COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The International Monetary Fund said Monday that its executive board has approved a nearly $3 billion bailout program for Sri Lanka over four years to help salvage the country’s bankrupt economy.

About $333 million will be disbursed immediately and the approval will also open up financial support from other institutions, the IMF said.

“Sri Lanka has been facing tremendous economic and social challenges with a severe recession amid high inflation, depleted reserves, an unsustainable public debt, and heightened financial sector vulnerabilities,” its statement quoted IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva as saying.

“Institutions and governance frameworks require deep reforms. For Sri Lanka to overcome the crisis, swift and timely implementation of the EFF-supported program with strong ownership for the reforms is critical.”

The approval will unlock financing of up to $7 billion from the IMF and other international multilateral financial institutions, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said.

Earlier this month, the last hurdle for the approval was cleared when China joined Sri Lanka’s other creditors in providing debt restructuring assurances.

“From the very start, we committed to full transparency in all our discussions with financial institutions and with our creditors,” Wickremesinghe said in a statement from his office. “I express my gratitude to the IMF and our international partners for their support as we look to get the economy back on track for the long term through prudent fiscal management and our ambitious reform agenda.”

Wickremesinghe said he has made some tough decisions to ensure stability, debt sustainability and to grow an inclusive and internationally attractive economy.

Sri Lanka increased income taxes sharply and removed electricity and fuel subsidies, fulfilling prerequisites of the IMF program. Authorities must now discuss with Sri Lanka’s creditors on how to restructure its debt.

“Having obtained specific and credible financing assurances from major official bilateral creditors, it is now important for the authorities and creditors to make swift progress towards restoring debt sustainability consistent with the IMF-supported program,” Georgieva said.

“The authorities’ commitments to transparently achieve a debt resolution, consistent with the program parameters and equitable burden sharing among creditors in a timely fashion, are welcome,” she said.

Sri Lanka last year suspended repayment of its foreign debt amid a severe foreign currency crisis, because of a fall in tourism and export revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, megaprojects funded by Chinese loans that did not generate income, and releasing foreign currency reserves to hold the exchange rates for a longer period.

The currency crisis created severe shortages of some foods, fuel, medicine and cooking gas, leading to angry street protests that forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.

Since Wickremesinghe took over, he has managed to reduce shortages and ended hours-long daily power cuts. The Central Bank says its reserves have improved and the black market no longer controls the foreign currency trade.

However, Wickremesinghe’ s government is likely to face hostility from trade unions over his plans to privatize state ventures as part of his reform agenda and public resentment may increase if he fails to take action against the Rajapaksa family, who people believe were responsible for the economic crisis.

Wickremesinghe’s critics accuse him of shielding the Rajapaksa family, who still control a majority of lawmakers in Parliament, in return for their support for his presidency.

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MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin on Monday, sending a powerful message to Western leaders that their efforts to isolate Moscow over the fighting in Ukraine have fallen short.

Xi’s trip — his first abroad since his re-election earlier this month — showed off Beijing’s new diplomatic swagger and gave a political lift to Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for the Kremlin leader on war crimes charges related to Ukraine.

The two major powers have described Xi’s three-day trip as an opportunity to deepen their “no-limits friendship.” China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy, and as a partner in standing up to what both see as U.S. aggression, domination of global affairs and unfair punishment for their human rights records.

The two countries, among the five U.N. Security Council’s permanent members, also have held joint military drills. U.S. officials have picked up indications China is considering supplying Russia with weapons for its fight in Ukraine but have seen no evidence they’ve actually done so.

The leaders smiled and shook hands before sitting down and making brief statements at the start of their meeting, calling each other “dear friend” and exchanging compliments. Putin congratulated Xi on his re-election and voiced hope for building even stronger ties.

“China has made a colossal leap ahead in its development in recent years,” Putin said, adding that “it’s causing genuine interest all around the world, and we even feel a bit envious,” as Xi smiled.

The Kremlin leader welcomed China’s proposals for a political settlement in Ukraine and noted Russia is open for talks.

“We will discuss all those issues, including your initiative that we highly respect,” Putin said. “Our cooperation in the international arena undoubtedly helps strengthen the basic principles of the global order and multipolarity.”

Both Moscow and Beijing have accused Washington of trying to isolate them and hold back their development as they challenge it for regional and global leadership.

In an increasingly multipolar world, the U.S. and its allies have been unable to build a broad front against Putin. While 141 countries condemned Moscow in a United Nations vote marking the first anniversary of Russian troops rolling into Ukraine, several members of the G-20 — including India, China and South Africa — abstained. Many African nations also have refrained from openly criticizing Russia.

“We hope that the strategic partnership between China and Russia will on the one hand uphold international fairness and justice, and on the other hand promote the common prosperity and development of our countries,” Xi said.

In their 4 1/2 hours of talks, along with a dinner that included a Pacific seafood platter and roast venison in cherry sauce, Putin had planned to offer Xi a “detailed explanation” of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Broader talks involving both countries’ officials on a range of subjects are scheduled for Tuesday.

For Putin, Xi’s presence is a prestigious, diplomatic boost to show partnership in the face of Western efforts to isolate Russia over Ukraine.

In an article published in the Chinese People’s Daily newspaper, Putin described Xi’s visit as a “landmark event” that “reaffirms the special nature of the Russia-China partnership.”

Putin also said the meeting sent a message to Washington that the two countries aren’t prepared to accept attempts to weaken them.

“The U.S. policy of simultaneously deterring Russia and China, as well as all those who do not bend to the American diktat, is getting ever fiercer and more aggressive,” he wrote.

Xi’s trip came after the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced Friday it wants to put Putin on trial for the abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine.

China portrays Xi’s visit as part of normal diplomatic exchanges and has offered little detail about what the trip aims to accomplish, though Ukraine cast a long shadow on the talks.

At a daily briefing in Beijing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China “will uphold its objective and fair position on the Ukrainian crisis and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks,” he said. Xi didn’t directly mention the Ukraine fighting or his peace plan when he sat down for the talks with Putin on Monday.

Beijing’s leap into Ukraine issues follows its recent success in brokering talks between Iran and its chief Middle Eastern rival, Saudi Arabia, which agreed to restore their diplomatic ties after years of tensions.

Following that success, Xi called for China to play a bigger role in managing global affairs.

Although they boast of a “no-limits” partnership, Beijing has conducted a China First policy. It has shrunk from supplying Russia’s military — a move that could worsen relations with Washington and turn important European trade partners against Beijing. On the other hand, it has refused to condemn Moscow’s aggression and criticized Western sanctions against Moscow, while accusing NATO and the United States of provoking Putin’s military action.

Western pressure has made Russia increasingly reliant on Beijing, observers said.

Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, noted that Beijing is aiming at “getting Russia as a junior partner deeper into China pocket.”

Dmitry Oreshkin, professor at Free University in Riga, Latvia, observed that Beijing stands to benefit from tensions between Moscow and the West, by getting access to cheap Russian energy resources. “It’s very convenient for China, which couldn’t get such a discount before,” he said.

China last month called for a cease-fire and peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautiously welcomed Beijing’s involvement, but the overture fizzled.

The Kremlin has welcomed China’s peace plan, while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday any proposal that left Russian forces in place in Ukraine would merely let Moscow reequip and otherwise regain strength to resume its offensive.

“Calling for a cease-fire that does not include the removal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory would effectively be supporting the ratification of Russian conquest,” he told reporters in Washington. “The world should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms.”

Kyiv officials say they won’t bend in their terms for a peace accord.

“The first and main point is the capitulation or withdrawal of the Russian occupation troops from the territory of Ukraine in accordance with the norms of international law and the UN Charter,” Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted Monday.

That means restoring “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” he wrote.

Ukraine’s allies, meanwhile, are stepping up their support. The State Department announced Monday that the U.S. will send Ukraine $350 million in weapons and equipment. The latest package of aid includes ammunition, such as rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, fuel tanker trucks and riverine boats.

In Brussels, European Union countries endorsed a fast-track procedure to provide Ukraine with artillery shells, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. He hailed “a historic decision” for the 27-nation bloc and Norway to send Ukraine 1 million 155 mm artillery shells within 12 months.

The Kremlin doesn’t recognize the International Criminal Court’s authority and has rejected its move against Putin as “legally null and void.” China, the U.S. and Ukraine also don’t recognize the ICC, but the court’s announcement tarnished Putin’s international standing.

China’s Foreign Ministry called on the ICC to “respect the jurisdictional immunity” of a head of state and “avoid politicization and double standards.”

Russia’s Investigative Committee said Monday it is opening a criminal case against a prosecutor and three judges of the ICC over the arrest warrants issued for Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. The committee called the ICC’s prosecution “unlawful” because it was, among other things, a “criminal prosecution of a knowingly innocent person.”

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Follow the AP’s coverage of Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed.

NEW YORK (AP) — Spring has sprung!

Monday marked the spring equinox — at least for those in the Northern Hemisphere.

But what does that actually mean?

WHAT IS THE SPRING EQUINOX?

As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle.

For most of the year, the Earth’s axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.

During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.

The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time — though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.

The spring — or vernal — equinox can land on March 19, 20 or 21, depending on the year. This year it landed on Monday at 5:24 p.m. Eastern time.

WHY ARE THERE TWO KINDS OF SPRINGS?

There are two different ways to carve up the year: Meteorological and astronomical seasons.

Meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. They break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles.

By that calendar, spring already started on March 1, and will run until May 31.

But astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun.

Equinoxes, when the sun lands equally on both hemispheres, mark the start of spring and autumn. Solstices, when the Earth sees its strongest tilt toward or away from the sun, kick off summer and winter.

WHAT TO EXPECT NOW THAT SPRING IS HERE?

For those north of the equator, the start of spring means daylight will start to stretch longer— with earlier sunrises and later sunsets — until the summer solstice in June. The new season signals warmer weather, budding plants and migrating animals.

The Southern Hemisphere will see the opposite: Days will get shorter as this half of the planet heads out of summer and into autumn.

According to the U.S. government’s national outlook for the season, this spring is expected to bring wet weather that will continue to ease drought conditions in the western parts of the country. Melting snowpack may also bring flood risks in the Midwest.

Much of the southern and eastern U.S. may see warmer than usual temperatures this spring, while parts of the Great Basin and northern Plains will likely be chillier than average.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.