MANILA / AP In a military buildup certain to inflame tensions with China, the United States said on Thursday it will be conducting joint South China Sea patrols — and eventually air patrols — with the Philippines, while dispatching US troops and combat aircraft there on more frequent rotations. The announcement by Defense Secretary Ash Carter was the first …

  RIO DE JANEIRO / AP President Dilma Rousseff’s chances of surviving impeachment are growing slimmer now that three parties have decamped from her governing coalition in 24 hours and Brazilian legislators begin preparing for a crucial vote on the question expected this weekend. The pullouts of the mid-size centrist parties caused despondency among members of Rousseff’ left-leaning Workers’ Party …

Seoul / AFP South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s ruling conservative party was reeling on Thursday from a shock electoral defeat that broke its 16-year parliamentary majority and threatened its chances of retaining the presidential Blue House in 2017. Voters punished the party for its economic record, analysts said, with high levels of youth unemployment accounting for particularly high dissatisfaction among …