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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2018
WORLD IN BRIEF
Associated Press
Israel calls on Syria’s Assad to
‘get rid’ of Iranian forces
JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister today called on
President Bashar Assad to “get rid” of Iranian forces in Syria,
warning their continued presence would only cause trouble.
Iran, meanwhile, in its first official reaction to Israeli attacks
on suspected Iranian targets in Syria, said Israel’s attacks came
“under fabricated and baseless excuses.” A hard-line Iranian
cleric threatened his country would retaliate if Israel “does any-
thing foolish.”
Israel attacked dozens of suspected Iranian targets in Syria in
overnight strikes this week that it said were in response to an
Iranian rocket barrage. It was the most serious military confron-
tation between the two bitter enemies to date. The cross-border
exchange gave way to a war of words.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called late Thurs-
day for an immediate halt to “all hostile acts” to avoid “a new
conflagration” in the Middle East.
Guterres’ comments came as a calm night followed intense
attacks on parts of Syria by Israel. Israel has called on the U.N.
Security Council and secretary-general to condemn Iran’s attack
on its positions in the Golan Heights, occupied and annexed by
Israel.
The Security Council, deeply divided over Syria, is highly
unlikely to issue a statement and as of this morning no council
member had asked for a meeting.
Iran has advisers and experts and has backed tens of thousands
of militiamen who are fighting alongside Assad’s forces in the
civil war. Israel has warned it will not tolerate its archenemy Iran
establishing a military presence on its doorstep.
The scope of the attacks — which Israel called its largest in
Syria since the 1973 Mideast war — raised the specter of a full-
fledged war between Iran and Israel in Syria, a conflict that could
potentially drag the militant Hezbollah and Lebanon into the mix
with devastating effects, although both sides appeared to signal
they wanted the confrontation to remain contained, at least for
now.
1 Gazan killed, 49 wounded by
Israeli fire in border protest
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops fired live bullets and
tear gas today across a border fence into Gaza where Palestinian
protesters threw stones, burned tires and flew kites with burning
rags attached. One protester was killed and 49 were wounded by
Israeli fire, Gaza health officials said.
It was the seventh weekly protest aimed at shaking off a
decade-old border blockade of Gaza, and a preview of what is
expected to be a much larger border rally on Monday. On that
day, protests are timed to coincide with the planned move of the
U.S. Embassy in Israel to contested Jerusalem, where Palestin-
ians hope to establish a future capital.
Gaza’s Hamas leader, Yehiyeh Sinwawr, has said he expects
tens of thousands to participate on Monday. He has raised the
possibility of a mass border breach, comparing protesters to a
“starving tiger,” unpredictable and full of pent-up anger.
Israel has said it will prevent any border breach and has stuck
to its open-fire policies, such as targeting “main instigators”
and those approaching the fence, despite growing international
criticism.
Since the Hamas-led marches began in late March, 41 Pal-
estinian protesters have been killed by Israeli fire, including a
40-year-old man shot dead Friday, according to the Gaza Health
Ministry. More than 1,700 Palestinians have been shot and
wounded, including 49 on Friday. Seven of the injured on Fri-
day were in serious condition, among them a 16-year-old with a
shot to the head.
In Indiana, Trump urges GOP
to mobilize for 2018 midterms
ELKHART, Ind. — Embracing his role as party leader, Presi-
dent Donald Trump issued a stern warning at a rally Thursday that
Democrats would disrupt the economic progress of his adminis-
tration, imploring Republicans to mobilize during the 2018 mid-
term elections.
Trump used one of his signature rallies in northern Indiana to
paint a rosy picture of his presidency, pointing to low unemploy-
ment, “booming” job growth and optimism under his watch. Two
days after Indiana wrapped up a divisive Republican Senate pri-
mary, the president praised a lengthy ticket of House and Senate
candidates by name and predicted Democrats would dismantle
his agenda if they regained control of Congress.
“You have to work every day between now and November to
elect more Republicans so that we can continue to make America
great again,” Trump said, referencing his 2016 campaign slogan.
Chief among his targets: Indiana’s Democratic Sen. Joe Don-
nelly, who faces Republican businessman Mike Braun in what is
expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races.
Trump assailed Donnelly for opposing the president’s signa-
ture tax cuts and his attempt to end the Affordable Care Act. And
he criticized Donnelly for supporting the Iran nuclear deal forged
by President Barack Obama and withdrawn from by Trump this
week.
After the rally, Donnelly said in a statement it was “okay”
that Trump and Pence were “here today for politics, but prob-
lems only get solved when you roll up your sleeves and put in
the hard work.”
as president he has shied away from major reforms and staffed
his administration with appointees who have deep ties to the
industry, including health secretary, Alex Azar, a former top exec-
utive at Eli Lilly.
AT&T chief lobbyist out after
hiring Trump attorney Cohen
NEW YORK — The chief lobbyist for AT&T is leaving the
company after overseeing a $50,000-per-month contract for Pres-
ident Donald Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen to serve as a polit-
ical consultant.
In a memo to employees, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson
said the company made a “big mistake” in hiring Cohen as a
political consultant. While everything the company did was legal,
Stephenson said that the association with Cohen was “a serious
misjudgment.”
Stephenson noted that the company’s reputation has been
damaged and that the vetting process used by its team in Wash-
ington “clearly failed.” The Washington team had hired Cohen
under a one-year contract that paid $50,000 a month.
Stephenson said Bob Quinn, senior executive vice president
of the external and legislative affairs group, “will be retiring.”
The Justice Department is seeking to block AT&T’s $85 bil-
lion purchase of Time Warner on the grounds that it would sti-
fle competition. AT&T disagreed, sending the battle into a fed-
eral trial. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon is expected to rule
next month.
AT&T said Cohen approached the company after the 2016
presidential election to offer his services.
Trump plan for drug prices
won’t include direct negotiations
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is set to unveil
his long-awaited plan for reducing drug prices after more than a
year of bold promises to tackle pharmacy costs that are squeez-
ing millions of Americans.
But the strategy to be outlined in a speech today will not
include a key Trump campaign pledge to use the massive buying
power of the federal government’s Medicare program to directly
negotiate lower drug prices for seniors.
Instead, administration officials are previewing a raft of old
and new ideas to increase competition and improve transparency
in the notoriously complex drug pricing system with the ultimate
aim of wringing more savings for consumers.
It’s an approach that avoids a direct confrontation with the
powerful pharmaceutical lobby, but it could also underwhelm
Americans seeking relief from escalating prescription costs.
A majority of Americans say passing laws to bring down
prescription drug prices should a “top priority” for Trump and
Congress, according to recent polling by the Kaiser Family
Foundation.
As a candidate, Trump railed against the pharmaceutical
industry, accusing companies of “getting away with murder.” But
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