There was no issue of the paper on Oct 19, 1974, on account of the Eidul Fitr holiday. The excerpt below is taken from the previous day’s edition.

DAMASCUS: Syria is ready to repel any attacks by Israel, President Hafez Assad [has] said. … President Assad made the statement in speeches to members of the Syrian Army units stationed in the Golan Heights during a visit … on … Eid-ul-Fitr. … Damascus Radio quoted Mr Assad as saying: “these threats (by Israel) showed the value of the victory we achieved in the October and Golan fighting. When they attempt to carry out an attack, we will repel it efficiently. …” The legend that the enemy army was invincible has turned out to be a fiction which collapsed when it was met with the truth — the truth of the brave and developed Arab soldier capable of carrying his arms efficiently, Mr Assad said.

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Peking,] Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, is getting higher, according to a Chinese magazine. Everest … was formed by the northward movement of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent meeting the Eurasian land mass, causing the earth crust to buckle and rise up. … That process is still continuing.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2024