By RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Preliminary data from a study conducted at the University of Oxford indicates that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca PLC is effective against the P1, or Brazilian, variant, a source with knowledge of the study told Reuters on Friday.The data indicates that the vaccine will not need to be modified in order to protect against the variant, which is believed to have originated in the Amazonian city of Manaus, said the source, who requested anonymity as the results have not yet been made public.The source did not provide the exact efficacy of the vaccine...…By RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Preliminary data from a study conducted at the University of Oxford indicates that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca PLC is effective against the P1, or Brazilian, variant, a source with knowledge of the study told Reuters on Friday.The data indicates that the vaccine will not need to be modified in order to protect against the variant, which is believed to have originated in the Amazonian city of Manaus, said the source, who requested anonymity as the results have not yet been made public.The source did not provide the exact efficacy of the vaccine...WW…

A man walks past the headquarters of Brazilian oil company Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comRIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro moved to replace the head of state-run oil company Petrobras, naming a retired army general with no oil and gas experience as CEO after weeks of clashes with the current chief executive over fuel price hikes.In a late Friday statement from the Mines and Energy Ministry, first shared on Bolsonaro's Facebook page, the...…A man walks past the headquarters of Brazilian oil company Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comRIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro moved to replace the head of state-run oil company Petrobras, naming a retired army general with no oil and gas experience as CEO after weeks of clashes with the current chief executive over fuel price hikes.In a late Friday statement from the Mines and Energy Ministry, first shared on Bolsonaro's Facebook page, the...WW…

By RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a bladder stone on Friday, a doctor for the Brazilian leader told Reuters.Bolsonaro will check in to a hospital in Sao Paulo on Thursday to prepare for the procedure and will be hospitalized until Saturday or Sunday at the latest, said Leandro Echenique, one of several doctors on Bolsonaro’s medical team.“It is something much simpler and more common than other surgeries”, Echenique said.The president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Echenique’s remarks....…By RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a bladder stone on Friday, a doctor for the Brazilian leader told Reuters.Bolsonaro will check in to a hospital in Sao Paulo on Thursday to prepare for the procedure and will be hospitalized until Saturday or Sunday at the latest, said Leandro Echenique, one of several doctors on Bolsonaro’s medical team.“It is something much simpler and more common than other surgeries”, Echenique said.The president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Echenique’s remarks....WW…

By , RIO DE JANEIRO/GENEVA (Reuters) - Brazil reached more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases and 50,000 deaths over the weekend as throngs of people swarmed Rio de Janeiro beaches, but the World Health Organization said on Monday that even more cases were likely going uncounted.Brazil’s health ministry said on Monday that an additional 21,432 confirmed cases of the virus and 654 new deaths had been registered in the previous 24 hours.A day earlier, swimmers and sunbathers packed Rio’s famous beaches, with many neither wearing masks nor respecting the WHO’s guidance to maintain 1...…By , RIO DE JANEIRO/GENEVA (Reuters) - Brazil reached more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases and 50,000 deaths over the weekend as throngs of people swarmed Rio de Janeiro beaches, but the World Health Organization said on Monday that even more cases were likely going uncounted.Brazil’s health ministry said on Monday that an additional 21,432 confirmed cases of the virus and 654 new deaths had been registered in the previous 24 hours.A day earlier, swimmers and sunbathers packed Rio’s famous beaches, with many neither wearing masks nor respecting the WHO’s guidance to maintain 1...WW…