealed, this time round, that Matt and Santiago had got to know one another.

The last time Kim Kardashian was on SNL, she made headlines for kissing comedian Pete Davidson on Aladdin’s magic carpet – a kiss that was rumoured to be the start of their relationship.

On Sunday, Kardashian returned for an updated version of the singing Maharelle Sisters with former cast members Ana Gasteyer, Kristen Wiig and Scarlett Johansson – whose husband is the regular “Weekend Update” anchor Colin Jost.

Introduced by his rarely seen Anger Management co-star Jack Nicholson, actor Adam Sandler sang about the show’s history.

He gave a long list of previous cast members, noting several who had died including veteran SNL-ers Chris Farley and Norm MacDonald along with Gilda Radner, Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman.

Tom Hanks, wearing a black suit and tie, aptly performed a spoof segment named “In Memoriam”.

He introduced a tribute to “SNL characters and sketches that have aged horribly”, describing the subsequent montage as “unquestionably in poor taste”.

He pointed out to the audience in spite of that: “You all laughed at them. So if anyone should be cancelled, shouldn’t it be you the audience? Something to think about.”

This could prove a defining week for the war in Ukraine, with two sets of hastily arranged talks taking place in Paris and Riyadh.

European leaders are meeting in France as they scramble for a response to Donald Trump’s plan to open negotiations with Vladimir Putin for an end to the conflict.

On Tuesday Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are due to meet in the Saudi capital.

Ukraine is not attending either set of talks.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently controls more than a fifth of its territory, mainly in the south and east.

BBC correspondents analyse what key powers hope to gain from two days of intense diplomacy.

The UK

By Harry Farley, Political Correspondent in London

Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to be a bridge between European leaders and Trump’s White House berating them about their defence spending.

Starmer’s offer to put UK troops on the ground in Ukraine is part of that role he wants to play.

The government used to say the terms of any peace deal was up to Ukraine. That has shifted with the new US administration signalling that a return to 2014 borders was “unrealistic”.

Instead Sir Keir will be hoping more European nations in Paris join him in offering their forces to secure a deal – and prevent Russia invading again.

But while the prime minister is in Paris, in Westminster the debate goes on about how much the country should spend on defence.

Labour has promised to “set out a path” to increase defence spending from 2.3% of GDP now to 2.5%. Defence sources say that would be a significant rise.

But there is no date for when that would happen – and many argue it is now urgent.

Germany

By Damien McGuinness, Germany correspondent in Berlin

It is a sign of how rattled German leaders are by Trump’s approach to Ukraine that just days before a national election Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also in Paris.

All mainstream parties have condemned American suggestions that a peace deal be brokered without Ukraine or the EU. Far-right and populist-left politicians welcome talks with Putin and want to stop arming Kyiv. But they will not get into power.

So, whatever the next German government looks like, Berlin’s support for Ukraine will remain strong. That is because Berlin’s political elite recognises that a bad deal – one that undermines Ukrainian sovereignty – would be disastrous for Germany.

But with Germany’s war-torn 20th century in mind, voters here are wary of militarisation.

Over the past three years the country has successfully pivoted away from Russian energy and massively upped defence spending. But this has hit the German economy hard and the subsequent budget rows sparked the collapse of the German government.

So politicians are trying to avoid public discussions of difficult issues, like higher Nato spending targets or German peacekeeping troops in Ukraine — at least until after the election.

Poland

By Sarah Rainsford, Eastern Europe correspondent in Warsaw

Poland has been a key supporter of Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion and it is the key logistics hub for military and humanitarian aid entering the country.

It is also a loud voice arguing that Russia cannot be allowed to win the war it launched – because the whole of Europe’s security is at stake. So there is consternation that the US looks like it is conceding to Moscow’s key demands, even before talks begin, when Poland very clearly sees Russia as the aggressor and as dangerous.

Russia is why Poland spends big on its own military – up to almost 5% of GDP now – and agrees with the US that the rest of Europe should do the same.

On his way to the talks in Paris, Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X: “If we, Europeans, fail to spend big on defence now, we will be forced to spend 10 times more if we don’t prevent a wider war.”

On the question of whether to send Polish troops to Ukraine – to help enforce any eventual ceasefire – government officials have been cautious, ruling it out for now.

The Nordic and Baltic countries

By Nick Beake, Europe Correspondent in Copenhagen

Denmark will be the only Nordic nation at Monday’s meeting. But European diplomats say it will also be representing the interests of its Baltic neighbours to the east – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – all of whom border Russia and feel particularly vulnerable to any future Putin attack.

The shockwaves generated by the second Trump term have already been reverberating around Denmark.

Trump’s renewed desire to take over Greenland – an autonomous Danish dependent territory – propelled Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on a whistle-stop tour of European allies last month to shore up support.

On Monday in Paris, Frederiksen finds herself once again in a hastily-convened meeting to respond to Trump’s reshaping of the transatlantic security landscape.

Frederiksen has not yet followed in Starmer’s footsteps of pledging peacekeeping boots on the ground in Ukraine.

Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has been quoted by Danish media as saying he is not ruling it out – but that it is too early to talk about.

France

By Andrew Harding, Paris correspondent

French President Emmanuel Macron called Monday’s informal meeting – not a “summit,” his officials insisted – to help Europe coordinate a response both to Washington’s increasingly unsympathetic posture towards the continent, and to whatever emerges from the White House’s fast-paced negotiations with the Kremlin.

“The Europeans, as we speak, are not coordinated, but that may be the whole point of (this) summit in Paris, and that is the beginning of coordination… Are we ready? The answer is no. Can we get ready? The answer is yes,” said Francois Heisbourg, a veteran French military expert, commenting on the need for Europe to work together to prepare a possible peacekeeping force for Ukraine.

“There is a wind of unity blowing across Europe such as has not been seen since Covid,” said Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s most senior diplomat.

The mood in France – a nation always wary of American geopolitical manoeuvring – is particularly edgy right now, with newspaper headlines warning of a new “Trump-Putin axis” that will sideline or “abandon” Europe over the war in Ukraine.

“We should be in a Europe-wide state of emergency,” warned the former Prime Minister Dominique De Villepin at a recent news briefing, accusing an “arrogant” Trump of attempting to “rule the world without principles or respect.”

Russia

By Liza Fokht, BBC Russian in Paris

Since the summer, Putin has stated that his main conditions for starting negotiations to end the war are the recognition of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, the lifting of sanctions on Russia, and denial of Ukraine’s request to join Nato.

Most European countries categorically reject these demands. The US has been very cautious in discussing what concessions Russia might have to make, though both the White House and the Pentagon have said they expect compromises from “both sides”.

Moscow’s priority is clearly the meeting in Saudi Arabia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he would “first and foremost like to listen” to the American proposals on ending the conflict in Ukraine.

As for Europe, Moscow sees no point in inviting it to the negotiating table.

It is no secret that for many years Putin has sought dialogue specifically with the US – a country he both blames for starting the war in Ukraine and considers the only power equal to Russia.

Moscow may take note of Starmer’s statements about being ready to send peacekeepers to the Ukraine – for the first time in a week, the discussion is about potential Russian, rather than Ukrainian, concessions.

But whether Russia is ready for any compromises remains an open question.

The US

By Bernd Debusmann Jr reporting from Mar-a-Lago, Florida

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will be the public face of the US team negotiating in Riyadh – but perhaps the main voice at the table is more than 7,400 miles (11,900km) away, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Despite Trump’s public engagements in recent days, it is clear that the negotiations with Russia over the fate of Ukraine have been his focus behind the scenes.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters he had been kept abreast of the latest developments and the talks are “moving along”.

His short-term goal is to stop the fighting in Ukraine. Longer term, he appears to want less American involvement, given that the US has sent tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to Kyiv.

Trump has also pushed for access to rare minerals in Ukraine in return for aid, or even as compensation for the support the US has already provided.

But he has not yet said what a post-war Ukraine would look like, setting off alarm bells in Europe.

He also notably said that he expects Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky to be a part of the “conversation”, but not the talks in Riyadh. Rubio has said the talks in Saudi Arabia are only the start of a longer process that will “obviously” include Europe and Ukraine.

Those remarks are likely to provide little comfort for US allies who have been listening to Trump’s remarks over the last several days.

In response to a BBC question on Wednesday, Trump said he believes he is inclined to agree with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s assessment that a return to pre-2014 borders is unrealistic for Ukraine, although he expects Ukraine might get “some” of that land back.

So far, it appears that solution is not one that is palatable for Zelensky and the rest of Ukraine’s leadership.

By Mariana Matveichuk, BBC Ukraine in Kyiv

The Ukrainian people feel their future is as uncertain as it was back in February 2022.

Ukrainians want peace – so as not to wake up to the sounds of sirens and not lose loved ones on the battlefield and in frontline cities.

Russia occupies almost 25% of Ukraine’s territory. Ukraine’s defence has cost tens of thousands of lives of its citizens.

The country has in the past insisted that any peace deal include the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. That includes not only areas Russia has seized in its full-scale offensive, but also the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed after 2014, and the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where Russia has backed separatists in fighting, also after 2014.

Ukrainians are scared of a peace agreement like the one in 2014 or 2015 – heavy fighting was stopped, but crossfire on the border continued to bring losses.

With no security guarantees, it would also mean a possibility of a new wave of war in a decade or so.

“Ukraine regards any talks about Ukraine without Ukraine as such that have no result, and we cannot recognise… agreements about us without us,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said about the US-Russia meeting.

Whatever form any peace talks take, Ukrainians want agency over their own future.

Many see previous peace arrangements with Russia as having simply paved the way for its full-scale invasion. So the Ukrainian fear is that any deal agreed over its head could lead to a third round of war.

A series of US declarations rocked last week’s Munich Security Conference and caused discord among the European politicians in attendance.

Now US and Russian officials are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia next week to begin negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.

However, Ukraine and European politicians have not been invited to attend, despite insisting they must be involved for any ceasefire to be credible.

Instead, they will meet in Paris on Monday for an emergency summit to discuss the conflict and the continent’s security.

Here are five takeaways from Munich.

Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed in 1949 with the primary aim of blocking expansion in Europe by the former Soviet Union.

Now numbering 32 members, including several Eastern European countries, members agree that if one of them is attacked, the others should help defend it.

But after this week the post-World War Two security architecture for Europe is no more. America is still in Nato but Europe can no longer automatically rely on the US to come to its aid.

In Brussels, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Nato’s European members to spend much more on defence, saying they would have to provide the “overwhelming” share of military funding for Ukraine.

Europe, everyone agrees, needs to rapidly raise its defence spending if it has any hope of deterring a newly emboldened Russia.

The current Nato-mandated minimum of 2% of GDP is likely to rise to 3%. Russia currently spends more than twice that on defence in percentage terms.

In January, Trump urged Nato’s European members to spend 5% of their national income on defence. Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte has also urged member states to boost their defence spending.

But Europe as a whole has already overtaken the US in terms of aid to Ukraine. In total, it has allocated €70bn ($73bn; £58bn) in financial and humanitarian aid as well as €62bn in military aid. This compares to €64bn in military aid from the US as well as €50bn in financial and humanitarian allocations.

US Vice President JD Vance’s blistering attack on Europe’s policies on Friday was called “ill-judged” and “insulting” by many of the delegates at the Munich Security Conference.

They had hoped he would reassure them the US was not abandoning Ukraine.

Instead, he spent the majority accusing European governments – including the UK’s – of retreating from their values, and ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech.

The address was met by silence in the hall, and later denounced by several politicians at the conference.

But the speech appealed to others on both sides of the Atlantic and Donald Trump called it “brilliant”.

While the Munich conference was occupied by the geopolitical, Donald Trump announced plans to bring in a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports from March.

It was evidence there are now very obvious rifts between Washington’s positions and Europe’s on several issues, from trade to dealing with Russia.

It is a divide that the UK is struggling to bridge, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer telling reporters both relationships were important and Britain was “not choosing between the US and the EU”.

But the Trump team’s own messaging is sometimes contradictory, rowing back on grand pronouncements the day after they have been made.

Pope drama Conclave and immigration epic The Brutalist walked away with some of the biggest prizes at the Bafta film awards on Sunday.

Conclave, made by German director Edward Berger, picked up four awards in total including best film and best British film; the first time a movie has won both in the same year since the 2019 war drama, 1917. It also won best adapted screenplay and best editing.

US filmmaker Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist also won four – Corbet picked up best director while Adrien Brody won best actor for his portrayal of Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor, László Tóth. The film also won best original score and cinematography.

Other winners included Mikey Madison (best actress, for Anora), Kieran Culkin (best supporting actor, for A Real Pain) and Zoe Saldaña (best supporting actress, for Emilia Pérez).

Anora, about a New York stripper who has a whirlwind romance with the son of a Russian oligarch, had been picking up best picture momentum ahead of the Oscars next month – but instead came away with best actress and best casting.

The best actress win for Madison was something of a surprise, despite her impressive performance in Sean Baker’s film. Madison herself, on accepting the prize, said: “Wow, I really wasn’t expecting this. I probably should have listened to my publicist and written a speech or something!”

The 25-year-old starred in US comedy series Better Things and also had roles in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and horror film Scream. But her leading role in Anora has catapulted her into the spotlight.

Madison added: “I want to take a moment to recognise the sex worker community. I see you, you deserve respect and human decency. I will always be an ally and a friend.”

Demi Moore, who stars in body horror The Substance, has been picking up best actress prizes in the last couple of months, including at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.

Many thought she would win the Bafta, too. She will still be a favourite at the Oscars although Madison’s Bafta win does make things more interesting.

The Substance only picked up one win on Sunday for make-up and hair. The film sees a TV aerobics presenter in her 50s (Moore) who takes a black-market drug to create a younger, more beautiful version of herself. Full of gory effects, the film is the favourite to pick up the same prize at next month’s Oscars.

• Conclave – 4
• The Brutalist – 4
• Wicked – 2
• Emilia Pérez – 2
• Anora – 2
• Dune Part 2 – 2
• A Real Pain – 2
• Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – 2

Conclave, about a a gossipy and scheming group of cardinals who gather in Rome to elect a new Pope, which stars Ralph Fiennes, had led the charge with 12 nominations.

Berger said he was “deeply moved” to win best film, and that winning outstanding British film, was “a huge, huge honour”.

“Best British and I’m not even from here, so I feel so welcome in your midst,” he added.

Bafta rules state that films in this category “must have significant creative involvement by individuals who are British”.

Berger added that we “live in a time of a crisis of democracy”, and ended his speech by quoting Leonard Cohen, saying: “There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”

Brody, collecting his best actor win, told the audience The Brutalist “is really about the pursuit of leaving something meaningful”, while Corbet said he was “humbled and very grateful”.

The ceremony was hosted by David Tennant at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The actor wore a kilt and opened the ceremony by belting out The Proclaimers’ classic song, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), joined by other stars including James McAvoy and Colman Domingo.

In what has been an unpredictable awards season, the Baftas followed a similar pattern, with no single film sweeping the board, and several movies sharing the spoils.

This was the third year in a row that no British stars won any of the four acting prizes at the most prestigious night in the British film calendar.

Films that had multiple nominations but lost out on the night included A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, Nosferatu, Blitz, Gladiator II and The Apprentice.

Emilia Pérez, the French-made film, about a dangerous Mexican drug lord who decides to leave the world of crime and live a new life as a woman, has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks. Offensive social media posts by its star, Karla Sofía Gascón, were unearthed.

Some wondered if the saga would affect its chances. With 11 nominations, it ended up winning best international film alongside Zoe Saldaña’s win. She is now a favourite to replicate her Bafta win at next month’s Oscars.

On accepting the international film prize, the film’s director, Jacques Audiard, thanked the cast, including Gascon, as did Saldaña.

Kieran Culkin’s win for a A Real Pain was widely expected. The award was collected by his co-star and the film’s writer and director, Jesse Eisenberg.

Eisenberg’s film, about two cousins who explore their Jewish grandmother’s roots in Poland, also picked up the award for best original screenplay.

Actor and TV presenter Warwick Davis was awarded the Bafta Fellowship, the highest honour bestowed by the British Academy. He thanked his mother – his “first agent” and his “wonderful wife Sammy who died almost a year ago”.

The In Memoriam segment, which honours those from the film community who we have lost in the past year, paid tribute to the likes of Dame Maggie Smith, James Earl Jones, David Lynch, Dame Joan Plowright and Donald Sutherland.

Other winners included Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Part 2, which won special effects and sound.

Blockbuster musical film Wicked won best production design for Brits Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales. It was Crowley’s first Bafta and his sixth nomination, although Sandales has won twice previously. It also picked up best costume design.

Aardman’s latest Wallace and Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, won best animation – perhaps surprisingly, it’s the first time they have won this award. They also picked up the inaugural award for best children and family film.

West Belfast rap group Kneecap won the Bafta for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer.

The Irish-language film is based on a semi-fictionalised account of how the band was formed.

The film’s English director, Rich Peppiatt, said on accepting the prize: “Kneecap is more than a film, it’s a movement,” adding that everyone should have their language and culture respected.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve story, a film about the life of the Superman star who was paralysed in a horse riding accident 10 years before his death in 2004, won best documentary. His children took to the stage to honour their late father.

Read more about this year’s main Bafta winners:

Europe’s leaders are scrambling. Their hastily convened security summit in Paris on Monday is proof of that.

They are still reeling from not being invited by the US to talks with Russia over the future of Ukraine. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he could be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon”.

Can Europe, under pressure, put political differences and domestic economic concerns aside, and come up with a united front on security spending and on Ukraine’s future, including potentially sending troops there – to force themselves a spot at the negotiating table?

They are going to try.

On Monday morning, UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was “ready and willing to put troops on the ground”. Even in Germany, ahead of a heated election, the foreign policy spokesman of the CDU party, expected to win the most seats, said Europe’s largest country would also be willing to commit troops within an international framework.

The Trump administration is clearly not 100% sure what it wants to do about Ukraine. There were a number of mixed messages over the weekend.

This allows Europe a tiny window of opportunity to try to persuade the American president it’s an invaluable partner.

It hopes to do that via this Paris meeting, getting the ball rolling on two major issues demanded by Donald Trump: That Europe spend and do more for its own defence, and that Europe send troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire.

Europe’s leaders insist Kyiv be directly involved in ceasefire talks too. They’ve long maintained the view that “there can be no decisions about Ukraine, without Ukraine”.

But it’s about even more than that for Europe.

It is the cold realisation – much dreaded, but not entirely unexpected – that the Trump administration does not prioritise relations either with European partners, or their defence.

Europe has relied on a security umbrella provided by the US since World War Two.

Depending on the parameters of the Russia-US talks over Ukraine, and how emboldened Putin feels by them, there is also a European fear this could end up changing their continent’s security architecture.

Putin historically resents the spread of Nato eastwards. Russian neighbours – the tiny, former Soviet Baltic States and also Poland – now feel particularly exposed.

Not all European countries will be at Monday’s summit. Just those with military heft: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Denmark – which is expected to represent the Baltic and Nordic nations, plus the EU Council president and the secretary general of the defence alliance, Nato.

Other countries will reportedly have later, follow-up meetings.

Even at the small Paris gathering, it will be hard, if not impossible, to agree concrete defence spending increases. Poland plans to spend 4.47% of its GDP on defence in 2025. The UK is struggling towards, and hasn’t yet reached, 2.5% of its GDP.

But leaders can pledge to coordinate better, spend more inside Nato and shoulder most of Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. The EU is expected to bolster its defence effort too.

A large part of the Paris meeting will also focus on the question of sending troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire.

The idea being discussed is not for peacekeeping troops but rather a “reassurance force”, stationed behind, rather than on, any eventual ceasefire line.

The aim of a European troop presence would be three-fold. To send a message to Ukrainians: that they are not alone. Another message to the US, to show that Europe is “doing its bit” for defence of its own continent, and the last message to Moscow, to warn that if it breaks the terms of an eventual ceasefire, it won’t be dealing with Kyiv alone.

But it’s a controversial concept and may not be popular with voters. In Italy for example, 50% of people asked don’t want to send any more weapons to Ukraine, never mind sending sons and daughters, sisters and brothers there.

There are so many as yet unanswered questions:

How many troops would each European country have to send, for how long, and under whose command? What would their mission statement be – for example if Russia broke the terms of an agreed ceasefire, would that mean European soldiers would be directly at war with Russia? Would the US have their back if so?

Europe would want a US security guarantee before deploying soldiers to Ukraine. It may not get one.

It’s far too much to be decided on Monday. And leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, come to Paris with their own domestic concerns – can they afford extra defence spending, do they have the troops to send to Ukraine?

Richard – now Lord – Dannatt is the former head of the British Army. He told the BBC that the UK military is too depleted to provide a significant proportion of troops for Ukraine. He said around 100,000 troops would probably be needed in total and the UK would be expected to provide a considerable number of those. The British Army insists it has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence.

But this summit is more broad brushstrokes than fine print. The conversation can at least get started publicly.

Will Donald Trump be paying attention?

Hard to know.

There’s talk of sending an envoy to Washington after the Paris meeting to make Europe’s case. Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, is close to the Trump administration, for example.

Sir Keir Starmer has a planned visit to Washington in a few days. This could be his chance to act as a bridge between Europe and the US.

The Paris meeting also offers an opportunity for the UK and other European leaders to further mend relations after the bitterness of Brexit.

Mark Leonard, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations, notes that Starmer could “demonstrate that Britain is a responsible stakeholder for European security … Something that will be noticed and translate into goodwill when it comes to negotiations on other issues”.

Issues like trade relations and law enforcement co-operation which the UK hopes to improve with the EU going forward.

Host nation France is feeling confident. President Macron has long advocated that Europe be less reliant on outside countries for supply chains, tech capabilities and very much so when it comes to defence. He made headlines a year ago by first mooting the idea of troops on the ground in Ukraine.

France is “fiercely proud” that its intelligence and security services are not intertwined with the US, unlike the UK, says Georgina Wright, deputy director for international studies at the Institut Montaigne. That makes it less complicated to untangle, now that Trump is in the White House, demanding that Europe take care of itself.

The US has sent a document to European allies consisting of six points and questions, such as which countries would be willing to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a peace settlement, and which governments would be prepared to increase sanctions on Russia, including more strictly enforcing existing ones.

But Julianne Smith, until recently the US ambassador to Nato, says this kind of complicated diplomatic work normally takes weeks of meetings and can’t be organised by filled-in forms.

She adds that whatever Europe’s leaders achieve in Paris, if they use that to demand a seat at the negotiating table over Ukraine, their hand is weak.

“If Trump blinks and says no, does Europe refuse to help altogether? They can’t cut off their nose to spite their face.”

Essentially, if the US plans to turn away from Ukraine and from Europe more broadly in terms of security, they will have to significantly up their defence game anyway.

If Donald Trump isn’t watching, Vladimir Putin certainly is.

President Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to allow him to fire the head of an independent ethics agency that protects whistleblower federal employees.

He has filed an emergency appeal to the country’s highest court to rule on whether he can fire Hampton Dellinger, head of the US Office of Special Counsel.

It is thought to be the first case related to Trump’s blizzard of executive actions to reach the highest court.

Trump has also cut more than a dozen inspectors general at various federal agencies and fired thousands of employees across the US government.

Mr Dellinger, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, sued the Trump administration after he was fired by email this month.

He argued that his removal broke a law that protects leaders of independent agencies from being fired by the president, “except in cases of neglect of duty, malfeasance or inefficiency”.

The agency lists among its primary objectives the protection of federal employees from unlawful actions in reprisal to whistleblowing, according to its mission statement.

A federal judge in Washington DC issued a temporary order on Wednesday allowing Mr Dellinger to hold on to his position while the case is being considered.

On Saturday, a divided US Court of Appeals in the nation’s capital rejected the Trump administration’s request to overrule the lower court.

That has led to the justice department filing an emergency appeal to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, a filing seen by various US media.

“This court should not allow lower courts to seize executive power by dictating to the president how long he must continue employing an agency head against his will,” Sarah M Harris, acting solicitor general, wrote in the filing provided by the Department of Justice to the Washington Post.

“Until now, as far as we are aware, no court in American history has wielded an injunction to force the president to retain an agency head,” the acting solicitor general wrote, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The Republican president’s orders on immigration, transgender issues and government spending have also become bogged down in dozens of lawsuits in the lower courts. Those cases may ultimately wind up at the Supreme Court, too.

Trump’s efforts to reduce and reshape the 2.3 million-strong civilian federal workforce continued over the weekend.

Workers in various health agencies who are still within their probation periods received letters on Saturday evening informing them they would be terminated, sources told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

“Unfortunately, the agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the agency’s current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the agency,” read the letters.

At least 9,500 workers at the departments of Health and Human Services, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Interior and Agriculture have been fired by Trump, according to a tally from Reuters news agency.

Another 75,000 workers have taken a buyout offered to get them to leave voluntarily, according to the White House.

The cost-cutting initiative has been led by department of government efficiency, or Doge, a task force led by Elon Musk.