Signor Benito Mussolini, in his recent conversations with the United States Ambassdor to Rome, Mr. William Phillips, was understood to have told the American envoy he would regard the closing of the Suez Canal to Italian shipping an "unfriendly and provocative act," it was revealed today.
Disclosure that I1 Duce would regard possible British wartime measures in the Mediterranean and Suez as "warlike" today coincided with the most vituperative anti-British press campaign in Italy since the beginning of the European war.
The "Corriere Padano," controlled by Marshal Italo Balbo, Governor-General of Libya, took the lead in thi anti-British campaign today, declaring that Italy's patience would reach a limit sooner or later and she would ye 10rced to seize control of the gates to the Mediterranean—United Press, Italy Reassures Yugoslavia Rome, May 4.
Italy has given {he Yugoslav Government categorical assurances that she intends to continue the policy of ce-operation with Yugoslavia in accordance with the Italian-
Yugoslav agreement of March, 1937, well-informed circles here said today, Yugoslavia's attention was drawn to the unfavourable impression created in Italy by the recent distribution of anti-Italian tracts in Ljubliana and to the necessity of preventing the recurrence of such incidents in the interests of the relations between the two countries, Dissatisfaction had been caused in Italy by certain measures taken in Yugoslavia, such as the arrest of M, Milan Stoyadinovich, former Premier well-known for his support of the Rome-Berlin axis, and the decision to open trade negotiations with Soviet Russia, Italy fears an exten-sión of Soviet influence in the Balkans, The general impression in Rome is that Italy would have nothing to gain from an aggression against Yugoslavia as she is already in full control of the Adriatic coast, having occupied Albania—Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.