Mostly sunny and warmer, but one final day with fairly low humidity levels. .

Mostly clear and a bit milder.

FILE - Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi, center left, greets his then Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, during a ceremonial reception at the Indian presidential palace, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE - China's President Xi Jinping, left, waves as he walks with then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa upon arrival at the airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE - Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi, right, shakes hand with his then Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, during a ceremonial reception for Rajapaksa at the Indian presidential palace, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, poses for media before his meeting with then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrive at the Chinese funded sea reclamation Port City project in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Jan. 9, 2022. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE - Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi, center left, greets his then Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, during a ceremonial reception at the Indian presidential palace, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE - China's President Xi Jinping, left, waves as he walks with then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa upon arrival at the airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE - Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi, right, shakes hand with his then Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, during a ceremonial reception for Rajapaksa at the Indian presidential palace, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, poses for media before his meeting with then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

FILE- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrive at the Chinese funded sea reclamation Port City project in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Jan. 9, 2022. Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Sri Lanka's strategic location has attracted outsized interest in the small island nation from regional giants China and India for more than a decade, with Beijing and its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments widely seen as having gained the upper hand in the quest for influence.

But Sri Lanka's economic collapse has proved an opportunity for India to swing the pendulum back, with New Delhi stepping in with massive financial and material assistance to its neighbor.

“There is no such thing as charity in international politics,” said Sreeram Chaulia, who heads the School of International Affairs at O.P. Jindal University in Sonipat, India.

“The intent is to drive China away from India’s backyard and restore the balance in New Delhi’s favor.”

Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million, sits off the southern coast of India on the Indian Ocean shipping lanes through which China receives the vast majority of its imported oil from the Middle East.

As part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative to pump money into infrastructure projects across Asia and Africa, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa took on many loans, including $1.1 billion to build a port in his home region of Hambantota despite the plan having been rejected by an expert panel.

When the deep-water port failed to generate the foreign revenue needed to pay China back, Sri Lanka in 2017 was forced to hand the facility and thousands of acres of land around it to Beijing for 99 years — giving China a key foothold directly opposite regional rival India’s coastline.

That stoked India's ongoing concerns about China’s growing influence in South Asia, particularly in smaller countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives.

Concerns over China's increasing regional assertiveness deepened in 2020 when Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed in deadly skirmishes on the disputed Himalayan Ladakh border.

In its maritime approach, Beijing's military focus is currently more on the South China Sea and the Pacific, while its interest in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean appears to be more economically motivated, said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, a London-based analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“On the security side for China it's not a priority, but it is an emerging opportunity for China to bolster its influence in South Asia and ... to counter India's influence,” he said.

Caught in between is Sri Lanka itself which, like many others in the region, needs both China and India, whose combined population is nearly 3 billion people, Roy-Chaudhury said.

“It's not black and white,” he said. “The leaders of these countries have to be pro-India and pro-China at the same time.”

Sajith Premadasa, the current Sri Lankan opposition leader, emphasized that while the country is “extremely grateful” for India's help in the current crisis, the government needs to ensure that Sri Lanka's sovereignty and political independence are not impacted by the situation.

“What Sri Lanka should do always is to ensure our own national interests — in order to maximize our own national interests,” he told The Associated Press. “We should work with everyone in international society, irrespective of which power group or power bloc anybody belongs to.”

Sri Lanka has been rocked by protests since April after its foreign currency reserves ran dry, leading to widespread food and fuel shortages and power cuts, with demonstrators calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa who was elected in 2019.

In May, Mahinda, who had been appointed prime minister, himself resigned, but Gotabaya has clung to power.

Gotabaya inherited an economy already in a slump after a series of attacks in early 2019 by Islamic extremists caused a dramatic drop-off in tourism, a major source of income, and enormous foreign debt from infrastructure projects, many bankrolled by Chinese money and commissioned by brother Mahinda.

But a series of unwise economic decisions made the situation worse, and it was further exacerbated by the global coronavirus hitting the tourism sector again, while the war in Ukraine has driven up food and fuel costs.

The government now owes $51 billion and is unable to make interest payments. It has suspended repayment of $7 billion in foreign debt due this year out of $25 billion to be repaid by 2026, pending the outcome of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package.

China, Sri Lanka's third largest creditor after Japan and the Asian Development Bank, accounts for about 10% of its debt.

China has offered to lend more on favorable terms but has balked at forgiving some of Sri Lanka's debt, possibly over concerns it would prompt other borrowers across Asia and Africa to demand the same relief.

But Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, has said that Sri Lanka has not been able to access $1.5 billion in loans offered by China, because Beijing has made the money contingent on the country having enough foreign reserves for three months.

Beijing has also promised to “play a positive role” in Sri Lanka's talks with the IMF and is providing some 500 million yuan, about $75 million, in humanitarian aid, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijan.

Meanwhile, India has stepped in with millions of dollars worth of rice, milk powder, medicine and other humanitarian aid, as well as diesel fuel and gasoline.

India has also extended Sri Lanka a $4 billion credit line on favorable terms that has been widely credited with helping the country's crisis from worsening, even as Wickremesinghe last week declared the economy had “completely collapsed.”

Wickremesinghe, who has served as prime minister several times before, is seen as pro-India, though he has limited leverage in his current role with Gotabaya Rajapaksa remaining president.

While the Rajapaksa family is considered pro-China, and with the general perception that China has been partially responsible for the country's problems, the political winds seem to be shifting in India's favor, Chaulia said.

India has not been actively promoting the perception that Chinese loans contributed to the crisis in Sri Lanka, but it also has not fought it, seeing the idea of a Chinese “debt trap” as an advantageous narrative for it regionally.

“India is not worried if this message comes across,” Roy-Chaudhury said.

New Delhi has recently succeeded in wresting away some of Beijing’s important projects in Sri Lanka, which is also a major destination for Indian exports.

In March, Sri Lanka finalized a joint venture with India to develop a solar power plant in the island nation. That same month, Colombo also terminated a contract with a Chinese company to build a $12 million wind farm in the country and offered it to an Indian rival.

“While India is trying to maintain its strategic footprint in Sri Lanka, its main aim appears to be to minimize Chinese hold in the country,” said K C Singh, a former Indian foreign secretary and a strategic affairs expert.

Coming to Sri Lanka's aid also fits neatly into Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “Neighborhood First” foreign policy initiative, which focuses on cultivating and sustaining relations with nearby countries, and it is also in India’s self interest not to have a neighboring country like Sri Lanka collapse into chaos, Roy-Chaudhury said.

But at the same time India does not want to find itself in a position where it is stuck alone with an economic bailout, so it has been pushing Sri Lanka to turn to the IMF and asking for other countries to help.

“In security terms, yes, it would want to be a preferred security partner,” Roy-Chaudhury said.

“In economic terms, I think it would want to be one of a number of countries providing economic reassurance or support.”

Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press journalists Krutika Pathi in New Delhi, Joe McDonald in Beijing, and Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

· Hunter Pocono Peterbilt plans to move Pocono Township operations to Stroudsburg

· Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page. 

· Lowhill Township supervisors approved a 312,120-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution center on a 43.4-acre tract on the west side of Route 100, south of the Kernsville Road intersection.

· The Mint Gastropub at 1223 W. Broad St., Bethlehem, announced that it has temporarily closed to undergo a merger with a "well-known restaurant group" from Bethlehem.

· The Slatington Farmers Market opened its 28,000-square-foot showroom, which includes space for 53 vendors, as well as a 4,000-square-foot event space.

· St. Luke's University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke's University Hospital – Bethlehem.

· 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township.

· The Chick-Fil-A in Broadcasting Square shopping center in Spring Township was razed to make way for a new, expanded facility for the popular chicken sandwich restaurant.

· Plans for drive-thru locations of a Chipotle and a Starbucks at the intersection of Ivy League Drive and Kutztown Road were rejected by Maxatawny Township planners.

· Cumru Township plannes reviewed preliminary plans for NorthPoint-Morgantown Commerce Center, a 738,720-square-foot warehouse to be built on 75.2 acres at Morgantown Road (State Route 10) and Freemansville Road.

· Kutztown University has plans to expand its historic Poplar House to 13,161 square feet with an addition around its side and back, but keep the 129-year-old structure intact.

· A wine store and beverage outlet could be coming to a new two-unit building along the commercial strip of Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Lehighton, Carbon County.

· ChristianaCare, a Delaware health care organization, has announced it will buy the former Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Chester County.

· Garden of Health Inc. celebrated the opening of the food bank's new warehouse at 201 Church Road, North Wales, in Montgomery County.

· Silverline Trailers Inc. opened its first location in Pennsylvania and in the Northeast at 223 Porter Road, Pottstown, where it sells utility, cargo, dump, equipment and car hauler trailers. 

· A new smoothie and bowl restaurant, Sips & Berries, opened at 285 Maple Ave., Harleysville, in Montgomery County.

· Terrain on the Parkway offers 160 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at 1625 Lehigh Parkway East in Allentown. 

· Lehigh Valley native Don Wenner is moving his real estate investment and finance firm DLP Capital from Bethlehem to Allentown at 835 W. Hamilton St.

· While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30.

· If you're in the market for sterling silver jewelry, minerals and semi-precious gemstones, C& I Minerals is now operating at the South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Allentown.

· The Allentown-based utility company PPL Corp. bought a major Rhode Island utility.

· Ownership at Martellucci's Pizzeria in Bethlehem has changed, but Paul and Donna Hlavinka and their family are running the pizza place at 1419 Easton Ave., just as it has been operated for 49 years. 

· Dr. Jacob Kasprenski's new Kasprenski Family Eye Care opened at 1088 Howertown Road, Catasauqua.

· Josie's New York Deli in downtown Easton closed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a June 13 Historic District Commission meeting approved a request for a new sign at its building at 14 Centre Square. 

· Zekraft cafe has opened its second location in the Easton Silk Mill in Easton. The first Zekraft restaurant was opened in Bethlehem. The restaurants' menus change frequently, with a focus on local ingredients. 

· Manta Massage at 319 Main St., Emmaus, will hold its grand opening on July 10 starting at 11 a.m. 

· The former Iron Lakes Country Club, constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will operate at 3625 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township under its new name, The Club at Twin Lakes. 

· Prologis, a titan in the logistics industry, will own and operate three warehouses proposed in Upper Macungie Township at the former Air Products headquarters campus at 7201 Hamilton Blvd. 

· Lehigh Valley Health Network ceremonially opened its first Carbon County hospital — a $78 million, 100,578-square-foot facility at 2128 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township.

· Pocono Township commissioners voted to accept Swiftwater Solar's preliminary final plan for the $111 million, 80-megawatt field on a private 644-acre site on top of Bear Mountain that would include about 200,000 solar panels.

· Firetree Ltd. wants to expand its in-patient rehab operation at the former Sands Ford auto dealership at 440 N Claude A Lord Blvd. (Route 61), Pottsville.

· A Dunkin' in Schuylkill County located at 400 Terry Rich Blvd., St. Clair, has become just the fourth location of the donut and coffee chain to go entirely digital. 

· The Conservatory music school in Bucks County will close after 34 years, and school officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause. The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30.

· A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Arby's will be built on the site of the former Ahart's Market on Route 22 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

· Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce offices and the Unity Bank Center for Business & Entrepreneurship will be located at 119 Main St., Flemington. 

· Honeygrow opens Quakertown location, next to Chipotle on Route 309, on June 3.

· Dunkin' reopens remodeled restaurant at 1174 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township

· Muse Modern Med Spa at 325 Fifth St. in Whitehall Township  will hold a grand opening June 4.

· Around Again, a consignment store, opened at 154 S. Main St., Phillipsburg

· Steak and Steel Hibachi, a restaurant in the works at 44 W. Walnut St., Bethlehem, still plans on opening late this summer. 

· Take It Outdoors Recreation Hub has moved to a spot along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park in Pottstown, Montgomery County

· Pedego Electric Bikes has a new outlet in Lambertville, N.J. at 13 N. Union St.

· Amanda Vachris has opened a new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St. in Schuylkill Haven.

· Easton's new West Ward Market will open Wednesday and be open on Wednesday's through the summer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market, created by the Greater Easton Development Partnership, will sell fresh produce on 12th Street, next to Paxinosa Elementary School.

· Ciao Sandwich Shoppe is adding a second location, this time on College Hill in Easton. Ciao plans to open at 325 Cattell St. in late summer. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St

· Ma's Crepes and Cakes will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting June 16 at 46 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:45 p.m. 

· Bethlehem's Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city's historic district. The business was open for nine years as a retail outlet at Broad and Center streets, before announcing in March that it would close the storefront April 3 and "go back to its origins as a wholesale business."

·The Beef Baron on Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem is closed indefinitely for renovations

· The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St.

· St. John Chrysostom Academy, an Orthodox school serving grades 1-9 starting this fall, held a grand opening at its St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, campus.

· Easton Commons, a shopping center anchored by Giant Foods at 2920 Easton Ave., Bethlehem Township, has a new name: The Shops at Bethlehem.

· Carbon County is getting a taste of Brazil at Uai Brasil BBQ at 315 Lehigh Ave. in Palmerton.

· The Keystone Pub in Bethlehem Township, at 3259 Easton Avenue, has reopened after a lengthy and expensive renovation. 

· The Trading Post Depot opened at 401 Northampton St., Easton. The rustic furniture store makes custom tables for dining rooms, desktops, conference centers and more.

· The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante opened at its 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg, location. 

· Ciao! Sandwich Shoppe to open second location on College Hill in Easton, replacing The Kettle Room

· Rene and Grisellies Benique have opened Ezekiel 47 Cafe at 10 S. Fifth Ave., off Fifth and Penn avenues, in West Reading. 

· Alter Ego Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus is holding a grand opening Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at noon. 

· Origen Latin Fusion has opened at the site of the former Tomcat Cafe in Sinking Spring, Berks County. 

· Sellersville Senior Residences will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 24. The Bucks County affordable-housing community for adults 55 and older has 50 apartments, with eight allocated for people with behavioral health needs.

· The House and Barn in Emmaus has opened its Shed outdoor dining and cigar bar area. The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus.

· Realtor Amanda Vachris and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at Vachris's new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St., Schuylkill Haven, at 4 p.m. on May 24.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante will hold a grand opening on Friday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. The 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg.

· First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will hold a grand opening at its new headquarters in Trexlertown, 6126 Hamilton Blvd., on May 18.

· Vinyl Press Signs & Graphics has relocated within Emmaus. The new site is 15 S. Second St., not far from the former Sixth Street location.

· Pedro's Cafe in Emmaus to close

· SV Sports (formerly Schuylkill Valley Sports) to close Quakertown location

· Flemington DIY will host a Grand Re-Opening on May 14 at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington. The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. 

· Elpedio’s Ristorante at Seipsville opened at 2912 Old Nazareth Road in Easton. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday.

· Uai Brazil opened at 315 Lehigh Ave, Palmerton, offering both a seated or buffet option. 

· Colombian Mex Restaurant opened at 107 E Union Blvd in Bethlehem, offering traditional Colombian cuisine. 

· Precision Ink opened at 161 W Berwick St. in Easton. 

· King Wing opened a location in Bethlehem at 129 E. Third St., serving wings and sandwiches.  

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