Ousted Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Thursday made the first public appearance since his dismissal on July 25.
Mr Mechichi visited the offices of the nation's anti-corruption authority, known by its French acronym INLUCC, to declare assets he held during his time in office.
Officials said it was a routine procedure after completion of duties.
Wearing a suit and face mask, Mr Mechichi signed documents, photos on the INLUCC’s Facebook page showed.
In the 11 days since President Kais Saied dismissed the government, froze Parliament and assumed all executive powers, Mr Mechichi had not been seen in public.
On July 26, he accepted the dismissal and promised to assist in a “peaceful transfer of power”.
Mr Saied's opponents and constitutional lawyers have called the power grab an unlawful "coup".
Thursday's visit followed concerns about Mr Mechichi’s whereabouts, with Tunisian social media users posting under the hashtag #WhereIsMechichi.
Responding to claims that he was assaulted after refusing to step down, Tunisia’s National Commission for the Prevention of Torture said on Wednesday it was investigating and Mr Mechichi could not be reached for several days.
"The authority has approached some people close to the concerned person," the statement read. "It has also contacted him personally on his mobile phone, and was assured that it was in use, and sent a text message to him on the same phone, expressing its readiness to visit him if he wanted to, but did not receive a response to that, neither accepting nor rejecting."
It also called on the public to provide any information that could help the investigation.
Mr Mechichi appeared to reject the allegations of assault last week in an interview with a local news outlet, denying that he had been forced to resign.
Mr Saied’s decision to fire Mr Mechichi followed nationwide protests calling for the government’s dismissal. The demonstrations were fuelled by widespread discontent over the country's economic turmoil, political deadlock and health crisis in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Mechichi, a technocrat and former ally of Mr Saied, was appointed prime minister in September 2020 and was tasked with obtaining the confidence of parliament.
The pair later fell out after Mr Saied refused to approve a Cabinet reshuffle, saying the proposed ministers had conflicts of interest.
The subsequent political squabbling led to a stalemate that exacerbated widely-perceived governmental ineptitude as Tunisia struggled to control soaring Covid-19 infection rates amid a vicious fourth wave.
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
New Zealand squad
Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
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- Torque: 760nm
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- Price: Not announced yet
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
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