DAKAR, April 2 (Reuters) &#8211; A case of Ebola has been diagnosed in Guinea, a health agency spokesman said on Friday, resetting a count that had begun last week to declaring the country free of the virus.
The case was detected on Thursday in the southeastern town of Soulouta, less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from where the current outbreak began in February. &#8220;It is still unclear if this is a contact case. Investigations are ongoing,&#8221; the spokesman said.
A total of 15 people have tested positive for Ebola in the West African nation and nine have died since the outbreak began. It marked the first resurgence of the virus in Guinea since the disease&#8217;s deadliest epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2013 and 2016.
An Ebola outbreak is typically declared over once 42 days have passed following a second negative test of blood samples from the last confirmed case.
Guinea began a vaccination campaign to contain the spread of the virus, which causes severe bleeding and organ failure and is spread through contact with body fluids, at the end of February.
&#8220;Saddened to hear of the Ebola case reported in Guinea &#8230; We remain on high alert — supporting Guinean health authorities&#8217; surveillance efforts and preparedness in neighbouring areas,&#8221; Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization&#8217;s regional head for Africa, said on Twitter.
The WHO said in March that the February resurgence is likely to have been sparked by a latent infection in the human population from the last Ebola outbreak rather than from the virus jumping the species barrier again. (Reporting by Bate Felix, Writing by Cooper Inveen; editing by John Stonestreet)
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Guinea detects Ebola case, resetting count to end of outbreak

(Repeats story that ran on Thursday, with no changes)
* For a graphic on vaccine roll-out, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/3fzstuP
By John Miller and Ludwig Burger
ZURICH, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Europe, under fire for fumbling its vaccine roll-out and fighting a fresh wave of infections, is scrambling to speed up the pace of injections and avoid being left further behind by Britain and the United States.
In Paris, the city&#8217;s hallowed national soccer stadium is being transformed into a mass vaccination hub, while Italy &#8211; with 20,000 infections daily &#8211; has put the army and civil defence agency in charge, after new Prime Minister Mario Draghi fired the country&#8217;s vaccine czar.
Over Easter, Germany&#8217;s North Rhine-Westphalia state is relaxing rules on who can get 450,000 doses of AstraZeneca&#8217;s vaccine. Clotting concerns have prompted the country to limit the vaccine to people over the age of 60, but North Rhine-Westphalia hopes its measures will now allow more people in that age group to get a first dose.
Originally, it had wanted to give the AstraZeneca vaccine to pregnant women and their partners, among other priority groups.
&#8220;We can&#8217;t do that anymore, because I assume that those people &#8230; are under 60,&#8221; North Rhine Westphalia&#8217;s Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann told reporters.
&#8220;We didn&#8217;t want to bunker these shots, we decided we would get them via vaccination centres to people as quickly as possible.&#8221;
Europe&#8217;s urgency to reverse what the World Health Organization branded on Thursday an &#8220;unacceptably slow&#8221; start to vaccinations is growing, as variants first detected in Britain, South Africa and now Brazil whip up angst that acting too slowly will let the virus proliferate again.
The chaos of Europe&#8217;s roll-out has been exacerbated by squabbling over vaccine exports, health concerns over AstraZeneca&#8217;s vaccine and some temporary delivery delays affecting Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines.
The European Union was slower than Britain and the United States, not only to order vaccines last year from companies but also in approving them. Even once they were approved, vaccination rates have been disappointing.
The WHO estimates just 4% of 750 million people in 53 countries across continental Europe, from wealthier Scandinavia to poorer Balkan countries, have been fully vaccinated, a quarter of the U.S. count.
While the European Union&#8217;s vaccination rate is slowly climbing, only 13.4% of adults in the bloc have had at least one shot, according to Europe&#8217;s vaccine tracker.
By contrast, more than half of adult Britons and 38% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose, official figures and Reuters calculations show.
Still, the situation is improving: A Reuters analysis shows the seven-day average for the four largest countries &#8211; Germany, France, Italy and Spain &#8211; was at its highest yet during the last week.
Since Spain resumed AstraZeneca shots on March 24 after suspending them temporarily over clotting concerns, its seven-day rolling average of vaccinations rose to nearly 200,000 shots a day, from 95,283 daily a week earlier, Spanish officials said.
The country is now converting venues like conference centres and, like France, football stadiums, into mass vaccination centres, and expects to inoculate 70% of its 47 million population by the end of summer.
Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias has said that April will be &#8220;an inflection point&#8221;, as more vaccines flood into the country.
The EU expects a major ramp-up of deliveries in the second quarter will be sufficient to inoculate at least 255 million people, or 70% of its adult population, by July.
About 200 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech&#8217;s vaccine are due in the quarter, enough for 100 million people, while deliveries of Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s single-dose shot will start this month.

VETS, DENTISTS, COMPANIES
France is also converting veterinarian and dentists&#8217; offices into vaccine centres, while Italy has abandoned primrose-shaped pavilions in its squares and is getting doctors, dentists and pharmacists to dispense doses instead. The aim is to more than double daily vaccinations to half a million from 230,000 currently.
Pharmacies in Switzerland are also preparing to start offering doses to people over 65 this month, but the government expects that once mass vaccinations become possible, likely sometime in May, private companies will have a role, similar to flu clinics some offer each year to employees.
The Swiss government expects 10.5 million doses by July, enough for roughly 5.2 million people.
&#8220;There won&#8217;t just be shots in vaccination centres, doctors and pharmacists,&#8221; Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset said on Wednesday. &#8220;That&#8217;s something we&#8217;re hoping for, something we&#8217;re supporting.&#8221;
(Reporting by John Miller in Zurich, Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, Emilio Parodi in Milan, Francesco Guarascio in Brussels, Matthias Blamont in Paris, Maria Sheahan in Berlin, Nathan Allen in Madrid; Editing by Josephine Mason and Susan Fenton)
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RPT-Europe recasts COVID-19 vaccine playbook after first-round flop

* India asks refiners for joint oil buying negotiations-oil secy
* Sellers must be mindful of India&#8217;s huge oil demand-oil secy
* Supply cuts hit refiners&#8217; procurement plan-oil ministry official
By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI, April 2 (Reuters) &#8211; When India&#8217;s government last month asked refiners to speed up diversification and reduce dependence on the Middle East &#8211; days after OPEC+ said it would maintain production cuts &#8211; it sent a message about its clout and foreshadowed changes to the world&#8217;s energy maps.
It was a move that had been in the works for years, fuelled by repeated comments from Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who in 2015 called oil purchases a &#8220;weapon&#8221; for his country.
When the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries and Major Producers (OPEC+) extended the production cuts into April, India unsheathed that weapon. Indian refiners plan to cut imports from the Kingdom by about a quarter in May, sources told Reuters, dropping them to 10.8 million barrels from monthly average of 14.7-14.8 million barrels.
Oil secretary Tarun Kapoor, the top bureaucrat in the ministry, told Reuters that India is asking state refiners to jointly negotiate with oil producers to get better deals, but declined to comment on plans to cut Saudi imports.
&#8220;India is a big market so sellers have to be mindful of our country&#8217;s demand as well to keep the long-term relationship intact,&#8221; he said.
The Saudi state oil company Saudi Aramco and the Saudi energy ministry declined to comment.
Pradhan, who sees high oil prices as a threat to India&#8217;s recovering economy, said he was saddened by the OPEC+ decision. India&#8217;s fuel import bill has rocketed, and fuel prices – inflated by government taxes imposed last year &#8211; have hit records.
The International Energy Agency forecasts India&#8217;s consumption to double and its oil import bill to nearly triple from 2019 levels to more than $250 billion by 2040.
An oil ministry official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the OPEC+ cuts have created uncertainty and made it difficult for refiners to plan for procurement and price risk.
It also creates opportunities for companies in the Americas, Africa, Russia and elsewhere to fill the gap.
If India is successful, it will set an example for other countries. As buyers see more affordable choices and renewable energy becomes increasingly common, the influence of big producers like Saudi Arabia could wane, altering geopolitics and trade routes.


DIVERSIFICATION DRIVE
India&#8217;s oil demand has risen by 25% in the last seven years &#8211; more than any other major buyer &#8211; and the country has surpassed Japan as the world&#8217;s third-largest oil importer and consumer.
The country has already curbed its reliance on the Middle East from more than 64% of imports in 2016 to below 60% in 2019.
That trend reversed in 2020, however, when the pandemic pummelled fuel demand and forced Indian refiners to make committed oil purchases from the Middle East under term contracts, shunning spot purchases.
As India shifts gears again after Pradhan&#8217;s call for faster diversification, refineries are looking for new suppliers, the oil ministry official said.
Costly refinery upgrades that allow for the processing of cheaper, heavier oil grades have encouraged importers to seek out far-flung sources. HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd bought the country&#8217;s first cargo from Guyana this month, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd just imported Brazilian Tupi crude for the first time.
In past years, refiners have jointly negotiated https://www.reuters.com/article/india-iran-oil-idINKCN1G10L5 oil deals with sanctions-hit Iran, which offered free shipping https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-iran-oil-idUSKCN1G10T4 and price discounts, and now plan to do the same with other producers.
Since the break with Saudi Arabia began, Pradhan has had meetings with United Arab Emirates&#8217; minister of state and chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, and U.S. energy secretary Jennifer Granholm to strengthen energy partnerships.
Pradhan recently said African nations could play a central role in India&#8217;s oil diversification. The country is looking at signing long-term oil supply deal with Guyana and exploring options to raise imports from Russia, the oil ministry source said.
A separate Indian government source said the government expects Iranian sanctions to ease in three to four months, potentially offering India a cheaper alternative to Saudi oil.
Two traders agreed that Iran stood a good chance to benefit from India&#8217;s shift, as did Venezuela, Kuwait and the United States. An Indian refinery source said the U.S., Africa, Kazakhstan&#8217;s CPC Blend and Russian oil would probably get a look too.
Although Indian importers will scoop up increasing volumes of attractively priced global grades, most analysts expect the Middle East to remain India&#8217;s primary oil supplier, mainly because of lower shipping costs.
India&#8217;s oil ministry is working with refiners on a framework to jointly negotiate terms with suppliers.
&#8220;Buyers have alternatives in today&#8217;s market and these alternatives are going to multiply going forward,&#8221; Kapoor said. &#8220;There are so many companies in India that do buying at their own level, so these companies coming together also becomes quite a big bloc.&#8221;
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ agreed after discussions with U.S. officials to ease oil curbs beginning in May.
Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman conceded that the production cuts had put state oil company Aramco &#8220;in some difficulty with some of its partners.&#8221;

THE RELATIONSHIP
Analysts say the oil spat does not need to spill over into broader strategic ties in other sectors, including defence.
&#8220;Until recently, the balance of power was skewed towards Saudi Arabia, but increasingly, India is using access to its market and the diversity of options to put pressure on Saudi Arabia,&#8221; consultancy Eurasia said in a note. &#8220;For Saudi Arabia, losing market share in a global environment in which most developed economies are already seeing their oil demand decline due to green policy implementation, would be a blow.&#8221;
Abdulaziz confirmed that Aramco had maintained normal April oil supplies to Indian refiners while cutting volumes for other buyers &#8211; a sign Saudi Arabia is concerned about India&#8217;s search for new sources.
Saudi Arabia is India&#8217;s fourth-biggest trade partner, importing a slew of items, including food. Saudi Armaco is looking at buying a 20% stake in Reliance Industries&#8217; oil and chemicals business. It is also a part of a joint venture to build a 1.2 million barrels per day refinery in India.
But Amitendu Palit, senior research fellow at National University of Singapore, said it would be difficult for Saudi to find a stable alternative buyer if India continues with reduced purchases for too long.
&#8220;This bilateral relationship should not be impacted due to any decisions on one commodity. However in a global surplus, market buyers have a lot of negotiating power and sources,&#8221; Palit said.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma Editing by Florence Tan and Gerry Doyle)
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ANALYSIS-Power play: India wields oil ‘weapon’ to cut dependence on Saudi

NAIROBI, April 2 (Reuters) &#8211; The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Friday. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; GLOBAL MARKETS Asian markets were set to open higher on Friday in a holiday-lightened trading session, riding a surge of strong factory data and falling bold yields that pushed U.S. and European benchmark stock indexes to record highs. WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices settled up more than $2 Thursday despite news that OPEC+ reached a deal to gradually ease production cuts from May. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest news on African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South Africa&#8217;s rand extended gains against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as positive manufacturing activity and new vehicle sales data pointed to a recovery in the economy. AFRICA CURRENCIES Kenya&#8217;s shilling is expected to gain ground against the dollar next week while the Zambian kwacha could weaken, traders said. KENYA MARKETS Kenya&#8217;s shilling was stable on Thursday, and was expected to gain ground, helped muted importer demand, remittance inflows and commercial banks shedding their long dollar positions, traders said. SOUTH SUDAN ECONOMY South Sudan&#8217;s central bank ordered banks on Thursday to start using one foreign exchange rate in order to reduce market distortions, seeking to stabilise an economy reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and years of war. MOZAMBIQUE BREWERY Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABinBEV), the world’s largest beer producer, has opened a new $180 million brewery in Mozambique, the firm said on Thursday. NAMIBIA ECONOMY Namibia will for the first time receive $271 million from the International Monetary Fund to address the country’s deteriorating fiscal position which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, its finance ministry said on Thursday. For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on 
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African Markets – Factors to watch on April 2

CHAIRMAN OF AFRICAN CAUCUS NDIHOKUBWAYO TOLD IMF CHIEF GEORGIEVA AFRICA NEEDS &#8216;SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL FINANCING&#8217; TO MEET KEY DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES &#8211; JOINT STATEMENT
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CHAIRMAN OF AFRICAN CAUCUS NDIHOKUBWAYO TOLD IMF CHIEF GEORGIEVA AFRICA NEEDS ‘SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL FINANCING’ TO MEET KEY DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES – JOINT STATEMENT

Apr 2 (OPTA) &#8211; Scores from the PGA Tour Valero Texas Open on Thursday -8 Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 64 -6 Sung-hoon Kang (Korea Republic) 66 Cameron Tringale (USA) 66 -5 Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 67 Seung-Yul Noh (Korea Republic) 67 Jordan Spieth (USA) 67 -4 Tom Hoge (USA) 68 Sebastian Munoz (Colombia) 68 Scottie Scheffler (USA) 68 -3 Kevin Stadler (USA) 69 Matt Wallace (England) 69 Vincent Whaley (USA) 69 -2 Rafa Cabrera Bello (Spain) 70 Adam Hadwin (Canada) 70 Brandon Hagy (USA) 70 Padraig Harrington (Republic of Ireland) 70 Matt Kuchar (USA) 70 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Korea Republic) 70 Pat Perez (USA) 70 Brendan Steele (USA) 70 Martin Trainer (USA) 70 -1 Keegan Bradley (USA) 71 Wesley Bryan (USA) 71 Corey Conners (Canada) 71 Cameron Davis (Australia) 71 Zach Harris Johnson (USA) 71 Patton Kizzire (USA) 71 Anirban Lahiri (India) 71 Denny McCarthy (USA) 71 Ryan Moore (USA) 71 Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) 71 Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 71 Kyle Stanley (USA) 71 Sepp Straka (Austria) 71 Vaughn Taylor (USA) 71 Erik Van Rooyen (South Africa) 71 Gary Woodland (USA) 71 0 Abraham Ancer (Mexico) 72 Akshay Bhatia (USA) 72 Joseph Bramlett (USA) 72 Rafael Campos (Puerto Rico) 72 K.J. Choi (Korea Republic) 72 Jason Dufner (USA) 72 Brice Garnett (USA) 72 Will Gordon (USA) 72 John Huh (USA) 72 Si Woo Kim (Korea Republic) 72 Chris Kirk (USA) 72 Martin Laird (Scotland) 72 Keith Mitchell (USA) 72 Ryan Palmer (USA) 72 Doc Redman (USA) 72 Chase Seiffert (USA) 72 Roger Sloan (Canada) 72 Brandt Snedeker (USA) 72 Jimmy Walker (USA) 72 1 Ryan Brehm (USA) 73 Tyler Duncan (USA) 73 Tony Finau (USA) 73 Michael Gligic (Canada) 73 Lucas Glover (USA) 73 Chesson Hadley (USA) 73 Scott Harrington (USA) 73 David Hearn (Canada) 73 Charles Howell III (USA) 73 Tain Lee (USA) 73 Tom Lewis (England) 73 Luke List (USA) 73 Adam Long (USA) 73 Peter Malnati (USA) 73 Ben Martin (USA) 73 Matthew NeSmith (USA) 73 D.A. Points (USA) 73 Greyson Sigg (USA) 73 Brian Stuard (USA) 73 Nick Taylor (Canada) 73 Harold Varner III (USA) 73 Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 73 Danny Willett (England) 73 2 Ryan Armour (USA) 74 Sebastian Cappelen (Denmark) 74 Joel Dahmen (USA) 74 Sam Fidone (USA) 74 Doug Ghim (USA) 74 Harry Higgs (USA) 74 Beau Hossler (USA) 74 Russell Knox (Scotland) 74 Hunter Mahan (USA) 74 Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) 74 Adam Schenk (USA) 74 D.J. Trahan (USA) 74 Bo Van Pelt (USA) 74 Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela) 74 Kristoffer Ventura (Norway) 74 3 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 75 Sam Burns (USA) 75 Kevin Chappell (USA) 75 Branden Grace (South Africa) 75 Lanto Griffin (USA) 75 Charley Hoffman (USA) 75 Kelly Kraft (USA) 75 Andrew Landry (USA) 75 Davis Love III (USA) 75 Patrick Rodgers (USA) 75 Sam Ryder (USA) 75 Carlos Sainz Jr (USA) 75 Robby Shelton (USA) 75 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 75 Aaron Wise (USA) 75 4 Scott Brown (USA) 76 Bronson Burgoon (USA) 76 Rickie Fowler (USA) 76 Brian Gay (USA) 76 Rhein Gibson (Australia) 76 Kramer Hickok (USA) 76 Bo Hoag (USA) 76 Michael Kim (USA) 76 Satoshi Kodaira (Japan) 76 Nate Lashley (USA) 76 Hank Lebioda (USA) 76 Troy Merritt (USA) 76 Cameron Percy (Australia) 76 Ted Potter Jr (USA) 76 5 Byeong Hun An (Korea Republic) 77 Cameron Champ (USA) 77 Luke Donald (England) 77 Austin Eckroat (USA) 77 Jim Furyk (USA) 77 Danny Lee (New Zealand) 77 Mac Meissner (USA) 77 Rob Oppenheim (USA) 77 Andrew Putnam (USA) 77 Scott Stallings (USA) 77 6 Austin Cook (USA) 78 J.B. Holmes (USA) 78 J.J. Killeen (USA) 78 Henrik Norlander (Sweden) 78 J.J. Spaun (USA) 78 7 Phil Mickelson (USA) 79 Nick Watney (USA) 79 Xinjun Zhang (China PR) 79 8 Sam Bennett (USA) 80 11 Sean O&#8217;Hair (USA) 83 13 Patrick Grimes (USA) 85 
(c) Copyright Opta Sports Data 2021. All Rights Reserved
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PGA Tour Valero Texas Open Scores

DUBLIN, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; The Irish government on Thursday added 26 countries to a list of states subject to mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival because of the coronavirus, but did not include additional countries from the European Union or the United States.
According to a report in the Irish Independent newspaper, the government had been advised by the Chief Medical Officer to add 43 countries including the United States, France, Germany and Italy to a list of jurisdictions subject to 12-day hotel quarantine on arrival.
A decision regarding &#8220;additional states will be considered in advance of the next Government meeting&#8221; said the Minister for Health and the Minister for Foreign Affairs in a joint statement.
The states added on Thursday are: Albania, Andorra, Aruba, Bahrain, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Palestine, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Serbia, Somalia and Wallis and Futuna Islands.
Ireland has some of the strictest travel restrictions in the European Union and last week followed England in bringing in hotel quarantine for arrivals of people from countries deemed &#8220;high risk&#8221; or those without a negative COVID-19 test.
Including the new additions, there are 58 countries on the &#8220;designated States&#8221; list, most of which are in the Middle-East, Africa, Central and South America.
Austria is currently the only EU member on the list.
Arrivals must quarantine for up to 14 days in a hotel room or can leave after 10 if they test negative for COVID-19.
Travellers from newly-added states will have to book accommodation for mandatory hotel quarantine if they intend to arrive in Ireland after 4 am on April 6.
The Republic of Mauritius was removed from the list. (Reporting by Graham Fahy; editing by Diane Craft)
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Ireland adds 26 countries to mandatory quarantine list, removes one

(There will be no Latin America-focused emerging market report on Friday due to the Good Friday holiday. Reuters will resume coverage on Monday, April 5. The EMEA-focused report will resume on Tuesday, April 6.) * Mexican peso trades at 2-week high * Brazil detects new virus variant * Most Latam stock markets closed on Thurs (Adds comments, updates prices throughout) By Sruthi Shankar and Shreyashi Sanyal April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Latin American currencies were mixed on Thursday, with the Mexican peso trading at a two-week high against the dollar, while the Brazilian real weakened as data underscored the economic damaged caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The peso rose 0.7% to trade at 19.36 per dollar, outperforming its Latin American peers as crude prices jumped almost 1% on hopes that OPEC and its allies will keep production curbs in place, lifting the oil exporter&#8217;s currency. The peso shed 2.7% in value against the dollar in the first quarter, still faring better than a 5.6% drop for a wider index of Latin American currencies as investors hoped that a strong U.S. economy recovery will help the trade-reliant neighbor, Mexico. &#8220;We expect Mexico&#8217;s financial assets and currency to be among the best performers as the country stands to benefit most among emerging markets from the large fiscal stimulus in the U.S. in our view,&#8221; economists at Capital Economics wrote in a note. As per a Reuters poll of economists, the peso is likely to appreciate 1% to 20.32 per U.S. dollar in one year. The real, meanwhile, is seen at 5.31 per U.S. dollar in 12 months, representing an expected 8.4% gain from Wednesday but a big 3.9% drop from last month&#8217;s survey. The real currency was last trading down 1.2% at 5.6995 per dollar. Adding to Brazil&#8217;s pandemic woes, a new COVID-19 variant similar to the one first seen in South Africa was detected as the country notched another record daily death toll. Data showed industrial production in Brazil fell in February for the first time in 10 months, an unexpected decline that adds weight to a growing view that Latin America&#8217;s largest economy shrank in the first quarter. Investors were also nervous about the country&#8217;s fiscal health after Treasury this week warned the 2021 budget approved by Congress threatens one of the government&#8217;s key pillars of fiscal stability. The Colombian and the Chilean pesos edged up against the dollar, though trading overall was thin ahead of the long weekend. Among stocks, Brazil&#8217;s Bovespa fell 1% on worries about the pandemic even as global stocks rallied on hopes of a strong global economic recovery. Stock markets in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina were closed on account of Easter holidays. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1335.27 1.43 MSCI LatAm 2278.18 -1.04 Brazil Bovespa 115436.95 -1.03 Mexico IPC 47246.26 -1.38 Chile IPSA 4866.53 -0.64 Argentina MerVal 47982.39 -0.225 Colombia COLCAP 1316.81 -0.79 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.6995 -1.24 Mexico peso 20.3123 0.54 Chile peso 717 0.40 Colombia peso 3654.2 0.13 Peru sol 3.7427 0.00 Argentina peso (interbank) 91.9800 -0.02 Argentina peso (parallel) 138 2.17 (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru Editing by Alistair Bell and Marguerita Choy) 
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
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EMERGING MARKETS-Mexican peso at 2-week high, real slides on virus worries

* For a graphic on vaccine roll-out, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/3fzstuP
By John Miller and Ludwig Burger
ZURICH, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Europe, under fire for fumbling its vaccine roll-out and fighting a fresh wave of infections, is scrambling to speed up the pace of injections and avoid being left further behind by Britain and the United States.
In Paris, the city&#8217;s hallowed national soccer stadium is being transformed into a mass vaccination hub, while Italy &#8211; with 20,000 infections daily &#8211; has put the army and civil defence agency in charge, after new Prime Minister Mario Draghi fired the country&#8217;s vaccine czar.
Over Easter, Germany&#8217;s North Rhine-Westphalia state is relaxing rules on who can get 450,000 doses of AstraZeneca&#8217;s vaccine. Clotting concerns have prompted the country to limit the vaccine to people over the age of 60, but North Rhine-Westphalia hopes its measures will now allow more people in that age group to get a first dose.
Originally, it had wanted to give the AstraZeneca vaccine to pregnant women and their partners, among other priority groups.
&#8220;We can&#8217;t do that anymore, because I assume that those people &#8230; are under 60,&#8221; North Rhine Westphalia&#8217;s Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann told reporters.
&#8220;We didn&#8217;t want to bunker these shots, we decided we would get them via vaccination centres to people as quickly as possible.&#8221;
Europe&#8217;s urgency to reverse what the World Health Organization branded on Thursday an &#8220;unacceptably slow&#8221; start to vaccinations is growing, as variants first detected in Britain, South Africa and now Brazil whip up angst that acting too slowly will let the virus proliferate again.
The chaos of Europe&#8217;s roll-out has been exacerbated by squabbling over vaccine exports, health concerns over AstraZeneca&#8217;s vaccine and some temporary delivery delays affecting Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines.
The European Union was slower than Britain and the United States, not only to order vaccines last year from companies but also in approving them. Even once they were approved, vaccination rates have been disappointing.
The WHO estimates just 4% of 750 million people in 53 countries across continental Europe, from wealthier Scandinavia to poorer Balkan countries, have been fully vaccinated, a quarter of the U.S. count.
While the European Union&#8217;s vaccination rate is slowly climbing, only 13.4% of adults in the bloc have had at least one shot, according to Europe&#8217;s vaccine tracker.
By contrast, more than half of adult Britons and 38% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose, official figures and Reuters calculations show.
Still, the situation is improving: A Reuters analysis shows the seven-day average for the four largest countries &#8211; Germany, France, Italy and Spain &#8211; was at its highest yet during the last week.
Since Spain resumed AstraZeneca shots on March 24 after suspending them temporarily over clotting concerns, its seven-day rolling average of vaccinations rose to nearly 200,000 shots a day, from 95,283 daily a week earlier, Spanish officials said.
The country is now converting venues like conference centres and, like France, football stadiums, into mass vaccination centres, and expects to inoculate 70% of its 47 million population by the end of summer.
Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias has said that April will be &#8220;an inflection point&#8221;, as more vaccines flood into the country.
The EU expects a major ramp-up of deliveries in the second quarter will be sufficient to inoculate at least 255 million people, or 70% of its adult population, by July.
About 200 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech&#8217;s vaccine are due in the quarter, enough for 100 million people, while deliveries of Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s single-dose shot will start this month.

VETS, DENTISTS, COMPANIES
France is also converting veterinarian and dentists&#8217; offices into vaccine centres, while Italy has abandoned primrose-shaped pavilions in its squares and is getting doctors, dentists and pharmacists to dispense doses instead. The aim is to more than double daily vaccinations to half a million from 230,000 currently.
Pharmacies in Switzerland are also preparing to start offering doses to people over 65 this month, but the government expects that once mass vaccinations become possible, likely sometime in May, private companies will have a role, similar to flu clinics some offer each year to employees.
The Swiss government expects 10.5 million doses by July, enough for roughly 5.2 million people.
&#8220;There won&#8217;t just be shots in vaccination centres, doctors and pharmacists,&#8221; Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset said on Wednesday. &#8220;That&#8217;s something we&#8217;re hoping for, something we&#8217;re supporting.&#8221;
(Reporting by John Miller in Zurich, Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, Emilio Parodi in Milan, Francesco Guarascio in Brussels, Matthias Blamont in Paris, Maria Sheahan in Berlin, Nathan Allen in Madrid; Editing by Josephine Mason and Susan Fenton)
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Europe recasts COVID-19 vaccine playbook after first-round flop

KYIV, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Ukraine has confirmed some cases of the novel coronavirus variant that was first discovered in South Africa, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said on Thursday.
&#8220;In two of our regions the South African strain of coronavirus has been found,&#8221; he told a local TV channel. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; editing by Matthias Williams)
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South African coronavirus variant found in Ukraine – health minister

JOHANNESBURG, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Thursday it had imposed administrative sanctions on Deutsche Bank&#8217;s Johannesburg arm after finding weaknesses in its money laundering control measures.
The country&#8217;s central bank said it had found the weaknesses in Deutsche&#8217;s branch following an inspection conducted in 2019.
A penalty of 28 million rand ($1.91 million) has been imposed on Deutsche Bank, SARB said.
It imposed another sanction for a similar reason on life insurer Discovery Life Limited with a penalty of 500,000 rand. ($1 = 14.6316 rand) (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg)
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S.Africa’s central bank imposes sanctions on Deutsche Bank’s local branch

* Mexican peso trades at 2-week high * Brazil detects new virus variant * Most Latam stock markets closed on Thurs By Sruthi Shankar April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Latin American currencies were mixed on Thursday, with the Mexican peso trading at a two-week high against the dollar, while the Brazilian real weakened as data underscored the economic damaged caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The peso rose 0.5% to trade at 20.3 per dollar, outperforming its Latin American peers as crude prices jumped almost 1% on hopes that OPEC and its allies will keep production curbs in place, lifting the oil exporter&#8217;s currency. The peso shed 2.7% in value against the dollar in the first quarter, still faring better than a 5.6% drop for a wider index of Latin American currencies as investors hoped that a strong U.S. economy recovery will help the trade-reliant neighbor, Mexico. &#8220;The spillover from the recent U.S. stimulus package has improved Mexico&#8217;s medium-term outlook and will support an export-led recovery, especially in the second half of the year,&#8221; Wilson Ferrarezi, an economist at TS Lombard wrote in a note. As per a Reuters poll of economists, the peso is likely to appreciate 1% to 20.32 per U.S. dollar in one year. The real, meanwhile, is seen at 5.31 per U.S. dollar in 12 months, representing an expected 8.4% gain from Wednesday but a big 3.9% drop from last month&#8217;s survey. The real currency was last trading down 1% at 5.686 per dollar. Adding to Brazil&#8217;s pandemic woes, a new COVID-19 variant similar to the one first seen in South Africa was detected as the country notched another record daily death toll. Data showed industrial production in Brazil fell in February for the first time in 10 months, an unexpected decline that adds weight to a growing view that Latin America&#8217;s largest economy shrank in the first quarter. Investors were also nervous about the country&#8217;s fiscal health after Treasury this week warned the 2021 budget approved by Congress threatens one of the government&#8217;s key pillars of fiscal stability. The Colombian and the Chilean pesos edged up against the dollar, though trading overall was thin ahead of the long weekend. Among stocks, Brazil&#8217;s Bovespa fell 0.4% on worries about the pandemic even as global stocks rallied on hopes of a strong global economic recovery. Stock markets in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina were closed on account of Easter holidays. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies: Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1337.44 1.6 MSCI LatAm 2285.48 -0.72 Brazil Bovespa 116160.48 -0.41 Mexico IPC &#8211; &#8211; Chile IPSA 4891.21 -0.14 Argentina MerVal &#8211; &#8211; Colombia COLCAP &#8211; &#8211; Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.6875 -1.03 Mexico peso 20.3140 0.53 Chile peso 716 0.54 Colombia peso 3647.25 0.32 Peru sol 3.7427 0.00 Argentina peso (interbank) &#8211; &#8211; (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru Editing by Alistair Bell) 
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EMERGING MARKETS-Mexican peso at 2-week high, real slides on pandemic woes

MAPUTO, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Mozambique coach Luis Goncalves became the second victim of African Cup of Nations&#8217; failure when he was sacked on Thursday, the country’s football federation said.
The Portuguese coach, who had been in the post since August 2019, was dismissed after the country’s failure to qualify for next year’s finals in Cameroon.
Mozambique were in second place going into their final two Group F matches but finished bottom after losing their last two games 1-0 to Rwanda and the Cape Verde Islands.
On Wednesday, South Africa fired their coach Molefi Ntseki after also missing out on the finals.
Both countries have limited time to find successors before the group phase of qualifiers for the next World Cup starts in June. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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Soccer-Mozambique fire coach after Cup of Nations exit

WINDHOEK, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Namibia will for the first time receive $271 million from the International Monetary Fund to address the country’s deteriorating fiscal position which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, its finance ministry said on Thursday.
Namibia had previously avoided loans from the IMF since becoming a member in 1990, but the pandemic has hurt the country&#8217;s economy. Eighty-five nations have sought assistance from the lender under its Rapid Financing Instrument in the last 12 months.
The finance ministry said the funds will assist in the response to the COVID-19 health emergency, including the purchase and deployment of vaccines.
“The COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout have created a situation where Namibia’s fiscal deficit is widening substantially,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
Although Namibia has had just over 44,000 confirmed cases and 528 deaths compared to neighbouring South Africa which has had over 1.5 million infections, its economy has been severely battered.
The southwest African country’s debt is set to rise to 76.2% of GDP with a budget deficit of 8.6% of GDP in 2021/22.
Namibia&#8217;s statistics office said GDP had contracted by a record 8% in 2020, worse than the 7.3% estimate by the Bank of Namibia.
Only around 1,500 people have been vaccinated in Namibia so far, despite the country receiving 100,000 doses of the Chinese-donated Sinopharm vaccine and 30,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine donated by India. (Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa Editing by Tanisha Heiberg and Bernadette Baum)
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Namibia gets first-ever funds from IMF to help fight COVID-19

CAIRO, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Next year’s re-arranged Africa Cup of Nations finals will be played in Cameroon from Jan. 9-Feb. 6, the Confederation of African football said on Thursday.
The finals were postponed from this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The teams that have qualified are Cameroon (hosts), Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde Islands, Comoros Islands, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.
The 24th and final place will be decided in June between Benin and Sierra Leone.
The draw for the finals will be held on June 25, CAF added, but did not give a venue. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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Soccer-Dates set for Africa Cup of Nations finals

MAPUTO, April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABinBEV), the world’s largest beer producer, has opened a new $180 million brewery in Mozambique, the firm said on Thursday.
The new site has a capacity of 2.4 million hectolitres per year, with potential to expand that to 6.7 million.
Located in Marracuene, 30 km north of the capital Maputo, it represents the biggest investment in the sector in Mozambique.
The Heineken group began producing beer in Mozambique in 2019 at a $100 million factory, also in Marracuene, with a production capacity of 800,000 hectolitres per year.
The new ABinBev facility was built from scratch. It employed more than two thousand Mozambicans during the construction phase, and currently employs over 200 people on a permanent basis.
It will be operated by its subsidiary, the Mozambican brewery Cervejas de Mocambique (CDM).
Tomaz Salomao, President of CDM, called it &#8220;the biggest and (most) modern factory in the country and in Africa&#8221;, adding that it aimed to supply markets throughout the region.
The new facility will produce 80,000 bottles per hour, Salomao said. He also announced that the ABinBEV subsidiary would donate $1 million for the country to buy COVID-19 vaccines.
ABinBev paid around $100 billion in 2016 to acquire rival group SABMiller. It now produces two of the most popular beer brands in Mozambique – 2M and Laurentina. (Reporting by Manuel Mucari; editing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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ABinBEV opens $180 mln brewery plant in Mozambique

April 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Basil Read Holdings Ltd:
* JSE: BSR &#8211; UPDATE TO THE BASIL READ LIMITED BUSINESS RESCUE PLAN
* BASIL READ HOLDINGS LTD &#8211; MINING BUSINESS HAS ENTERED PREFERRED BIDDER NEGOTIATIONS WITH CLIENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND BOTSWANA
* BASIL READ HOLDINGS &#8211; AGGREGATE CONTINGENT LIABILITY IN FORM OF GUARANTEES REDUCED TO R119 MILLION VERSUS R1.1 BILLION AT BEGINNING OF RESCUE PROCEEDINGS
* BASIL READ HOLDINGS LTD &#8211; MINING BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS WHEN CONCLUDED IN COMING WEEKS, WILL EFFECTIVELY INCREASE ORDER BOOK BY MORE THAN R1.5 BN
* BASIL READ HOLDINGS &#8211; BRL CONTINUES TO PURSUE CONTRACT CLAIMS AS IT RELIES HEAVILY ON CLAIMS PROCEEDS TO MEET ITS COMMITMENTS
* BASIL READ HOLDINGS LTD &#8211; FROM A BASIL READ HOLDINGS LIMITED PERSPECTIVE, IMPLEMENTATION OF BUSINESS RESCUE PLAN OF BASIL READ LIMITED CONTINUES
* BASIL READ HOLDINGS &#8211; BUSINESS RESCUE PRACTITIONERS REMAIN OF VIEW THAT FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN WILL ACHIEVE BETTER RESULT THAN LIQUIDATION
* BASIL READ HOLDINGS LTD &#8211; WILL NOT BE IN A POSITION TO RELEASE FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR PERIOD ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2020 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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