A TEARFUL seven-year-old Carnival queen led exuberant drummers through the Sambadrome stadium, in a distressed state that may add to controversy over whether a tiny child should perform such a high-pressure, sexually charged role.

A 37-YEAR-OLD Dutch tourist was in hospital in Rio de Janeiro yesterday after being shot twice by a mugger who attacked him and his wife after the city’s fabled Carnival festivities got underway, police said.

A FAMILY court judge has ruled that a 7-year-old girl should be allowed to samba before a crowd of thousands as a carnival drum corps queen, a coveted role normally reserved for sultry models.

Dancers dressed as slaves pushed a float decked out as the ship that brought the Portuguese royal family to Brazil two centuries ago, marking the final night of Rio’s annual carnival parade.

A Brazilian judge yesterday banned a Holocaust-themed float from Rio de Janeiro's famous carnival, saying it was a "clear trivialisation of barbaric events".