A man who helped 100,000 Ukrainians find shelter when war broke out has now turned his efforts to Sudan's conflict.
Avi Schiffmann, 20, acted swiftly as reports of thousands of people fleeing fighting in Sudan's capital Khartoum and other cities began to surface, taking the concept of his UkraineTakeShelter website and giving it a new purpose.
More than 50 people signed up as host families for Sudanese refugees in the first 24 hours of the TakeShelter site being online.
Mr Schiffmann is applying the same techniques to the Sudanese crisis that he used to help house tens of thousands of Ukrainians with host families.
“You just sign up and go through a verification identity process where you scan a government-issued ID which is cross-checked against your face with facial recognition, and then you're able to post listings,” he told The National.
A moderation team checks every post. Users are also allowed to report listings if they breach the website's rules.
“For people displaced, they go to TakeShelter.org — they just put in the search bar where they're headed or where they are right now and they're able to get housed as quickly as possible,” he said.
He believes that using the internet to do good has wider benefits.
“It takes the strain away from local relief efforts and that way they can focus on people in need of immediate medical attention rather than people who can go on their phones and get shelter."
Diaspora springs into action
Sudanese professor Saria Awadalla's father and brother have chosen to stay at their home in Omdurman.
But the majority of his family members decided it would be safer to leave.
“They're in various stages of evacuation. Some relatives are on the border with Egypt having just arrived today [Thursday]. They've been on the road since Sunday,” he said, speaking from Chicago, Illinois.
“I've been looking online for apartments for relatives arriving in Cairo. I'm also searching for the best route for them to take, what to avoid and what to bring with them.”
Sudanese civilians have been using the internet as a tool ever since the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group and Sudan's army broke out on April 15.
Some are sending out calls for help to look for missing relatives, while others are assisting people seeking medical assistance by connecting them to volunteers and people offering supplies.
“We are in dire need of a vehicle from Yathrib to 60th Street tonight, urgently,” Twitter user Reema wrote on Wednesday.
Yousif AlKheir is a Sudanese trader, bringing supplies in and out of Sudan through Aswan. He suspended his work once the crisis began, he told The National.
Now, he is trying to help people cross the border.
“I am currently [at] the Egyptian border and in Halfa in case of questions regarding the Sudanese or Egyptian borders,” he wrote on Twitter, along with information on obtaining visas.
These tools are vital in making an already difficult journey slightly less arduous.
“Most people who have fled Khartoum are heading to a place called Kandahar in Omdurman," he said.
"That's where the majority of buses are leaving from. There, bus drivers are only accepting Sudanese pounds in cash due to a dire need for cash."
Sudan's banks have mostly been closed since the street battles broke out.
“Many families have people, like myself, living abroad, who send them money in US dollars. But since only Sudanese pounds are being accepted in these makeshift locations, traders are on standby exchanging dollars for Sudanese pounds at 30 pr cent to 40 per cent below market rate,” he said.
A typical bus ticket to Egypt costs about $50 to $80, Mr Awadalla said.
“Now, if you're lucky, you can get on board for about $600.”
When his family went to that spot in Omdurman, they had to wait a day and a half to board a bus, he said.
“They slept on the road, on the ground. They went through whatever food supplies they had and paid huge sums of money for things like water and basic necessities.
“Their bus broke down a number of times. It took a while to get to the border.”
More than 10,000 people have crossed into Egypt from Sudan in the past five days, Egyptian authorities said. An estimated 20,000 people entered Chad and 16,000 went to South Sudan.
On Wednesday, Sudan's consul general in Aswan told Sudanese civilians to stay in the country if they flee, as some were being deported from the border due to overcrowding and lack of resources.
The conflict has so far killed more than 500 people, although witnesses say figures are likely to be higher, and videos have shown bodies lying on the streets waiting to be collected.
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Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The five pillars of Islam
SCORES IN BRIEF
Lahore Qalandars 186 for 4 in 19.4 overs
(Sohail 100,Phil Salt 37 not out, Bilal Irshad 30, Josh Poysden 2-26)
bt Yorkshire Vikings 184 for 5 in 20 overs
(Jonathan Tattersall 36, Harry Brook 37, Gary Ballance 33, Adam Lyth 32, Shaheen Afridi 2-36).
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
The years Ramadan fell in May
England squad
Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
