A recent uproar from LGBT groups in the Philippines over a 'defaced' advertisement where a gay male couple's hands were blacked out has led to the revelation that the ad was self-censored, after the Philippines Ad Standards Council expressed concern about the photo.

Prosecutors in the Philippines have filed murder charges in a regional court today against a US Marine accused of brutally murdering a woman in October. He is being held without bail.

The first time I realized that some people wanted to be mermaids is when I read a (probably deleted) Yahoo question that asked "How can I turn into a mermaid? Serious replies ONLY!" and included the fact that a water spell had not worked for the user. I hope she's reading this post, because now she (and you) can turn…

A woman will often be called pushy for the same thing a man would be called persuasive for. Or she'll get called a bitch when he gets called a boss. We know this, but it's very rare that we see the double standard so plainly called out in a nationally syndicated commercial. Of course, now that that very commercial is…

Super Typhoon Haiyan, which slammed into the Philippines early Friday morning, is one of the strongest storms ever recorded on the planet. It has forced more than a million people to flee, and is literally blowing houses apart.

Newly crowned Miss World, Megan Young of the Philippines, center, reacts after winning the Miss World contest, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

A bona fide hero dog from the Philippines was given a lavish homecoming party earlier today after spending eight uncomfortable months at the vet’s office in the United States. Yes, even hero dogs hate going to the vet, especially when such visits involve reconstructive surgery.

Ugh, El Salvador. Always on their period, right!?!? I can't tell you the number of times El Salvador has woken me up in the middle of the night because they just watched an ASPCA commercial and need to come over and eat some Ben & Jerry's. But then Russia—have you ever seen that dude upset? It's like, bro, sometimes…

Filipino Muslim girls flash the peace sign during a rally in support of a preliminary peace agreement between the government and the nation's largest Muslim rebel group outside the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines, on Sunday Oct. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Imelda Marcos, former Philippine first lady and current member of the country's House of Representatives, left behind a whole lot of designer shoes and clothes when she and her husband, former Philippine dictator and Barong shirt enthusiast Ferdinand Marcos, were forced into exile back in 1986. Unfortunately, after…

In what we certainly hope is the most horrifying story we read this week, a ten-year-old Filipina girl was allegedly beaten, raped, and then tossed in a shallow grave. The good news: she survived, and now her rapist will face charges.

According to news reports out of Saudi Arabia, Saudi women are outraged that the government plans to allow Moroccan maids into the country to replace Filipina and Indonesian women, out of the belief that Moroccan women will seduce their husbands. Oh, by the way: There's a vacuum in the Saudi domestic market in…

Manila, Philippines, Aug 6: Filipino children play on steel barriers along a road. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Last week on Showtime, a Filipino game show, a young man lip synced to "I Will Always Love You." It's an amazingly accurate impersonation ... if you image Whitney Houston wearing horrifying monster makeup and birthing mechanical baby dolls onstage.

What we know of the story of Vivian Maier's life and work, and of how 30,000 of her negatives came to be acquired at a Chicago estate auction by a 26-year-old real estate agent and amateur historian, is breathtaking.

Cristóbal Balenciaga, the elder statesman of the avant-garde, Spanish Civil War refugee, designer mentor to Hubert de Givenchy and André Courrèges, died in 1972. But a new exhibit of some of his best work sheds light on his complicated life.

[Manila, June 30. A little girl flashes the 'Laban' (fight) sign during the inauguration of Noynoy Aquiono as the 15th President of the Phlippines]

[Manila, March 8. Image via Getty]