NEWS SUMMARY AT THIS HOUR-TUESDAY 9/25/2018

                               (UPDATES, EDITING, ADDITIONS ETC. UNTIL 8AM)

The Swedish Prime Minister, Social Democrat Stefan Lofven, has been voted out.  A no-confidence vote was held in the Swedish parliament today following the general election earlier this month.

While Lofven is out, its not clear what kind of government will be formed in the place of his.   Both the "Right" and "Left" factions are short of a majority, with the anti-European Union, anti-mass immigration Sweden Democrats holding the balance of power.

The Sweden Democrats joined the "Center-Right" in a 204-142 vote against Lofven.  The speaker of Sweden's' parliament will have to propose a new Prime Minister, while the current Social Democrat led government remains on in a caretaker role.

The speaker is a member of the "Moderate Party" and may propose Ulf Kristersson of that party as the new Prime Minister.   Four attempts to form a new government are allowed under Sweden's system before fresh elections have to be called.

US Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh says: "I've never sexually assaulted anyone".

Kavanaugh was interviewed by "Fox News" and he said:  "I'm not going to let false accusations drive us out of the process".

Over the weekend a new uncorroborated allegation was dropped by the "New Yorker" magazine.

This Thursday the first woman to accuse Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee with Judge Kavanaugh giving his testimony as well.

Its looks there will be a big distraction for the media Thursday when Kavanaugh's accuser testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Deputy US Attorney General  Rob Rosenstein will meet President Trump at the White House.  The meeting follows last Friday's "New York Times" story reporting that Rosenstein had broached the notion of removing President Trump from office using the 25th Amendment.

The President and Rosenstein has a long phone conversation yesterday ahead of Thursday's planned meeting,

President Trump says he's expecting a second summit meeting with North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un soon.   Trump spoke after meeting with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in in New York.  He said the relationship with North Korea's ruler is "good" and even "extraordinary" in some ways.

South Korea's president recently visited North Korea's capital Pyongyang for three days and said that Kim Jong-un wants "complete denuclearization" and to focus on economic development.

Russia is upgrading air defenses in Syria saying the S-300 system will be deployed.    Russia will also step up electronic measures adjacent to Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast.

Russia says the purpose is to protect Russian military in Syria and not directed at third countries,
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling him about the deployment.

The moves by Russia come after a Russian plane was shot down by Syrian air defenses during an Israeli air attack on Syria.  The 15 Russian crew members were killed in the incident.

Israel's Security Cabinet met for some two and half hours today to discuss Israel's relationship with Russia.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton has expressed his dismay at Russia's decision, describing the decision to upgrade Syrian air defenses as an "escalation".  Bolton says Iran is ultimately to blame for the shoot down of the Russian aircraft.


The other major nations involved in the Iran nuclear deal still want to do business with Iran even though the United States has withdrawn from the deal and is imposing sanctions.  Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia intend to protect the freedom of their businesses to do business with Iran,

Those countries will set up a new payment system outside the US dollars to facilitate business with Iran and evade US sanctions.  The US is likely to act against any new payment system the group of nations set up.

Russia is protesting the arrest of a Russian citizen in Norway last Friday.   Norway says the man arrested, M. A. Bochkaryov, is suspected of spying.   He attended a seminar on digitalization in Oslo and a room in Norway's parliament building was sealed off on suspicion that it was "compromised".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is apologetic after her "firing" of the former domestic intelligence chief led to him being given a higher paying job in the government, 

Hans-Georg Maassen left his post after he cast doubt on Merkel's assertions that gangs attacked migrants in an eastern German city after a German man was murdered by foreign-born suspects.

The latest polling data shows a decline in support for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its sister party in Bavaria, the Christian Social Union.   The CDU-CSU stands at 27 percent if an election were held today, in second place the anti-mass immigration Alternative for Germany at 18 percent, with the Social Democrats at 16 percent.   The Green Party is rising in polls now at 14.5 percent drawing support away from the Social Democrats.

Next month's Bavarian election on Sunday October 14th will also be a barometer of political conditions in Germany.   Latest polling data there shows the Christian Social Union lagging with 35 percent support and the Greens surging to 18 percent support.   The Alternative for Germany stands at 10 percent in Bavaria.

The co-founders of the "Instagram" photo sharing site are leaving.  Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger say they are leaving to pursue "curiosity" and "creativity".

Since Facebook bought out Instagram in 2012,  there have been reports of tensions between Systrom, Krieger and Facebook.