World
Southern California man gets an unwanted housemate: A black bear in his crawl space
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ken Johnson, 63, just got a new roommate last week — a black bear living in the crawl space under his home in Southern California.
The bear was seen on video footage clambering out from beneath his house Tuesday. He had installed a camera near the space back in June when he saw what looked like damage caused by an animal.
Nothing showed up on the camera until last week. And now he’s trying to figure out how to make it leave.
“It’s a huge bear,” Johnson said, describing it as tall as a table and bigger than the trash bins in front of his house. “It’s really unnerving because I don’t know if he’s going to tear everything up under there, I don’t know how to get him out.”
Johnson lives in Altadena, an unincorporated community northeast of Los Angeles that was devastated by the Eaton Fire in January. The fire killed at least 19 people and scorched thousands of structures, but it also tore through the Angeles National Forest, displacing wildlife from their natural habitats and destroying their food supply.
Shortly after the fire, at least two bears were found taking refuge in people’s evacuated homes in Altadena. State officials removed a massive, 525-pound (240-kilogram) adult male bear from a crawl space under a man’s home in January because utility crews could not get in to restore his power.
The bear was too large to be tranquilized, so employees from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife set a bear trap before taking it to the Angeles National Forest to be released with a tracking collar, the state agency wrote on social media. In February, another homeowner found himself with an unwelcome roommate, snapping pictures of a bear lounging by the pool and bringing food back to the crawl space at night, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“In the foothills of bear country, it’s important to close crawl spaces with bear-proof material in advance of winter months to discourage bears from denning and damaging property,” the CDFW wrote on social media after that incident.
While it’s not cold enough in Southern California for bears to hibernate, they will engage in a behavior called “denning,” where they take long naps but may emerge periodically to eat.
Since Tuesday, Johnson’s bear has come and gone from his house several times. He can hear “all kinds of clunking and booming” under the floorboards, and the bear rummaged through his trash cans on Sunday evening before retreating back to its chosen home.
It has dark brown fur with a tan snoot and two tan marks on its chest. Other neighbors have seen the same bear around the area before and call it Barry, although Johnson said he doesn’t know if the bear is male or female.
Johnson reached out to local law enforcement regarding the bear after it growled at him when he was changing his camera batteries. They told him to call state officials, but he was eventually directed to fill a form out online reporting a bear sighting. He checked a box for “Property Damage” and wrote, “It’s living under my house.”
So far, he hasn’t gotten a response.
CDFW spokesperson Cort Klopping said Monday afternoon that field experts were working on two other bear incidents in the region and would hopefully be able to respond to Johnson “soon.” He confirmed that the yellow tag on the bear’s ear indicated it was the state agency’s jurisdiction and not federal.
Bears in crawl spaces are a common occurrence this time of year, with teams potentially responding to five of these incidents in a week, Klopping said.
If the bear isn’t removed soon, Johnson mused, he might have to take matters into his own hands.
“The plan is, I’m going to buy a bunch of dinner rolls, and line them down the street up to the hole, and have some sandbags ready,” Johnson said. “When he comes down the street to get the dinner rolls, throw sandbags in there and cover it with pepper spray, and just hope he stays away.”
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A court in Moldova sentenced oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc to 19 years in prison on Wednesday in a case linked to the disappearance of $1 billion (€850 million) from the country’s banking system.
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A former businessman, lawmaker and kingpin in the Democratic Party of Moldova, Plahotniuc fled Moldova in 2019, as he faced a series of corruption charges.
That included complicity in the scheme that led to money disappearing from Moldovan banks in 2014, which at the time was equivalent to around one-eighth of the country’s GDP.
He was extradited from Greece last year, after being arrested at Athens airport under an Interpol international alert.
A Chișinău judge announced the ruling on Wednesday.
The court also ordered the seizure of some $60 million (€51 million) from Plahotniuc’s accounts, said prosecutor Alexandru Cernei after the sentencing.
Plahotniuc, 60, was not present in court on Wednesday.
He had previously dismissed the charges, calling his trial “political” and “flawed from the outset.”
His lawyer Lucian Rogac said he would appeal the decision, deeming it “clearly illegal.”
“The entire process was conducted in a tremendous rush, with numerous violations of the defendant’s rights,” Rogac said.
After Plahotniuc’s return to the country, Moldovan prosecutors had demanded 25 years in jail, the maximum provided by law, in a case linked to the disappearance of money from three banks in 2014.
They accused Plahotniuc of forming and leading a criminal organisation, fraud and money laundering on a particularly large scale.
The influential businessman and politician was added to a US State Department sanctions list in 2022 for alleged corruption.
The charges included controlling the country’s law enforcement to target political and business rivals and meddling in Moldova’s elections.
He was added to a UK sanctions list in 2022 and barred from entering the country. His assets were frozen in Britain and its overseas territories.
Plahotniuc was accused of involvement in pro-Russian political campaigns and efforts to derail Moldova’s pro-EU course.
Additional sources • AP, AFP
World
How Sheila the three-wheeler dodged danger on a record 14,000-mile journey to tip of South Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Englishman Ollie Jenks remembers when his friend first pitched the idea to him.
“It was so ridiculous I couldn’t say no,” Jenks said.
The proposal by Canadian buddy Seth Scott, a fellow lover of cars and crazy adventures, was for them to drive a decades-old British-made Reliant Robin car from London to the southern tip of Africa — a 14,000-mile (22,500-kilometer) journey through 22 countries — to set a record for the longest trip in a three-wheeled vehicle.
Reliant Robins have cultlike status in the U.K. as humble three-wheelers that, in Jenks’ words, were designed to go to the shops and back in 1970s Britain. They went out of production in the early 2000s but remain loved in British culture, especially after a Reliant appeared as the Trotter brothers’ trusty but battered yellow van in the hugely popular sitcom “Only Fools and Horses.”
Yet you couldn’t find a less suitable vehicle to take thousands of miles through tropical jungles, mountain ranges and deserts down the west side of Africa. And that’s precisely why Jenks went for the absurd plan.
Sheila the three-wheeler
Sheila, the silver three-wheeler — one of the last Reliant Robins to be built — was acquired specifically for the adventure. Jenks and Scott set off in October with a can of fuel and a few essential supplies strapped to Sheila’s small roof, and a large amount of blind hope that they would somehow make it to Cape Town, South Africa, near the bottom of the world.
“No power steering, no air con, and it doesn’t do well up hills or down them. It is the most unsuitable car for probably any journey,” Jenks said in an unkind assessment of Sheila’s abilities. “We made friends with the designer of this car, and he’s scared to take it any more than 20 miles.”
Jenks and Scott ignored all the advice and took Sheila on the epic journey over four-and-a-half months that cost in the region of $40,000 to $50,000, Jenks said. They had help from sponsors and crowd funding, and documented the journey on an Instagram page that pulled in nearly 100,000 followers under the title: “14,000 miles, 3 wheels, 0 common sense.”
Attempted coups and airstrikes
They arrived in Benin during an attempted coup. They skirted through northern Nigeria as the U.S. launched airstrikes on Islamic State targets. They were given a military escort for about 300 miles (480 kilometers) through a region of separatist violence in Cameroon.
“Imagine this car in a military convoy,” Jenks said.
And there were many brushes with traffic-related danger, including when an overtaking bus almost flattened Sheila against a cliff face in Congo.
True to form that Reliants are sometimes not so reliable, there were also countless breakdowns on the punishing roads.
Sheila needed her wheel springs replaced in the first two weeks. The gearbox broke in Ghana, leaving them with only fourth gear. In Cameroon, there were clutch and distributor problems and then the big one: the engine blew up.
Through all the technical problems, the kindness of strangers and the intrepidness of Jenks and Scott kept them going. One man got a new gearbox shipped to Ghana. Reliant enthusiasts in the U.K. helped find a new engine to send to Cameroon.
After one breakdown, people helped load Sheila onto a cattle truck so she could be taken to a garage. Mechanics across the continent screwed, hammered and welded Sheila to keep her together, sometimes shaking their heads at the madness of it all.
Where no Reliant Robin has gone before
But there were also majestic moments, the kind that Jenks and Scott had envisioned to make it all worth it.
Sheila cruised through stunning mountain ranges and vast deserts — where surely no Reliant Robin has gone before. She went on safari, driving alongside galloping giraffes, spotting endangered rhinos, and posing for a picture next to a giant elephant.
More than 120 days after setting off, she rattled into Cape Town last month on an engine that began badly overheating in the Namibian desert and had been touch and go for about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers).
“This is a great underdog story,” said Graeme Hurst, a South African car lover who followed them on Instagram and came to see Sheila. “I see the farcical kind of comical nature of it … but also the sheer admiration. I mean, they have utter tenacity.”
In South Africa, Sheila was put on temporary display in a showroom for high-end cars and was the center of attention ahead of the glittering Porsches and Mercedes, showing off her broken side window, her petrol-stained windshield, her bent tire rims, and her countless dents and scratches.
She will rest now and be given the thorough service she deserves, Jenks said. Eventually, she’ll be driven to Kenya, put on a ship to Turkey, then make one last trip back to the U.K. to find a home at the London Transport Museum.
Jenks said he felt triumphant after reaching Cape Town, but relieved to have survived and finally be out of the tiny two-seater.
“It was like driving a motorized coffin,” he said.
___
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
World
Pope Leo urges Africans to stay and ‘serve your country’ instead of migrating as displacement climbs
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Pope Leo XIV last Friday urged African youth to work toward improving their own countries rather than migrating elsewhere in search of better opportunities.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church directed his remarks to university students at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, during an 11-day apostolic journey in Africa.
“In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate — which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found — I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens,” Leo said.
While displacement in Africa has steadily increased in recent years amid economic and political challenges, Leo said each country’s rising generations should be “committed to society,” reflect their nations’ needs and confront systemic issues at home.
BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: WHAT LEO’S CHOICE OF NAME TELLS US ABOUT THE NEW POPE
Pope Leo XIV speaks as he meets with the community of Bamenda at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda on the fourth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa April 16, 2026. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
“Africa, indeed, must be freed from the scourge of corruption. For young people, this awareness must take root from their years of formation,” he said.
“These are the witnesses of wisdom and justice, of which the African continent needs.”
He added that through education and spiritual formation, “you learn to become builders of the future of your respective countries and of a world that is more just and humane.”
POPE LEO SAYS HE’S UNAFRAID OF THE TRUMP ADMIN AFTER PRESIDENT CALLS HIM ‘TERRIBLE’ ON FOREIGN POLICY
Pope Leo XIV delivers a speech during his visit to Central African Catholic University as part of his Africa tour April 17, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu)
According to the World Migration Report, most of Africa’s displacement occurs internally within the continent, with 21 million Africans recorded as living in another African country in 2020.
Overseas African migration has also steadily increased, with figures more than doubling between 1990 and 2020.
In 2020, roughly 11 million Africans reportedly migrated to Europe, 5 million to Asia and 3 million to Northern America.
MORNING GLORY: LEO’S LAUNCH
Pope Leo XIV visits Central African Catholic University as part of his Africa tour April 17, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu)
The causes of displacement are largely attributed to political conflict, corruption, violence and economic hardship, including widespread poverty.
These factors are particularly pronounced in countries such as Somalia, one of Africa’s largest sources of refugees; Nigeria, which is riddled with natural disasters and economic pressures; and Sudan’s surrounding areas, where civil war, political instability and food insecurity have driven large-scale displacement.
The Pope’s remarks come just days after President Donald Trump criticized Leo on Truth Social, calling him “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy.”
The backlash followed the pontiff’s criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and his appeal for a return to peace.
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Tensions between the two boiled over several days before the Pope said last Saturday that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate the president.
Leo has insisted that his position is focused on bridging divides among nations and promoting peace and reconciliation.
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