Novosti News Service – Bar – Thursday, 24 April 1941
The harbor of Bar was filled nearly to capacity yesterday as a squadron of the French Marine Nationale , led by the battleship Republique and the battlecruiser Strasbourg paid a courtesy call. The French capital ships dwarfed those of our own navy but represented the fact that in France Yugoslavia has a long-standing friend and an effective counterweight to any nation bent on expansion in the Mediterranean. Vice Admiral Danis Asner, chief of the Naval Staff, acted as official host for the French visit, conducting courtesy calls on the vessels of the French squadron and reciprocating with visits aboard the Royal Yugoslav Navy’s latest ships, the cruisers Srbija and Crna Gora . The French vessels departed Bar late this afternoon for their homeward voyage to Toulon.
Novosti News Service – Novi Sad – Thursday, 1 May 1941
The official opening of the initial portion of the Autostrady A-1 between the capital and this city was marked by a motorcade led by the Prime Minister and other government officials as well as elements of the armed forces. Completion had been delayed by poor weather over the winter months but the fine weather this spring allowed completion of this portion of the highway in record time. Construction of northward and eastward extensions has been authorised and it is hoped that within two years it will be possible to drive from the Hungarian frontier to the Bulgarian border in the space of little more than a day.
Novosti News Service – Bar – Thursday, 8 May 1941
Reconstruction and expansion of the Royal Yugoslav Navy proceeds apace. Today saw the keels of the third and fourth armoured gunboats of the Neretva class laid down on the slips only recently vacated by the gunboats Neretva and Drina . Last Saturday saw the first new light destroyers of the Mostar class laid down, construction of which will continue well into 1942. The persistence of the Naval Staff under the leadership of Vice Admiral Asner has led to a renaissance of the fleet, with well trained, superbly equipped flotillas of light warships capable of defending our shores and protecting our seaborne commerce in the waters of the region.