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China’s major stock indices fell more than 2% as widespread selling pushed 123 companies to daily limit-downs and over 4,600 stocks lower. Liquor and some power-equipment shares bucked the trend, while non-ferrous metals and memory-chip related names suffered steep losses amid declining turnover.

A dramatic sell-off on February 2 sent gold and silver tumbling and forced exchanges in China and abroad to raise margins and restrict trading. Regulators cited abusive trading and liquidity risks, while analysts warn the move reflects sentiment-driven flows and policy-related uncertainty rather than purely fundamentals.

Flight-tracking evidence that a U.S. MC-130J entered Azerbaijani airspace on 29 January has fuelled claims that American special forces could be preparing operations against Tehran. While the presence of a special-operations transport is significant, concrete plans for a decapitation raid remain unproven; nonetheless, the movement complicates regional security, risks pulling Azerbaijan into a confrontation, and heightens the chance of miscalculation between Tehran, Washington, Moscow and Tel Aviv.

The United States has combined public threats and naval deployments with discreet offers to negotiate with Iran, a strategy Washington has kept deliberately ambiguous. Tehran has responded with guarded engagement through intermediaries while reaffirming core red lines, raising the odds that any agreement will be limited and that miscalculation could still spark wider regional conflict.

Popular mall-based nut chains in China have been selling ordinary snacks at premium prices by packaging them as high-end, freshly roasted products and leveraging mall footfall and influencer marketing. Rising customer complaints about high bills and questions about the authenticity of “same-day roasting” have slowed expansion and exposed risks to the brands’ pricing logic.

Iran’s Supreme Leader warned that U.S. military action would precipitate a “regional full-scale war,” intensifying concerns about how local incidents could balloon into broader conflict. The statement raises the political and strategic cost of strikes in the region, with implications for regional proxies, energy markets and global diplomacy.

A Chinese outlet reported that Iran has integrated about 1,000 strategic unmanned aerial vehicles into its combat formations, marking a significant expansion of Tehran’s drone capabilities. The development heightens regional security tensions by enhancing Iran’s ability to conduct long-range surveillance, strikes and saturation attacks while raising proliferation risks through exports to proxies.

Japan’s leading domestic peace group has condemned Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments and policy direction on nuclear options and expanded offensive capabilities, warning they breach postwar consensus and could heighten regional tensions. The group also urged Tokyo to confront its wartime past to avoid repeating historical aggression.

Eight foreign ministers — from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey — issued a joint denunciation of Israeli violations of a Gaza ceasefire, blaming the incidents for over 1,000 Palestinian casualties. The uncommon cross-regional statement warns that continued breaches could derail the ceasefire's second phase, undermine reconstruction and escalate regional tensions, while renewing calls for Palestinian self-determination and a political solution.

A PLA naval brigade in the Eastern Theater took recently decorated servicemen and their families on a cultural tour of local museums and heritage sites to strengthen morale and family support. The event illustrates how the Chinese military uses recognition, traditional values and family engagement as tools of personnel management and political work.

A blind veteran in Guangxi sustains himself through pig farming, adapting to total sight loss and recovering from a devastating 2019 swine fever outbreak. Regular visits from local veterans and social-welfare agencies and a pending housing renovation subsidy illustrate China's blend of targeted assistance and an expectation of individual self-reliance among beneficiaries.

The US destroyer USS Delbert D. Black left the Israeli port of Eilat on 1 February after a routine visit, US Central Command and the Fifth Fleet said on social media. CENTCOM also released images of maintenance aboard another deployed destroyer, underscoring ongoing US naval presence and sustainment operations in the Middle East maritime corridor.

An increase in top‑level U.S.–Japan interactions is meant to demonstrate a tighter, more adaptive alliance across defence and economic domains. The moves are designed to deter rivals and reassure partners, but they also raise the stakes for crisis management and regional stability.

The Philippines declared a no‑sail zone near Scarborough Shoal, prompting Chinese commentary that the PLA responded with operations intended to ‘‘slap’’ Manila down. The episode highlights the fragile mix of routine maritime measures and high-stakes geopolitics in the South China Sea, with risks of further escalation unless diplomatic de‑escalation follows.

Ahead of the Lunar New Year, schools in several Chinese provinces held synchronized flag‑raisings and video calls with border troops to send greetings and provide national‑defence education. Coordinated by veterans' affairs and military liaison offices, the events mix human stories of frontier hardship with civic ritual to foster patriotism and familiarity with military service among pupils.

Iran and the United States are simultaneously engaging in cautious diplomacy and escalating military postures, with Tehran warning that any U.S. attack would quickly broaden into a regional war. The key impasse centers on uranium enrichment, ballistic missiles and Iran’s regional activities, while naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz and heightened alerts increase the risk of miscalculation.

Chinese military media reported that Iran has integrated around 1,000 strategic drones into its combat formations, marking a significant expansion of Tehran's unmanned capabilities. The scale enhances Iran's asymmetric options and complicates regional air-defence planning, raising the risk of escalation and prompting strategic recalibration by nearby states and their partners.

Two mall‑focused Chinese nut chains have turned ordinary roasted seeds into high‑priced, boutique products, prompting social‑media backlash as consumers discover hefty price tags and uneven claims of same‑day roasting. The strategy — premium positioning through mall locations, sensory retailing and influencer seeding — has driven rapid expansion but now faces slowing store openings and scrutiny over whether the premium is justified.

In Henan province, some factories have started to bar National VI diesel and gas tractors from entering their gates unless those trailers are towed by electric tractor heads, prompting a small rental market charging 200–400 yuan per swap. Provincial environmental authorities say the bans exceed official policy and have launched on-site investigations, highlighting a policy implementation gap between ambitious clean-transport targets and last-mile logistics realities.

Ten Chinese brokerages expect a near‑term cooling in A‑share sentiment ahead of the Lunar New Year, driven by holiday flows, ETF redemptions and firmer U.S. rate expectations after the Fed nomination. Most see corrections as limited and anticipate a post‑holiday rebound, with February characterized by faster sector rotation toward larger, quality and cyclical names.