Nauruan President David Adeang, who recently embarked on a journey to trace his roots in China, has expressed hope that his family will stay connected and maintain close ties with their rediscovered ancestral relatives.
Earlier this month, Adeang arrived in Jiangmen City in south China's Guangdong Province for a four-day visit, accompanied by his family, to explore their ancestral heritage.
After verification by relevant authorities, it was confirmed that Adeang's great-grandfather's ancestral home is located in the ancient Chikan town of Jiangmen.
Over a century ago, Adeang's ancestors left China for Southeast Asia in search of better opportunities, before eventually settling in Nauru.
"The world is not so big anymore. To think that before today we didn't know each other at all, but now we are going to be communicating by WeChat to keep the families connected. And my daughter who will be schooling at Beijing in a couple of months, she will be responsible for staying connected and bringing the two families closer together," Adeang said in an interview with China Media Group (CMG).
Adeang's great-grandfather belonged to a large family with the surname Situ. To commemorate this meaningful reunion, Adeang posed for a group photo with members of the Situ family.
Adeang also met an elderly woman whom he and his family affectionately called "granny".
"It's good to know her. And I hope that they will welcome us back again and again, because we really want to be close to our family on this side of the world," said the president.
Nauruan president hopes to stay connected with his ancestral relatives in China
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.
Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.
Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.
The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.
Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.
Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest
