NAKARAJAN

  EMPRESS  IRENE BLINDED HER SON AND  RULED HERSELF CROWNING ON APRIL 19,797 Irene of Athens ( Greek :  Εἰρήνη ,  Eirénē ;  c.  752 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaina ( Σαρανταπήχαινα ), was  Byzantine empress consort  to  Emperor Leo IV  from 775 to 780,  regent  during the childhood of their son  Constantine VI  from 780 until 790, co-ruler from 792 until 797, and finally  empress regnant  and sole ruler of the  Eastern Roman Empire  from 797 to 802. A member of the politically prominent Sarantapechos family, she was selected as Leo IV's bride for unknown reasons in 768. Even though her husband was an  iconoclast , she harbored  iconophile  sympathies. During her rule as regent, she called the  Second Council of Nicaea  in 787, which condemned iconoclasm as heretical and brought an end to the first iconoclast period (730–787). She was influential...

  US implicates Saudi crown prince  in Khashoggi's killing WASHINGTON (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince likely approved the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence report released Friday that instantly ratcheted up pressure on the Biden administration to hold the kingdom accountable for a murder that drew worldwide outrage. The intelligence findings were long known to many U.S. officials and, even as they remained classified, had been reported with varying degrees of precision. But the public rebuke of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is still a touchstone in U.S-Saudi relations. It leaves no doubt that as the prince continues in his powerful role and likely ascends to the throne, Americans will forever associate him with the brutal killing of a journalist who promoted democracy and human rights. Yet even as the Biden administration released the findings, it appeared determine...