CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian security forces detained hundreds of people, including foreigners, on the country’s border with Sudan, accusing them of illegal gold mining and smuggling, the military said Monday.
Egypt’s southern region is rich with gold mines and the government has launched big mining projects there including the Sukari megaproject.
The military statement said the detainees included 87 Egyptians and 136 other foreigners, without naming their countries. The operation included the seizure of “large amounts of equipment and devices used in illegal mining operations,” the military statement said.
The region borders Sudan, which is also rich with gold mines, and with the chaos of Sudan’s three-year war, much of the mining there is unregulated. More than 50% of gold mined in Sudan was smuggled out of the country, according to a U.N. Panel of Experts Report in 2024. Gold accounts for 70% of the country's revenue.
Video clips posted online showed hundreds of Sudanese people at a border crossing between Egypt and Sudan, with Sudanese media reporting they were miners detained and expelled by the Egyptian government.
Sudan’s top general, Abdel-Fattah Burhan, was in gold-rich northeastern Sudan on Monday. He said in a statement that the government “affirms our full appreciation and respect for our neighboring countries (to the north and east), and we call upon our citizens to not move towards the borders to incite any problems.”
He also added the the government was working to combat illegal smuggling and mining and would investigate.
Gold has been a central part of the war in Sudan between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces who have smuggled out thousands of tons of gold from the Darfur and Kordofan regions to fund themselves.
The Egyptian military said a number of suspected gold miners surrendered to Egyptian authorities who were later sent them back to their home country. It didn’t elaborate on the nationalities of those who were detained or expelled.
The Egyptian military also warned that “it retains all available options to deal with all threats.”
FILE - A pan containing gold-bearing sediment and heavy mineral concentrate sits at an artisanal mining site in Dalago Mahas, Sudan's Northern State,Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohnd Blal, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The superintendent of Los Angeles public schools has resigned four months after he was put on paid leave during a federal investigation, saying he wants students to learn “without distraction.”
Alberto Carvalho 's resignation letter dated Sunday made no direct mention of the Feb. 25 search of his home and the LA Unified School District’s headquarters. Two days after the FBI served the search warrants, the district’s Board of Education voted unanimously to place Carvalho on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Authorities have not provided details of the nature of the investigation involving the district, which serves more than 500,000 students. The investigation appears to relate to a contract the school district had with an education technology company whose leader was later indicted for fraud. The company, AllHere, had a contract with the district to create an AI chatbot.
Before becoming the Los Angeles superintendent in 2022, Carvalho had spent his entire education career in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where he drew national praise for improving graduation rates and academic achievement among Black and Hispanic students. While advocating for Miami’s immigrant students, he spoke openly about his own struggles as a young recent arrival from Portugal working in restaurants and construction while homeless at times.
Authorities have not accused Carvalho of any crimes. He denied any wrongdoing earlier this year and had asked to be reinstated as head of the nation's second-largest district. On Sunday he resigned via a letter addressed to “students, families, teachers, staff, and community." He cited what he called “historic progress” made during his tenure.
“Placing students first has always guided my work,” Carvalho wrote. “Because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction, I am resigning as Superintendent of LAUSD effective today, June 21, 2026.”
In its statement released early Monday, the Board acknowledged it received the letter of resignation.
“The Board remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring stability, continuity, and continued progress through strong leadership. Our focus remains unchanged: providing every student with a high-quality education, supporting our dedicated workforce, and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve,” it said in the statement.
It said that Andrés Chait, who has been acting superintendent, will remain in that position until a permanent decision is made.
In February, the FBI also searched a third location near Miami. The Miami Herald reported the Florida property belonged to Debra Kerr, who previously worked with AllHere.
In 2024, Carvalho heavily touted a deal with AllHere for an AI chatbot named “Ed” designed to help students. But about three months after unveiling the technology and paying the company $3 million, the district dropped its dealings with AllHere, which collapsed into bankruptcy. Months later, founder Joanna Smith-Griffin was charged with securities and wire fraud, along with identity theft.
At the time, Carvalho denied personal involvement in the selection of AllHere, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Mr. Carvalho respects the rule of law and the investigative process and has always acted in the best interests of students and within the bounds of the law,” Holland & Knight, the law firm representing him, previously said in a statement. “While the government’s investigation remains ongoing, no evidence has been presented by prosecutors supporting any allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated federal law.”
Following the search of school headquarters, LA Unified said it was cooperating with investigators and had no further information.
Carvalho became superintendent of LA schools in 2022 on a four-year contract with an annual salary of $440,000. He began a new four-year contract earlier in February, just weeks before the raid, for the same salary, according to school board meeting documents.
In Miami, Carvalho began his education career as a high school physics teacher in the 1980s and climbed the administrative ranks. He led the district for nearly 14 years.
In 2020, a nonprofit he founded to support Miami schools drew scrutiny after it solicited a $1.57 million donation from an online education company doing business with the district. The district’s inspector general later determined the donation didn’t violate state or district ethics policies but did create the “appearance of impropriety” and should be returned, according to The Miami Herald. Instead of returning the funds, the foundation distributed the money to Miami-Dade teachers in the form of $100 gift cards.
FILE - Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District speaks about students' improved rising scores before Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation related to student literacy in Los Angeles on Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
