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From Terry Hartney From Ton Anh Thu From Nguyen Khanh Duong From Phuong Ngo From Vu Ngan Binh By Paul Kennedy Good journalists love good stories. They get excited by them. When it comes to news, size really does matter. The bigger, the better. In a career that started for me in the May of 1990, I have been fortunate enough to have reported on some of the biggest stories in the world. But most are tinged with sadness. Like the tragic story of James Bulger, a toddler murdered by two 10-year-old boys in Liverpool in 1993. A story I covered extensively both at the time of the senseless killing and in the years that followed. Or the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings when in the summer of 2005 I spent a week in Leeds, England, researching the terrorists responsible for the atrocities for the biggest national newspaper in Britain. I’ve also written countless stories about the Hillsborough football tragedy and was on the scene in Warrington, England, within an hour of two IRA bombings that killed two children. From a journalistic perspective these were good stories to cover, yet at the same time particularly harrowing. Professionally speaking, it is not a reporters’ job to get upset, their job is to accurately report what is happening, but it’s tough not to be affected. While working for Việt Nam News back in February 2019, I was proud to be part of the team covering what was at the time, the biggest story in the world. Thankfully there was no death or destruction. For me the excitement began months before when rumours surfaced that the summit between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United States of America might be held in Việt Nam. I wanted to be part of it. After confirmation it would not only be held in Việt Nam, but in Hà Nội, I was buzzing. I felt like I did all those years ago when my name first appeared in a newspaper alongside a story I had written. The thrill …

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For Sanofi, environmental protection is part of business The Saigon Times Nguyen Thi Luong Phong (L), a representative of Sanofi Vietnam, donates VND1.3 billion to a representative of Vietnam Red Cross Society - PHOTO: SANOFI VIETNAM For a better life, apart from improving economic performance, Sanofi Vietnam has always attended to societal and environmental issues to create values for the community. By integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the core of its operations, the drug firm has enacted numerous pro-society initiatives and environmental protection programs to change lives. “As a multinational pharmaceutical company and a drugmaker in Vietnam for over 60 years, Sanofi Vietnam is striving to fulfill its long-term commitment to social responsibility,” says Emin Turan, country director of Sanofi Vietnam and Cambodia. “On the path to generating positive impacts on the society, the drugmaker has been mobilizing its capacity, ability and human resources to minimize environmental footprint of its production and business activities,” Turan added. Reducing the environmental footprint In an effort to minimize negative impacts from raw materials and wastes on the health of people and the environment during its operations, Sanofi Vietnam is constantly redesigning and renewing its products and services to create a healthy society. Its pharmaceutical plant in Thu Duc City in HCMC is launching a series of programs to reduce its waste by recycling or reusing the plastic and paper waste in a safe and sustainable manner. Through its program to eliminate plastic waste that was kick-started years ago, the firm targets to reduce the use of plastics at the factory to zero by 2022. Last year, the company managed to cut 14 tons of plastics in its production. In addition, the factory made a reduction of 470 tons of carton paper used for packaging in 2020 while carrying out the “Carton Reduction” program, and recycled 30 tons of plastic …

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The return of the bicycle By Nguyen An Nam Bicycles have returned during the time of Covid-19 - PHOTO: THANH HOA Bicycles now suit well the diverse demand of urbanites during the time of the pandemic, speeding up changes in lifestyles and cultural practices. Needless to say, it is impossible for the bike to replace other transport means as long as life becomes normal again. However, as far as the benefits a bike can do to physical and mental health are concerned, the return of the bike is so meaningful right at this moment. Before the outbreak of Covid-19 in Vietnam, Mr. Tan’s wife gave birth to the couple’s second child. Mr. Tan then took a driving test. He had to repeat it three times to get the driver’s license. The whole family went together to car showrooms to buy a Mazda 3. But hardly had he driven the brand-new car for only a few months while still unfamiliar with the streets in Saigon being on the wheel than the city experienced social distancing, one time after another. The car therefore had to sit in the garage. Swimming pools, gyms and yoga classes were closed. Having to be confined to his house for a while, Mr. Tan began to feel restless and frustrated. His son, too, was about to face the problem of obesity and became much more nasty because of psychological distress. So, he led the kid to a bike shop to take home two bikes at reasonable prices. The pandemic-time bicycles On the first days after they had got their new bikes, the father and his son woke up early and rode their bikes around his house. The distance was about five kilometers. Afterwards, the little boy had become used to being early to rise. The two went for longer distances to new routes. Now, on the weekend, they were able to travel up to 30 kilometers. One day, they rode their bikes to Can Gio District, some 50 kilometers from downtown HCMC. Mr. Tan noticed that both the physical and mental health of him and his kid had significantly improved since the buy of …

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