The Shortwave Report January 2, 2026

This week's show starts with China doing military drills around Taiwan, Israel bars 37 aid groups from Palestine, France proposes a ban on social media for children under 15, Zelensky says a failed attack on Putin's residence by 91 Ukrainian drones is a lie, and what is the danger of deepfake videos on the web.

This week's show features stories from NHK Japan, France 24, Radio Deutsche-Welle, and Radio Havana Cuba. http://youthspeaksout.net/swr260102.mp3 (29:00) From JAPAN- China conducted major military drills around Taiwan- they lasted 3 days and were a counter measure to the US approval of $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, whose current president who is seen as pro-independence. China condemned the demolition of a monument honoring the Chinese contribution to building the Panama Canal. The US government pledged $2 billion in humanitarian aid to the UN in 2026, down from $17 billion in 2022. It was reported thatr the CIA launched a drone strike on port facility in Venezuela. Israel says it will bar 37 aid groups from Palestine including Doctors Without Borders, the International Rescue Committee, CARE, and Oxfam. From FRANCE- A press review on French President Macrons New Year speech which included proposed plans to follow the Australian ban on social media access for teenagers under 15. Last Friday Israel recognized Somaliland which is the only country to do so, with widespread opposition- Anwar Bashir of the East African Institute for peace says the hidden agenda is for Israel to use the area to attack Iran and the Yemen, and to relocate Palestinians to the region. From GERMANY- Russia claims it shot down 91 drones from Ukraine intended to attack Russian President Putins residence- Zelensky denies the event happened while Russia showed videos,- analysis by Anna Matveeva, a research fellow at Kings College London. Then an excerpt about the proliferation of AI deepfake videos making up to 50% of reels on social media and the danger. From CUBA- Cuba covered the top 10 news stories of the year 2025- here are 3- Israel attacks Iran and there is retaliation, the US launches a war on Venezuela, and electoral victories of the right in Bolivia and the far-right in Chile marked a turn from increasing socialism in South America. Available in 3 forms- (new) HIGHEST QUALITY (160kb)(33MB), broadcast quality (13MB), and quickdownload or streaming form (6MB) (28:59) Links at outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml PODCAST!!!- https://feed.podbean.com/outFarpress/feed.xml (160kb Highest Quality) Website Page- < http://www.outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml ¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." --Maya Angelou Dan Roberts Shortwave Report- www.outfarpress.com YouthSpeaksOut!- www.youthspeaksout.net