OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI // Curtis Wilkie's final year as a journalism student at the University of Mississippi began in the autumn of 1962 in a way he wished it had not: with a military presence on the normally quiet campus.
US marshals had come to enforce a federal court order to enrol a young man named James Meredith, who had been denied admission to the segregated school because he was black.
A violent riot broke out when students heard Mr Meredith had arrived. Army troops were called in. The National Guard was called up. By the time things turned quiet, two people were dead.
Forty-six years later, on Friday, the university - where Mr Wilkie is now a journalism professor - welcomed to campus on wholly different terms another historic black figure: Barack Obama.
If someone had told him then it would be just two generations until the first black major-party presidential candidate would set foot here, as Mr Obama did for his debate with John McCain, Mr Wilkie simply would not have believed it.
"I would have said, 'you're crazy'," Mr Wilkie, 68, said last week. "He would have been impossible 20 years ago," he said of Mr Obama. "He would have been unimaginable 50 years ago."
Mr Obama's candidacy may be historic for the country, and indicative of the progress made in America since the civil rights movement. But the fact that the University of Mississippi, the oldest university in the poorest US state, was chosen to host the first debate was equally symbolic.
"If you put 1962 against 2008 and you consider the incident that occurred here in 1962, the irony is almost beyond description," Robert C Khayat, chancellor of the 17,000-student university, said.
The school in this conservative southern city, whose central square displays a statue honouring Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War, goes by the nickname "Ole Miss", a term of respect slaves used when referring to their master's wife. But in many ways, when it comes to racial issues, it has become a new Ole Miss, and students, faculty and residents have been trying to show how.
"Obviously, there's great symbolism," said John Meredith, James Meredith's son, of Ole Miss hosting Mr McCain and Mr Obama. "I don't think anywhere in the country there is an institution that has made more significant strides than the University of Mississippi."
It is not that race has gone away as an issue here; it has not. Ole Miss students still feel the weight of what happened in 1962, and that is the point. Almost everyone knows you can still see bullet marks on the façade of the Lyceum, a brick building that is the campus's oldest, from the night of the riot. There is a bronze statue of Mr Meredith nearby, including a plaque that notes the October day he "stepped into the pages of history".
There is still a great deal of racial separation, as is the case in many corners of America. Walk into the student union cafeteria and it is obvious: by and large, white students eat with their white friends, and black students eat with their black friends.
"It's de facto segregation," said Josh Davis, 31, a 1999 graduate of Ole Miss who grew up in Oxford and is raising his own family here.
Still, there is something happening at Ole Miss that once never would or could have: people are talking constructively about race.
Mr Davis, who is black, has helped spur that. He organised an event last year that brought together 80 students of different races, ethnicities and religions in small teams for dialogue on race relations, along with a scavenger hunt. That led to a three-day retreat in February called One Mississippi, also to tackle the issue of social segregation on campus.
"The world is much bigger than this comfort zone they have," said Mr Davis, assistant director of alumni affairs for the university, who suggested that black students and white students at Ole Miss experience the university in very different ways.
Nickolaus Luckett, 19, said he is thankful for what Mr Meredith did to pave the way for black students like himself.
"We're at a different point now in history," he said. "Now we're moving into socially integrating the university."
History looms large, even all these years later. Mr Meredith, who lives in Jackson, Mississippi, applied to Ole Miss in January 1961; four days later, he was denied admission. With the help of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, he took his case to court.
He won the legal challenge but faced a much more difficult one when he arrived on campus. It took a few hundred federal marshals, 20,000 army troops and the full weight of the Mississippi National Guard to restore order. When Mr Meredith finally sat down for his first university class, everyone else in the room got up and left, his wife, Judy Meredith, said.
"Understand, he was not here to be friends with anybody," Mrs Meredith explained. "He was here on a mission. He called himself a soldier. He was not hurt. He was not afraid. He does not feel he's a hero. He just feels as if this was something he had to do."
Mr Wilkie, the journalism professor, has watched the school's complexion change, slowly, from that day when Mr Meredith made Ole Miss the first southern school to accept blacks. He wishes he did more to somehow support his classmate in 1962.
"I should have, but I didn't," he said.
Mr Wilkie, who is supporting Mr Obama in the presidential race this year, described the Illinois senator's arrival on campus for the debate with one word: gratifying.
"I would never have dreamed we'd come as far as we have," he said.
eniedowski@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
Griselda
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Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Price: From Dh439,000
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
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Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
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Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
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5 of the most-popular Airbnb locations in Dubai
Bobby Grudziecki, chief operating officer of Frank Porter, identifies the five most popular areas in Dubai for those looking to make the most out of their properties and the rates owners can secure:
• Dubai Marina
The Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence are popular locations, says Mr Grudziecki, due to their closeness to the beach, restaurants and hotels.
Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh482 to Dh739
Two bedroom: Dh627 to Dh960
Three bedroom: Dh721 to Dh1,104
• Downtown
Within walking distance of the Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa and the famous fountains, this location combines business and leisure. “Sure it’s for tourists,” says Mr Grudziecki. “Though Downtown [still caters to business people] because it’s close to Dubai International Financial Centre."
Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh497 to Dh772
Two bedroom: Dh646 to Dh1,003
Three bedroom: Dh743 to Dh1,154
• City Walk
The rising star of the Dubai property market, this area is lined with pristine sidewalks, boutiques and cafes and close to the new entertainment venue Coca Cola Arena. “Downtown and Marina are pretty much the same prices,” Mr Grudziecki says, “but City Walk is higher.”
Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh524 to Dh809
Two bedroom: Dh682 to Dh1,052
Three bedroom: Dh784 to Dh1,210
• Jumeirah Lake Towers
Dubai Marina’s little brother JLT resides on the other side of Sheikh Zayed road but is still close enough to beachside outlets and attractions. The big selling point for Airbnb renters, however, is that “it’s cheaper than Dubai Marina”, Mr Grudziecki says.
Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh422 to Dh629
Two bedroom: Dh549 to Dh818
Three bedroom: Dh631 to Dh941
• Palm Jumeirah
Palm Jumeirah's proximity to luxury resorts is attractive, especially for big families, says Mr Grudziecki, as Airbnb renters can secure competitive rates on one of the world’s most famous tourist destinations.
Frank Porter’s average Airbnb rent:
One bedroom: Dh503 to Dh770
Two bedroom: Dh654 to Dh1,002
Three bedroom: Dh752 to Dh1,152
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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