World briefs

CHINA will bar government authorities from demanding overseas companies hand over technology secrets in exchange for market share, a top economic official said yesterday, addressing a key complaint at the heart of the China-U.S. trade dispute. 

SOUTH KOREA Former President Lee Myung-bak was released from detention yesterday after a court approved USD885,000 jail nearly a year after his arrest and during the ongoing appeal of his corruption conviction and sentence. 

AUSTRALIA Asylum seekers who are allowed to leave Australian-run migrant camps in Pacific nations to get medical treatment will be sent to a prison-like facility on a remote Australian island, Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) said.

AFGHANISTAN Militants in Afghanistan set off a suicide blast yesterday morning and stormed a construction company near the airport in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 17 people, officials said.

US-MEXICO The number of migrant families crossing the southwest border is again breaking records, and the crush is overwhelming border agents and straining facilities, officials said. More than 76,000 migrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border last month. 

US Provocative comments from Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota (pictured) have thrust the Democrats into an uncomfortable debate over Israel policy a few weeks before a high-profile conference at which senior Democrats typically make a show of support for the Jewish state. 

INTERNET As iPhone sales slip, a brewing backlash against the rich commissions Apple earns from all purchases and subscriptions made via iPhone apps could undercut the app store, which generates about a third of the company’s services revenue.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Ajax’s breathtaking display against Real Madrid is likely to be its undoing. The Dutch club’s dramatic 4-1 rout of the three-time defending champions put it in the quarterfinals, but it showed once again that many of the team’s current crop of players are too good to be playing in their own national league.