Xi Jinping had been waiting for the right moment to serve notice of China’s growing might and influence to the rest of the world, and the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war provided the Mao-suited Chinese leader with the perfect opportunity.
Last week’s bombastic (or should that be bomb-tastic?) military parade in Beijing – in the presence of Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un and a host of other global strongmen – was intended as a show of force and stability to contrast sharply with the chaotic unpredictability of Donald Trump’s America. And, as the leaders of the world’s most notorious pariah states bear-hugged and strolled around Tiananmen Square like the cast of Reservoir Dogs, the optics did not disappoint.
But behind the scenes, how robust actually is the so-called “axis of upheaval”? As our big story this week explores, the illiberal alliance is riven by internal fractures and mistrust between China, Russia and North Korea that date back many years and cannot be discarded as quickly as Xi, or anyone else, might like.
Beijing correspondent Amy Hawkins, global affairs correspondent Andrew Roth and Taiwan-based international correspondent Helen Davidson lift the lid on a moment where propaganda effect, rather than a genuine threat to the international order, may have been the real goal.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | France’s latest political crisis
The fall this week of prime minister François Bayrou exposed a political malaise that is likely to sour French politics well beyond the 2027 presidential election, reports Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis
Interview | Leonard Barden, chairman of the chess board
From honing his game in air raid shelters during the second world war to beating grand masters, our record-breaking chess columnist has lived an extraordinary life. Now aged 96, he chats to our chief sports reporter Sean Ingle
Feature | Syria’s cycle of sectarian violence
Over a few brutal days in March, as sectarian violence and revenge killings tore through parts of the country, two friends from different communities tried to find a way to survive. By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad
Opinion | Angela Rayner’s exit is a bombshell for Keir Starmer
The UK deputy prime minister’s fall will exacerbate all the doubts about the PM himself and his ability to keep Labour in power, writes Jonathan Freedland
Culture | Spinal Tap turn it up to 11, one last time
More than 40 years since the film This Is Spinal Tap was mistaken for a comedy, its hard-rocking subjects are back for a legally obligated final gig. Our writer Michael Hann smells the glove
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What else we’ve been reading
• I found this article on the rise of luxury gyms in the UK super-interesting. While I am very far away from paying £6,000 a year for a gym membership, the look into how gym spaces have been elevated to feel like second homes for people my age was insightful. Daya Page, CRM executive
• Schadenfreude is one of my favourite words and this piece by Bill McKibben is a delicious example of the concept, but also makes some serious points about a prepper mentality that still sees fossil fuels as essential survival supplies. I do hope some of the wilder fringes of the movement find a moment to read it and swap out their stockpiles of petrol for solar panels or a wind turbine atop their bunkers. Isobel Montgomery, deputy editor
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Other highlights from the Guardian website
• Gallery | Blood moon and lunar eclipse cast an ethereal light
• Audio | What’s feeding the rise of Reform UK? On the road at their party conference – podcast
• Video | How TikTok harms boys and girls differently
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