The UK is home to many foreign oligarchs—powerful and usually absurdly wealthy individuals that are deeply embedded in their country’s politics. Many of these oligarchs have money from questionable sources, such as corrupt governments. But why does the UK attract these sorts of powerful people? The UK has a ruling class with lots of power that’s romanticised in their culture; it’s the type of class oligarchs would like to belong to. Joining this ruling class has “become a process” with consultants who “help wealthy individuals from elsewhere become members”. Read full article here
Research
Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable
The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here
Merv
March 12, 2023
