Xi Jinping hailed the “great regeneration of China” as he hosted Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un for Beijing’s biggest ever military parade.

The three leaders, who have been labelled the “axis of upheaval”, watched on as troops, tanks, and other military hardware put on a show of force in the Chinese capital.

Follow live updates from Beijing

After being flanked by his Russian and North Korean counterparts as they emerged together at the start of the ceremony, Mr Xi paid tribute to his country’s soldiers who fought “the Japanese invaders” during World War Two.

Xi: We will defend our sovereignty

The parade marked the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat, which brought the conflict to an end.

“It is an important part of our history, and we made our contribution to saving the people, defending peace, and ensuring victory,” Mr Xi said.

He called on countries to “look after each other” to “avoid the repetition of tragedy”, before declaring China would “accelerate our development and defend our national integrity and sovereignty”.

Mr Putin and Mr Kim represent two of the Chinese president’s closest allies, with both leaning heavily on Beijing for trade – the former especially reliant since being ostracised by the West over the war in Ukraine.

Trump sends a message

Donald Trump’s attempts to smooth over US-Russia relations, and bring an end to that conflict, have so far not achieved anything significant.

Posting on Truth Social as soldiers marched through Tiananmen Square, the US president suggested China and its allies were conspiring against Washington.

“May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration,” he said.

“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States.”

For Mr Xi, the parade was a chance not just to commemorate its role in World War Two, but to showcase itself as a significant alternative to a postwar world order dominated by the US.

Mr Trump’s isolationist foreign policy, including cuts to overseas aid, has – according to his critics – given China a tantalising opportunity to flex its muscle.

Concerns remain about whether Beijing may one day make a move on Taiwan, while other nations – notably India – become more drawn into its trade orbit due to Mr Trump’s aggressive tariffs.

The parade came after an economic summit in Beijing, with Indian PM Narendra Modi among the attendees.

China could pose ‘huge threat’ to US

Philip Shetler-Jones, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told Sky News that China’s impressive military – if allied with Russia’s – could “pose a huge threat to American forces” in the Pacific.

“In Japan particularly, people are quite mindful there are joint exercises between Chinese and Russian forces using nuclear-capable bombers, ships, and more recently submarines,” he said.

“I think the intention is to imply that if it came to full-scale conflict involving the US, then China would expect to have collaboration with Russia – and perhaps North Korea as well.”

The alleged GPS jamming of a plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen by Russia raises concerns about air travel – but were there politics at play?

Jamming can overwhelm an aircraft’s GPS navigation systems, preventing them from working properly, leaving pilots to rely on other ways of finding out where they are.

The EU chief’s aircraft was reportedly forced to land at a Bulgarian airport using ‘paper maps’ – after circling for an hour on Sunday.

The EU said there was GPS jamming but the plane was able to land safely, adding: “We have received information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia.”

But the timing of the allegation of GPS jamming – something reported to be routine along the Russian border – days before a crucial meeting of European leaders to discuss peacekeeping troops for Ukraine raises the question of why now?

Sky News has spoken to a pilot who was flying in the same area as Ms von der Leyen on Sunday, as well as a security expert with extensive knowledge of electronic warfare, to try and work out what happened.

What is GPS jamming?

GPS interference has become a known and widespread issue affecting aircraft over Europe in recent years, particularly since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022.

Experts generally point the finger at Russia, saying that Moscow uses GPS interference to defend against Ukrainian drones but maybe also to cause a nuisance for the West.

Jamming can overwhelm an aircraft’s GPS navigation systems, preventing them from working properly, leaving pilots to rely on other ways of finding out where they are.

Read more: How 1,500 flights a day are reportedly GPS jammed

What happened to Ursula von der Leyen?

According to the Financial Times, the ‘attack’ disabled GPS navigation services at Plovdiv airport in Bulgaria on Sunday afternoon.

The aircraft was deprived of electronic navigational aids as it approached, the newspaper said. It circled the airport for an hour before the pilot decided to manually land the plane, apparently using paper maps.

The area is near a known hotspot for GPS interference and blame was quickly levelled at Russia – a claim that Moscow denied. Russia has denied other instances of GPS jamming in the past.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said the alliance takes the jamming of GPS signals “very seriously” and is working “day and night” to prevent that jamming, to ensure “they will not do it again”.

Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Read more:
Asian countries and Russia eye new economic world order
Trump sets red line on Ukraine peace deal support

Pilot: Airport is in a known GPS interference area

Sean Fitzpatrick is an experienced pilot who regularly flies through areas known for GPS interference. Indeed, he flew within 40 miles of Plovdiv airport on the same day as Ms Von der Leyen.

He told Sky News: “That airport is in a known GPS interference area. Anyone flying in there would know that there’s a high probability of having GPS issues.”

While GPS jamming is a nuisance, pilots essentially turn off GPS receivers and rely on other aids like the instrument landing system, Sean said.

He added: “When I heard they were pulling out paper charts (to navigate) I’m like, why didn’t they just have an iPad?”

Given that GPS jamming of flights near the Russian border is reported to be routine, Sean was asked if the choice to reveal this particular alleged incident to the media – so close to the coalition of the willing summit this week – was political.

“Based on the information I have, that’s what it looks like… Based on what I’ve seen and the information that’s available to the public and what I know as a professional… I think there’s a bit of politics and sensationalism.”

‘We can make your life difficult’

Dr Thomas Withington, an expert on electronic warfare at the RUSI thinktank, agreed that there could be political angles to what happened.

“I think it’s quite hard to say with any degree of certainty whether her aircraft was deliberately targeted,” he told Sky News, noting that jamming signals are often sent out over a wide area. “But I’m sure that for Mr Putin it’s a very happy coincidence.”

He added: “Politically, what you’re saying is ‘we’re here, we can make your life difficult’.”

He also spoke about the wider impact of GPS jamming – and the possible dangers.

“I think it is important that the news went out there, because I think it indicates that Russia is an irresponsible actor, and these actions are grossly irresponsible, because you’re attempting to create a danger to international air travel, and there is simply no justification for that.”

He referenced the Azerbaijan Airlines flight in December, which was reportedly GPS jammed before it was mistakenly shot down by Russian air defences, killing 38 people.

“If those (Russian) actions cause loss of life, particularly in a NATO nation, I think it should be made very clear that a military response would be considered for that.”

French actor Gerard Depardieu has been summoned to face trial in Paris over allegations of rape and sexual assault against actress Charlotte Arnould.

“I feel relieved,” Ms Arnould wrote on Instagram after receiving the judge’s indictment order.

“The order restores a form of judicial truth. I think I’m having trouble realising how huge this is.”

Ms Arnould’s lawyer, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, told French outlet Franceinfo she was “extremely satisfied” and said the decision was a “moment of judicial truth in this case”.

In 2018, prosecutors in Paris opened a preliminary investigation after Ms Arnould accused Depardieu of raping her at his home. He has denied wrongdoing.

“The acts of rape and sexual assault have been acknowledged,” Ms Arnould said. “Now, we await the next steps.”

Last year, prosecutors submitted a request for the case to proceed to trial.

Earlier this year, Depardieu was convicted of sexually assaulting two women on a film set and received an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

The 76-year-old was convicted of groping a 34-year-old assistant and a 54-year-old woman responsible for decorating the set during the filming of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) in 2021.

The court ordered his name to be listed in the national sex offender database.

Read more from Sky News:
Kim Jong Un arrives in Beijing for major military parade
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK’s housing crisis

Depardieu, one of the most prominent figures in French cinema for decades, told the court his career includes more than 250 films.

In 1991, he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as the swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.

Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

In recent years, Depardieu has been accused of misconduct, either publicly or in formal complaints, by more than 20 women.

So far, only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court, with other cases dropped over a lack of evidence or an expired statute of limitations.