Yancheng Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning: Aug 28-30, daily 07:00-11:00 and 15:00-19:00 (local time), live-fire exercises will be conducted in parts of the southern Yellow Sea; vessels are prohibited from entering the area.

China's Draft Medical Security Law will be submitted for a third reading at the National People's Congress Standing Committee meeting in Beijing from Aug 25-28, the NPC legal affairs committee said at an Aug 21 briefing. Proposed third-reading revisions would: explicitly reflect a health-first development strategy; tighten provisions on the medical security system; strengthen rules for medical security fund management; specify cross-region medical expense settlement requirements; add provisions for long-term care insurance; and refine legal liability rules.

Israeli security sources told The Jerusalem Post that after talks with senior U.S. officials the near-term likelihood of a military confrontation with Iran has declined. Sources said President Trump has chosen another round of harsh economic sanctions intended to buy time until after the U.S. midterm elections. Officials said it remains unclear whether the U.S. can effectively deter or pressure states that directly or indirectly support Iran through oil trade, bank accounts, funds transfers, raw-material supplies or other channels. They added that without extreme measures and robust U.S. enforcement, Trump will not achieve his stated objectives.