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Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls have been returned after they were kidnapped by gunmen last week. The group of almost 300 girls was taken from a boarding school in Jangebe, which is in the northwest of Nigeria. The governor of Zamfara state said the release of the girls "gladdens my heart."
Gunmen have freed all 279 girls kidnapped from a boarding school in northwest Nigeria, the governor of Zamfara state said https://t.co/b2LVZPiI1H pic.twitter.com/2bsRsoye6H
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 2, 2021
The head of the US Centres for Disease Control has warned that new COVID-19 variants could lead to a "potential fourth surge" in the number of cases in the country. Dr Rochelle Walensky said about 70,000 new cases and 2,000 deaths a day had been recorded in the US last week. Those numbers are "very high," she stressed.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky warns that, if we're not careful, the spread of highly contagious Covid-19 variants could reverse falling case numbers and delay the pandemic recovery that's just now coming over the horizon. https://t.co/aPR8s0DueE
— CNN (@CNN) March 2, 2021
A painting by Winston Churchill has been sold for over $12 million. The work, titled "The Tower Of The Koutoubia Mosque," was painted in Morocco during the Second World War. It was previously owned by the actress Angelina Jolie.
Angelina Jolie auctioned off Sir Winston Churchill’s sun-drenched view of Marrakesh for $11.6 million on Monday, nearly quadrupling its estimate and setting a record for art created by the World War II leader https://t.co/FBA34xyeT1
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 2, 2021
Things keep getting worse for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The once-feted Democratic big hitter is being urged to resign by members of his own party after a third woman came forward to accuse him of sexual impropriety. It comes after the governor was accused of a disastrous mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, including covering up the number of deaths in nursing homes to avoid criticism from then-President Donald Trump.
Calls for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo grew after a third woman came forward with sexual harassment accusations against him late on Monday https://t.co/iWI6wFMclE pic.twitter.com/YEDjF9CXmn
— Forbes (@Forbes) March 2, 2021
The US has announced sanctions against Russian officials over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Navalny came close to death after being targeted with a nerve agent in Siberia last year. US intelligence operatives said the Russian government – led by dictator Vladimir Putin – ordered the poisoning.
BREAKING: The Biden administration announces sanctions of Russian officials and businesses related to the poisoning and jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. https://t.co/wtEH3GYzpX
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 2, 2021