A teenager bullied for having birthmarks all over her body now hopes to become a Hollywood actress to show girls that beauty comes from being unique. Marika Nagy, 19, was taunted mercilessly by cruel school bullies, who said she looked like a ‘cow’ and was ‘splattered with mud’. After years of abuse, Marika says she has finally found the confidence to celebrate her birthmarks. She now wants to pursue her acting dream to inspire other girls to love themselves the way they are. Marika, who was born in Bremen, Germany, but now works as an au pair in Wythenshawe, Manchester, said: “I spent most of my childhood hiding away. But I refuse to allow other people to stop me from achieving my ambitions.
Animal rescue volunteers have told how a cat riddled with cancer was forced to ripped off its own ears after it was abandoned by its owners .
SOME OF the sea’s most terrifying creatures show their softer side as they join a group of diners for lunch .
VENTURING into the ocean with self-made spears and nets, the fishermen of Zanzibar put their lives on the line when they catch food for their families .
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .
WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .
Fetching a tiny carrot and a head-shaped snowball, a red squirrel builds the perfect snowman .
THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
FROM THE world famous Girl with a Pearl Earring painting to a jaguar in the grass, these incredible drawings are created from coloured ballpoint pens .
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and for this greedy camel he can't get enough of his morning feed, as he gate crashes his owner's mealtime .