Citing CBS, Iran foreign minister Araghchi said Iran will not accept a ceasefire during a US–Iran war and will only accept an end to the conflict. He said: We have told mediators we will not accept a ceasefire; the war must end. He added the war must end in a way that prevents it from happening again.

NetEase (09999.HK) will report Q2 results Thursday. A FactSet survey of nine analysts forecasts reported net profit up 13% YoY to RMB 9.72 bln and adjusted net profit up 7.3% YoY to RMB 10.23 bln; revenue is seen +4.3% YoY to RMB 29.1 bln, supported by evergreen titles including Fantasy Westward Journey and Eggy Party. Nomura warns NetEase’s holdings in Alibaba and Pinduoduo could widen investment losses and weigh on reported net profit. Nomura expects July release The Forgotten Sea could generate RMB 200–300 mln monthly gross revenue, potentially accelerating game revenue growth in H2. CITIGROUP tracking shows 57 games in the pipeline, 23 approved for domestic launch; any management update to the release schedule could be an additional stock catalyst.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian held a regular briefing on Aug. 18. Asked about Palau president Whipps urging Pacific islands to form a "unified stance" over China's recent missile tests and saying China wanted to show "it could destroy any one of your islands," and questioning why China test-fired nuclear-capable missiles near Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands rather than in open waters between China and the US, Lin said China has already explained its position on the tests and called Palau's remarks baseless, malicious and unworthy of comment.