- NZ chase 275 to win first Sri Lanka Test after Patel bags six
- Ashwin bags six wickets as India hammer Bangladesh in first Test
- Nascent French government under pressure on multiple fronts
- Angry French cognac makers see red over Chinese tariffs threat
- Protect the prosciutto: Italy battles swine fever
- UN holds 'Summit of the Future' to tackle global crises
- Marxist leader set to become Sri Lanka's next president
- From blades to pull-up bars: UK charity tackles knife crime
- Swiss vote on pensions and environment protections
- No pain, no gain: Chinese pro wrestlers fight for recognition
- UAE leader seeks to deepen 'strategic' ties in US visit during Mideast crisis
- Hezbollah takes heavy hits but still fighting Israel
- Floods, landslides hit central Japan months after major quake
- All Blacks coach Robertson demands better finishing
- Argentina edge South Africa to keep title hopes alive
- Biden says China 'testing us,' in hot mic remarks to Quad allies
- Dubois destroys Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Guardiola says critics want Man City wiped 'from face of the Earth'
- Biden says 'Quad' is 'here to stay' despite challenges
- Dubois knocks out Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Vinicius helps 'faster' Madrid overturn stubborn Espanyol
- Zelensky to press US on long-range missile strikes inside Russia
- PSG drop first points in draw at Reims
- Vinicius, Mbappe on target as Madrid crush plucky Espanyol
- Jeeno leads Ko by two at LPGA Queen City Championship
- Bottega Veneta goes for 'E.T.' chic as Madonna pops into D&G
- Messi, Miami frustrated by New York late leveler
- Musk's X platform takes first step toward lifting Brazil ban
- 'Business as usual' for Australia match-winner Carey amid boos
- 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
Healing by helping: Mexico's acid attack victims
After Mexican mother Carmen Sanchez left her abusive ex-partner he attacked her with acid, leaving her severely scarred. As part of her healing process, she now helps fellow victims rebuild their lives.
In the eight years since her life was changed forever, the 37-year-old has undergone 61 operations, including skin reconstruction and grafts.
"Every day I endure it but I don't know if I will heal completely at some point," said Sanchez, who wears dark glasses to cover traces of the attack.
"It wasn't an accident. I wasn't born that way. He planned it, went and bought the acid and threw it at me. When I look in the mirror, I see him," she said.
Her Carmen Sanchez Foundation -- launched in 2021 to "put a stop to acid violence" -- believes that companionship and friendship are crucial for victims.
It faces challenges such as dealing with a public health system that guarantees only limited treatment for victims, and a judicial system beset by impunity and ineffectiveness, Sanchez said.
Gender-based violence is a major problem in Mexico, which registered around 3,750 murders of women in 2021, of which about 1,000 were classified as femicides.
The foundation has documented 31 acid attacks against women since 2001, of whom six died.
The crime is on the rise, with seven cases in 2021, compared with two on average in previous years, according to the group, whose goal is for victims to regain some enjoyment of life.
"The moments of leisure, the celebration of important dates, going out to eat or simply talking on the phone is a fundamental part of what can keep them on their feet," said its co-president Ximena Canseco.
- 'Remember forever' -
Sanchez, who has two daughters, reported her abusive ex-partner three times but he escaped punishment and sprayed acid in her face in 2014 after she left him.
"He told me that he was going to do something to me that I would remember forever," she said.
Sanchez spent eight months in a public hospital, after which she relied on private doctors who treat victims free of charge.
At the public hospital, "they told me I could live with my scars" and to "be thankful I survived," she said.
After the police failed to arrest her ex-partner, Sanchez tracked him down herself and he was finally captured in 2021.
"I was the one who did all the work," she said.
Yazmin, 34, is one of eight women whom the Carmen Sanchez Foundation helps to obtain free medical treatment, legal advice and psychological therapy.
A year and a half ago, when she was leaving her work, a woman threw a liquid on her, leaving her in agony.
Yazmin lost an ear and suffered burns to her eyelids, neck, legs and one arm.
She suspects her attacker was sent by her ex-partner.
"Days before, we argued on the telephone and he told me to be careful because he had a little surprise for me," said the woman, who did not want to give her full name.
- 'A global problem' -
Yazmin kept silent about her violent relationship for years before the attack, but now she feels liberated thanks to the foundation.
"We're not judged. They don't say: 'They did it to you for a reason.' You feel protected. I thought I was the only one, but I discovered that it is a global problem," Yazmin said.
Among other affected countries, hundreds of acid attacks are reported in India each year, although -- like in Mexico -- experts fear they are only the tip of the iceberg.
Colombia, where the crime is punishable by 50 years in prison, registered 50 cases in 2021, 28 of them against women, according to official figures.
Britain has one of the world's highest rates of recorded acid attacks per capita -- most apparently gang-related and targeting men, according to the charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI).
Martha Avila, 63, calls herself a "collateral victim" of acid violence in Mexico.
In March 2017, she was assaulted by her daughter's Argentine ex-husband.
"He came to attack her, but since he couldn't find her, he came for me. He said he was going to 'destroy what she loved the most,'" she said.
Despite suffering burns on nearly half her body, Avila is glad that she was the victim, not her daughter.
"I couldn't imagine what it's like to have your life destroyed so young, and even more so if he's the father of your children," she said.
O.Lorenz--BTB