Beleaguered Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a new cabinet despite calls for him to resign over a disastrous economic crisis.
The 17 new ministers named did not include several relatives who had previously held portfolios, although a number of stalwarts kept their seats.
He had called on the opposition to join a unity government but they refused.
The island nation is grappling with its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
It is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that Sri Lanka cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
With power cuts lasting half a day or more, and shortages of food, medicines and fuel, public anger has soared.
Mass protests began in early April with people calling for President Rajapaksa to quit. His cabinet resigned en masse but he refused to go, despite the opposition arguing that he had lost the people's mandate.
His appointment of a new cabinet appears to be another sign that he will not bend to protesters' demands.
It also comes hours after some media outlets sympathetic to his government labelled peaceful protests in the capital "a beach party", and implied that they were funded by terror organisations. The protests in Colombo's Galle Face Green have attracted thousands of people.
When the protests broke out, Mr Rajapaksa activated a draconian emergency law and imposed a curfew to try to stop them. He also banned social media.
He later withdrew these measures when they failed to deter protesters.
Both he and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was not among those who resigned and who keeps his post in the new cabinet, have addressed the nation in an apparent attempt to placate protesters. But calls for the president to resign have only grown louder.
The demonstrations mark a massive turnaround in popularity for Mr Rajapaksa who swept into power with a thumping majority win in 2019, promising stability and a "strong hand" to rule the country.
Critics say rank corruption and nepotism - his brothers and nephews occupied several key ministerial portfolios - are the main reasons for the situation the country has found itself in.
Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, with nearly USD 7 billion of its total USD 25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country lacks money to buy imported goods.
People have endured months of shortages of essentials like food, cooking gas, fuel and medicine, lining up for hours to buy the very limited stocks available.
“During the last two and a half years we have had vast challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the debt burden, and some mistakes on our part,” Rajapaksa said.
“They need to be rectified. We have to correct them and move forward. We need to regain the trust of the people.”
