Brazil President Bolsonaro checks into hospital ahead of surgery

Brazil's newly inaugurated right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro checked into a hospital in Sao Paulo on Sunday ahead of a surgery to remove his colostomy bag, scheduled for the next day. Bolsonaro had a colostomy bag inserted after surviving a near-fatal stabbing to the intestine on the campaign trail in September.

The surgery is scheduled for 6 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) on Monday at the Albert Einstein hospital. After the surgery, doctors recommend Bolsonaro rest for 48 hours. During this period, Vice President Hamilton Mourao will take over the presidency, according to a statement from spokesman Otávio Santana do Rêgo Barros' office.

Bolsonaro is expected to stay in the hospital for 10 days and will establish contact with his advisers after the initial two-day recovery period, the statement said. The surgery was initially scheduled for December but was postponed after tests showed Bolsonaro's intestines were still inflamed.

(Reporting by Alexandre Caverni Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)