US president-elect Donald Trump's nominated Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is already playing a key role in negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, even though his job does not officially begin until next week.
The billionaire real estate developer was in the Middle East at the weekend, when he visited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and joined mediators in Qatar as Israel and Hamas negotiate a final draft of the text for a ceasefire and hostage-detainee exchange deal.
The proposed deal is not substantively different from the one first put forward by the Biden administration in May last year. Israel and Hamas have accused each other of sabotaging the agreement whenever it appeared to be near finalised.
Mr Trump, who takes office on Monday, last week said “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the remaining hostages are not released by the time he is sworn in. According to The Times of Israel and other Israeli outlets, Mr Witkoff leaned hard on Mr Netanyahu to accept the deal when the two met in Israel on Saturday.
Speaking alongside Mr Trump in Florida last week, Mr Witkoff, 67, made his first appearance on the world stage as the incoming Middle East envoy.
He said he was “really hopeful” that he and his team would “have some good things to announce” by Mr Trump's January 20 inauguration in Washington.
Mr Trump, also a New York real estate developer, gave the first hint that Mr Witkoff might play a key role in a second Trump presidency during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last year.
In a speech at the RNC, Mr Witkoff paid tribute to his friend and made it clear that the two men shared a deep and meaningful bond, describing him as a “kind and compassionate man”.
Mr Witkoff is the president-elect’s golf partner and was with Mr Trump when he was the target of a second attempted assassination at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September. His son recently named his child after Mr Trump, a move that touched the president-elect.
“Congratulations to Zach and Sophi Witkoff on the birth of their son, Don James Witkoff (DJW), named after me (Thank you),” Mr Trump said on Truth Social.
Before his selection for Middle East envoy, Mr Witkoff was not known to have any diplomatic or Middle East experience. Mr Trump described him as “a highly respected leader in business and philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous".
“Steve will be an unrelenting voice for peace, and make us all proud,” the president-elect said in a statement.
The fact that Mr Witkoff shares such a strong and public bond with Mr Trump will probably allow those with whom he interacts to know that he speaks on the president's behalf, which is key for any diplomat to be successful.
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Ovo's tips to find extra heat
- Open your curtains when it’s sunny
- Keep your oven open after cooking
- Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy
- Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat
- Put on extra layers
- Do a few star jumps
- Avoid alcohol
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'Midnights'
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
