Uganda Could Lose an International Airport

INTERNATIONAL: Experts have now started raising the possibility that Uganda might lose the Entebbe International Airport over foreign debts, as the media was suggesting the events reminiscent of when the Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka was lost due to debts.

The Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), Pubudu Jayagoda, said that Uganda might not be able to repay a $207 million loan it had borrowed from China on time, spreading rumors amongst media that the airport might be lost at any given time.

Beijing, however, categorically denied the accusations. They explained that in case the repayment of loan obligations is not met, various things have to be paid as ransom, adding that there would be a property grab in case a failure of paying was to take place.

According to Yasiru Ranaraja, a co-founder of the Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka (BRISL), the media was suggesting that China will take over the Ugandan Airport after Beijing rejected Kampala’s proposals to re-engage its debt as the airport was not profiting as it was.

Jayagoda said China tends to ask for taking possession of highly strategic and important facilities as a precondition for approving a loan to a country.

“The control of the Colombo Port City is with China, the South Terminal of the Port of Colombo had to be handed over to China, and now some valuable lands in Colombo city have been transferred to a company called Selandiva. It is reported that a significant portion of it will be taken by China, along with seven acres of valuable land near the port," Jayagoda said.

He said that an agreement has been signed to hand over the oil store complex near the Trincomalee port to India as a precondition for obtaining a loan from China and India.

He referred to the threat of repayment inability on Sri Lanka, which includes the risk of massive destruction and alienation of the country's national resources, public resources, and public property.

Jayagoda added that there must be a stop to borrowing and there should be an investment in infrastructure to avoid falling under the debt trap, saying that “what happens to Uganda today could happen to Sri Lanka tomorrow."

Blast Hits Shi'ite Mosque in Northern Afghanistan, Killing at least 11

INTERNATIONAL: An explosion claimed by the Islamic State group at a Shi'ite mosque in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday (April 21) killed at least 11 people, a health official said, one of a series of blasts around the country.

A separate blast caused at least 11 more casualties in Kunduz, another northern Afghan city, according to a provincial health official.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Mazar-e-Sharif attack, according to a statement on the group's Telegram channel.

The explosions happened during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and two days after blasts tore through a high school in a predominantly Shi'ite Hazara area in western Kabul, killing at least six.

Zia Zendani, the spokesman for the provincial health authority, said 11 people had been killed and 32 wounded in the blast.

Brazilian Man Breaks Guinness Record Working 84 Years for the Same Company

INTERNATIONAL: A 100-year-old man from the southern Brazilian city of Brusque has entered the Guinness World Record book for working the longest in the same company: 84 years.

Despite his extraordinary accomplishment, Walter Orthmann's advice for those looking for a long and fulfilling professional life is surprisingly simple: do what you love and stay away from junk food.

"You have to like to work. I started to work with that willingness and fighting spirit," he said in an interview this week.

"You can't just do any job to say that you are working. That doesn't work. You're not going to be able to stand it."

According to local media, Orthmann started on the factory floor of a company now known as RenauxView, which produces fabrics. Soon after, he moved to administration, eventually becoming a sales manager.

To keep sharp, he stretches daily and assiduously watches his diet.

"I really avoid salt and sugar," he said. "I avoid things that hurt your intestines. I avoid Coke and other sodas. I only consume things that are good for you. That really helps your body to be strong forever."