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5 Places To Avoid During Festive Season

The festive season is a time of joy and celebration, but it also comes with more risks, especially visiting some places.
The “ember months” (September to December) bring more travel, busy activities, and sadly, an increase in crimes and accidents.
As people prepare for Christmas and New Year, staying safe is very important.
Here are five places to avoid during the festive season and the reasons why.
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Highways with a history of banditry
Highways are known for banditry and kidnappings. During the festive season, these roads become even more dangerous because many people are travelling. Criminals often target travelers for robbery or ransom. There are higher risks of hijackings, kidnappings, and armed robbery. Use safer routes or trusted transport services that have security arrangements.
Crowded markets
Busy markets are popular during the festive season. However, they are also hotspots for pickpockets, scammers, and even stampedes because of the large crowds.
Crowds increase the chances of theft, and emergencies like fires or stampedes can happen. Shop early or use online stores for safer and easier shopping.
Nightclubs and unsafe late-night spots
During the festive season, many people visit nightclubs and bars to celebrate. However, places in unsafe neighbourhoods or with poor lighting can be risky. Armed robbery, gang fights, or even kidnappings are common threats.
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These spots often lack proper security and can turn dangerous quickly. Choose well-secured venues and avoid staying out too late.
Remote villages or unsafe communities
Some villages face problems like banditry, terrorism, and communal clashes. Travelling to such places during the festive season can be risky as criminals take advantage of visitors.
These areas usually have poor security and emergency services. If you must go, inform authorities or travel with organised escorts.
Bus parks, train stations, and airports get very crowded during the festive season. These places are targets for pickpockets, scammers, and sometimes terrorists. Poor crowd control can also lead to accidents or panic situations.
Overcrowding raises the chances of theft, stampedes, and other dangers. Travel during less busy hours and stay alert at all times.
VANGUARD
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UK Nursery Worker Jailed For Abusing 21 Babies

A judge on Friday jailed a nursery worker for eight years for a string of “gratuitous” and “sadistic” attacks on babies.
In one incident, Londoner Roksana Lecka, 22, kicked a little boy in the face several times.
Lecka, who blamed cannabis for her crimes, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted after a trial of another 14 counts.
Sentencing her for attacks on 21 babies, Judge Sarah Plaschkes said she had committed “multiple acts of gratuitous violence” at two London nurseries where she worked.
“You pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked them. You pulled their ears, hair and their toes. You toppled children headfirst into cots,” she said.
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“Often the child would be quietly and happily minding its own business before you deliberately inflicted pain… Your criminal conduct can properly be characterised as sadistic,” she added.
Lecka’s cruelty was revealed in June 2024 after she was seen pinching a number of children.
Police were called in and found multiple incidents recorded on the nursery CCTV.
Victim impact statements submitted to London’s Kingston Crown Court from parents of Lecka’s victims told how they were left heartbroken and guilt-stricken by the attacks.
“These children were so innocent and vulnerable,” one mother told the court.
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“They couldn’t speak, they couldn’t defend themselves and they couldn’t tell us as parents that something had happened to them,” she added.
“They were totally helpless and Roksana preyed upon them.”
The hearing was told that she had apologised to the parents in a letter to the court in which she said cannabis had turned her into a different person.
She had been addicted to the drug around the time of the offences, but had not told the nursery.
She was found not guilty of three further counts of child cruelty.
Headline
Italy Fines Six Oil Firms $1bn Fine For Restricting Competition

Italy’s antitrust regulator said Friday it has slapped Italian energy giant Eni and five other companies with fines totalling more than 936 million euros ($1.1 billion) for “restricting competition” in the sale of fuel.
The authority said in a statement that Eni, Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras and Tamoil “coordinated to set the value of the bio component factored into fuel prices”, which tripled between 2019 and 2023.
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A probe following a whistleblower’s complaint revealed that “the companies implemented parallel price increases — largely coinciding — which were driven by direct or indirect information exchanges among them”, the authority said.
“The cartel began on 1 January 2020 and continued until 30 June 2023,” it added.
AFP
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Trump Signs Order For TikTok’s Sale, Valued At $14bn

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order declaring that his plan is to sell TikTok’s US operations to American and global investors.
As reported by Reuters on Friday, the order requires companies bidding for TikTok to meet the national-security requirements of the 2024 law that otherwise would ban the app unless its Chinese owners divest.
Speaking to reporters at an Oval Office briefing on Thursday, Vice President James Vance said the newly created US entity would be “valued around $14 billion.
“We actually think this is a good deal for investors, but they will make a determination about what they want to invest and what they think is the proper value,” he said.
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The White House on Thursday pushed back the law’s enforcement date to January 20 to allow time for the transaction, investor commitments, and negotiations with Chinese authorities.
The publication of the executive order shows Trump is making progress on the sale of TikTok’s US assets.
However, details remain to be worked out, including how the U.S. company would handle TikTok’s most valuable asset: its recommendation algorithm.
“There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law,” Vance said.
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According to Reuters, Trump’s order says the algorithm will be retrained and monitored by the U.S. company’s security partners, and operation of the algorithm will be under the control of the new joint venture.
Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had indicated approval of the plans. “I spoke with President Xi,” Trump said. “We had a good talk, I told him what we were doing, and he said go ahead with it.”
Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. TikTok did not immediately comment on Trump’s action.
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Trump has credited TikTok, which has 170 million U.S. users, with helping him win reelection last year. Trump has 15 million followers on his personal TikTok account. The White House also launched an official TikTok account last month.
“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said.
He said that Michael Dell, the founder, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies; Rupert Murdoch, the chairman emeritus of Fox News owner Fox Corp, and newspaper publisher News Corp, and “probably four or five absolutely world-class investors” would be part of the deal.
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