An “unforgettable” tribute to America, or a health hazard that will terrorise animals and pollute the environment?

That is the question as Washington prepares to break the record for the world’s largest fireworks display on the United States’ 250th birthday on Saturday.

The Trump administration’s “Freedom250” project has hired Pennsylvania-based Pyrotecnico to launch more than 850,000 fireworks shells across 10 sites around the Lincoln Memorial and Potomac River, starting at 10

This article was first published on July 3, 2006.

Workers more efficient over five days: civil service chief

by Ng Kang-chung

Civil servants can work more efficiently and serve citizens better by not having to work on Saturdays, the city’s 6.9 million residents have been promised on the eve of implementation of a five-day week.

The new working week would also help save citizens time and travel expenses if they switched to using services by fax, mail or internet, Civil Service Secretary

When the ground shook off Iwate prefecture at 9pm on Wednesday, the magnitude 6.0 jolt – the latest in a series of sizeable tremors – barely registered in a country still mopping up after two powerful typhoons and bracing for a fresh bout of torrential rain and landslides.

Every September 1, in a ritual as much of collective memory as civil defence, communities nationwide mark the anniversary of