- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Carey sparks recovery as Australia thrash England in 2nd ODI
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Spurs bounce back
- Heavy fire over Israel-Lebanon border after deadly Beirut strike
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win despite Hogg scuffle
- Myanmar flood death toll jumps to 384
- Chelsea owners 'happy' with win at West Ham amid rift report
- Kane and Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win
- Norris pips Verstappen to dramatic Singapore pole after Sainz crash
- Carey takes Australia to 270 in 2nd ODI against England after collapse
- Two Hezbollah leaders killed in Israel's Beirut strike
- Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris
- Bagnaia cuts Martin's MotoGP lead with Emilia-Romagna sprint win
- Jackson double fires Chelsea to victory at woeful West Ham
- Fiji beat Japan to lift Pacific Nations Cup
- Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final
- S.Africa snowfall closes roads, strands motorists overnight
- Lawyers of women alleging Al-Fayed sex abuse receive over 150 new enquiries
- President Museveni's son backs Ugandan strongman for 7th term
- Norris quickest as Verstappen bounces back in Singapore practice
- Wallabies lament All Blacks' fast start
- Germany's Oktoberfest opens under tight security after attacks
- Environmental protesters block French cruise liner port
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli strike kills top commanders
- No place like home: Biden hosts 'Quad' leaders
- One dead, 7 missing as heavy rains trigger floods in central Japan
- Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
- New Zealand edge Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller
- Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit area
- New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
- Leading climate activist released from Vietnam jail
Tattoos embellish scars, heal wounds in Brazil
Standing in front of the mirror, Marlene Silva dos Santos admires the new tattoo splashed across her chest, covering the circular surgery scar left by the Brazilian 51-year-old's battle with breast cancer.
Her skin still warm from the needle, Dos Santos gazes at the flowers that descend her torso and turn to diamonds, tattooed over her reconstructed left breast thanks to a project to help women overcome the physical and emotional scars of the past.
"You see that mark on yourself, and even though other people can't see it, it hurts," says Dos Santos, who had to undergo a mastectomy after she was diagnosed with cancer about five years ago.
"But now I see flowers. I didn't think it would be so pretty," she adds, visibly moved.
Dos Santos is one of about 160 women whom Sao Paulo tattoo artist Karlla Mendes has helped under a charitable project known as "We Are Diamonds," launched in 2017 to soothe the scars of sickness, gender violence, accidents and other trauma.
"I want to remind them that they really are like diamonds -- something rough that sparkles when you polish it," says Mendes, who has made diamonds her tattoo trademark.
"It's very gratifying to be able to use my art to help transform someone's life, to give new meaning to a scar that brings back horrible memories, turn it into something she will look at and love herself."
- Reclaiming the past -
Kelly Pereira's tattoo is a flower and diamond motif, too -- in her case, stretching from her shoulder to her elbow, over the burn she suffered in a kitchen accident as a little girl.
Her mother was at work, she remembers, and her sister got the idea to cook their meal by setting rubbing alcohol alight because they were out of cooking gas.
The fire left burns across Pereira's arm, neck, chest and hand.
"I'm not ashamed of my scar. It tells my story. It's something I overcame, and I'm proud of that," she says.
Pereira, 36, says her tattoo is not about hiding the scar, but rather "motivation to talk about it."
"I want to show people we can be better, we can dream, transform our lives with simple acts that mark not just our flesh but our souls," she says.
- 'Closing the circle' -
Some 600 kilometers (375 miles) away, in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, fellow tattoo artist Augusto Molinari also offers free help to those seeking to overcome the traumas engraved on their skin.
"You see people light up when they look at themselves in the mirror and feel whole again," he says.
"It's special to help someone redefine how they see their bodies, to transform their pain."
Those he has helped include a woman whose abusive partner severely burned her and people who struggled with self-mutilation, he says.
Today, his "patient" is 66-year-old Dulcineia Soares, a keyboard player who lost the end of her left middle finger in a childhood accident with a sugarcane press.
Soares felt her partly amputated finger was on display every time she played keyboard, she says. Molinari tattooed a fingernail on it.
"Why didn't I think of that before?" she says, holding up her hands to admire his work.
"I love it. This gives me a sense of freedom. I won't have to hide my finger anymore."
Back in Sao Paulo, Dos Santos looks at herself in the mirror again with a smile.
"This closes the circle," she says, and puts on her blouse.
E.Schubert--BTB