New Delhi / Bloomberg India’s government will provide 40 billion rupees ($580 million) to upgrade the infrastructure of the first 20 cities selected under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s smart cities program, according to a statement from the Ministry of Urban Development on Saturday. Six cities — Jabalpur, Indore and Bhopal in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, and Jaipur and …

Tokyo / Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he’s not considering a snap general election this summer to coincide with a scheduled upper house poll, and that he has no intention of delaying a planned increase in the nation’s consumption tax. Speaking in an interview on Nippon Hoso radio, Abe said he would raise the levy to 10 …

Columbia / AP After a week of bitter attacks, Republicans face off in South Carolina’s presidential primary, a contest that could determine Donald Trump’s strength as a front-runner and help clarify whether a more mainstream politician will ever emerge to challenge him. Democrats are holding a caucus on Saturday in Nevada, the first test for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders …