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President Trump vowed that a U.S. development finance entity will offer affordable insurance for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and that the U.S. Navy will escort tankers if needed. The move aims to reassure markets amid heightened tension with Iran after attacks disrupted Gulf oil shipments, but raises legal, operational and escalation risks.

Asian markets fell sharply, led by an 8% drop in South Korea's KOSPI that triggered a 20-minute trading halt. Safe-haven buying pushed spot gold and silver higher, while domestic Chinese gold-jewellery prices retreated markedly. The moves highlight renewed risk aversion and raise the prospect of policy responses to stabilise markets.

China’s bulk‑snack retail sector has consolidated rapidly: two national groups now control most of the market, squeezing regional chains. Faced with thin margins and capital requirements for scale, mid‑sized brands are increasingly pursuing strategic partnerships or M&A to survive, while leaders push into full‑category discount supermarkets.

Dalian Wanda has continued selling shopping malls into 2026, with recent disposals including Shanghai’s Zhuangqiao plaza. A notable shift has emerged: China State Construction bureaus are increasingly taking ownership — often of projects they originally built — in what appears to be an asset‑for‑debt settlement, complicating Wanda’s plan to pivot to a lighter, management‑centric model.

Block’s sudden axing of nearly 40% of its workforce is a clear example of companies embracing AI to restructure operations even when financially healthy. The decision crystallises a wider tension: investors reward efficiency gains, but rapid automation threatens consumption, customer trust and jobs, prompting urgent questions about policy and corporate responsibility.

Fengmao, a once-fast-growing Chinese skewer chain, has seen multiple store closures since December 2025 and employee reports of months-long unpaid wages in early 2026 after a controversial 2022 rebrand. The move from late-night street skewers to a pricier “meal-grade” positioning misaligned with consumer demand and regional tastes, exposing weaknesses in its standardized expansion model.

Lin Junyang, the young technical lead for Alibaba’s Qwen large‑model programme, announced on X that he is stepping down shortly after Alibaba open‑sourced four small Qwen3.5 models. The move coincides with Alibaba unifying its AI branding under Qwen and draws international attention as the company pivots toward wider developer adoption and productisation.

OpenAI has launched GPT‑5.3 Instant, an update designed to make ChatGPT’s most used mode more helpful by reducing unnecessary refusals and improving context comprehension. The company also signalled a faster timetable for GPT‑5.4, suggesting more substantial capabilities — and more intense scrutiny — lie ahead.

A University of Texas at Austin team has observed two sequential magnetic states in an ultrathin two‑dimensional magnet as temperature falls, providing the first complete experimental verification of the six‑state clock model from the 1970s. The result clarifies how discrete symmetry and topological defects shape 2D magnetic order and points to avenues for engineering nanoscale spintronic devices, though practical applications will require raising operating temperatures and improving robustness.

Iran’s reported strikes on U.S. THAAD systems and accompanying regional violence have driven a sharp uptick in oil prices and broad market volatility. China is responding on multiple fronts: urging de-escalation diplomatically, adjusting trade and logistics routes, and seeing rapid corporate and capital reallocation at home as firms and state-linked buyers react to heightened risk.

A collaboration between The Jackson Laboratory and MIT has produced a microneedle patch that non‑invasively samples immune cells from humans, enabling painless, repeatable collection for laboratory analysis. Published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the device could reshape immune monitoring in clinical trials, vaccine development and personalised medicine, though validation, regulatory approval and ethical safeguards are still required.

President Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to expand France’s nuclear arsenal and launch a “forward deterrence” strategy that tightens nuclear‑related cooperation with eight European partners. Paris will keep exclusive command of its forces while offering temporary, conditional integration—exercises, intelligence sharing and possible short‑term deployments—to strengthen Europe's collective deterrence amid weakened arms control and doubts about U.S. reliability.

Two polls in early March show broad American skepticism about the US-led strike on Iran, with a majority opposing action and widespread concern that diplomacy was not fully tried. Rising casualties and higher oil prices are increasing political and strategic costs, putting pressure on the White House and complicating prospects for further escalation without congressional approval.

President Trump told reporters that U.S. pre‑emptive strikes have largely destroyed Iran’s air‑defence, radar and missile capabilities and insisted the U.S. was not being dragged into war by Israel. He simultaneously rebuked Spain and Britain over base access and defence spending, praising Germany and NATO while ordering a halt to dealings with Madrid.

The U.S. military says it has executed over 1,700 strikes inside Iran since February 28, with reported hits on Tehran by March 3. The scale and speed of the campaign raise the risk of wider regional escalation, economic disruption and a hardening of diplomatic positions that could make de-escalation difficult.

Two drones crashed near Erbil and explosions were reported in Sulaymaniyah on March 3, while a militia claiming the "Islamic Resistance" said it struck Harir airbase — a site hosting U.S. forces. A separate small drone was shot down near Baghdad airport; no casualties or damage were reported in any incident.

Xu Yanli, a recently retired Chinese military medic, intervened twice in one day to help ill passengers on a flight and a high-speed rail station queue. Her actions—rapid assessment, improvised treatment and crowd management—underscore both the value of veteran medical training and gaps in routine emergency equipment and coordination in public transport settings.

The Israel Defense Forces said on March 3 that its air force has dropped over 4,000 bombs on Iran since the start of its current campaign, surpassing munitions used during a 12-day clash in June 2025. The announcement signals an intensification of direct Israeli strikes on Iranian territory and raises the prospect of further regional escalation and logistical strains on munitions supplies.

The U.S. has used the Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) in strikes against Iran, in what may be the weapon’s first combat employment since entering service about two years ago. The deployment validates a new long‑range land‑launched capability while raising strategic and escalation considerations in an already volatile region.

Iran's IRGC says it shot down and captured an Israeli Hermes 900 drone intact and armed, and has handed it to aerospace experts for technical analysis. If verified, the seizure could provide Tehran with valuable intelligence on Israeli UAV technology and fuel both tactical countermeasure development and regional signaling.