RIYADH: US Secretary of State Henry Kis­singer has assured King Faisal that the Unit­­ed States harbours no military intentions to­­wards Saudi Arabia. “I would like to state ca­­­tegorically here that our relations with Sau­di Arabia are based on friendship and co-operation in which threats, military or otherwise, play no part,” Dr Kissinger said after talks with King Faisal. American leaders, in­­cluding President Ford and Dr. Kissinger himself, have repeatedly suggested that US may, militarily intervene to prevent any fu­­ture Arab oil embargo in the context of dev­e­lopments in the Middle East. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from New Delhi,] the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, charged with dishonest election practices, was cross-examined in court today [March 19] about business activities of members of her family. The judge in the High Court of Allahabad, ruled many of the questions irrelevant, but allowed them to be recorded after prosecution counsel insisted they touched on the integrity of Mrs. Gandhi. … The fact that Mrs Gandhi chose to appear in person to defend herself underlined the significance of the trial. [She] gave evidence for over five hours spread over two days.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2025