Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival festivities have come to a close, but the city can’t resume regular life until “the count” of scores from the parade competition is completed and a victor is proclaimed.

María Elena Ríos has conflicting feelings about her saxophone: She once blamed the instrument for bringing her to the brink of death — but it also has been her salvation.

In an industrial corridor of Peru’s capital, a dingy stairwell leads to a second-floor safehouse. Dozens of Quechua and Aymara activists lie on mattresses strewn on the floor, resting up for more anti-government demonstrations as volunteers cook a breakfast of donated rice, pasta and vegetables.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness is under scrutiny after an anti-corruption agency issued a lengthy report that suggests a potential conflict of interest involving him and contracts awarded to a construction company, some of which were not reported.