PRESS REVIEW – Monday, June 1: Piles of trash are flooding Havana, as Cuba struggles under US President Donald Trump's oil blockade. Next, papers look at the latest cancer research breakthrough and the industry of hair transplants. Also: US farmers find alternative ways to make money. Finally, some Paris metro stations have new names after PSG's Champions League win.
The Trump administration's oil blockade on Cuba has had a considerable effect on the Latin American island, leading to a waste crisis, as The New York Times reports. The fuel blockade has aggravated the already bad garbage pickup in Cuba's capital and residents are drowning in enormous trash piles. Jose Fernandes Zaldivar makes $9 per month sweeping a busy boulevard in the capital. He says that sometimes there's so much trash in the streets that it blocks the entry to his house. Because of the blockade, there's little gasoline to run the garbage trucks. To cope, people have started setting the garbage on fire. When it rains, it's even worse because it clogs the streets. The paper says the piles of garbage symbolise the "extreme consequences of Trump's oil blockade", and they are one of the most visible signs of the crisis in Cuba. Experts warn that garbage on the streets risks creating an explosion of illnesses carried by mosquitoes this summer.
Speaking of illness, there's some good news for those suffering from pancreatic cancer. A clinical trial shows that a new treatment, which is a daily pill, can double survival time in patients with the world's deadliest cancer. The Guardian calls it "one of the biggest breakthroughs in decades". The trial showed that the new treatment had fewer side effects compared with chemotherapy and helped patients who had the cancer live substantially longer. French paper Libération writes that China is becoming the world leader in cancer treatment – the country has been investing heavily in the research, development and the production of drugs against the disease. Over the past 20 years, investment has grown from €1.7 billion to €14.8 billion. The paper interviewed Steven Le Gouill, a haematologist and the director of the Institut Curie hospital in Paris, which is at the forefront of the fight against cancer. He fears that the voice of European research could be drowned out by the United States and China.
We turn to another treatment, or rather a procedure; one that's not essential to human survival, but has been gaining global popularity: hair implants. Wired magazine explains how "Turkey hacked the hair-transplant industry" – turning it into a massive, "multibillion-dollar industry". Research shows that 1.39 million people visited Turkey for medical treatment in 2025, and one-third of these were there for aesthetic treatments. This has inspired many jokes – Turkish Airlines has been nicknamed "Turkish Hair Lines". The article says that Turkey's global success cannot be explained solely by cheap labour and low costs. It says "it's the result of a highly innovative evolution" and the bold use of specialised technology and even AI.
We focus next on another industry: farming. The Wall Street Journal talks about the Welker's family, who discovered that they can make more money by posting on social media than by actually doing their jobs as farmers. They're a part of a growing number of influencers who are monetising farm life. From brand sponsorships with tractors to branded hats, sweatshirts and ad revenue, they now don't need to solely depend on the soil for their revenue.
In France, "shepherds don't want to be treated like sheep anymore". That's a wordplay in the title of a Le Monde article that talks about the farmers' struggle for fair pay. Although the UN declared 2026 the International Year of Pastoralism, young herders who choose the profession out of passion often struggle with poor pay and bad working conditions. Le Monde dives deeper into their world and their efforts to form a union.
Finally, even Paris's metro system is celebrating PSG's Champions League win. Le Figaro reports that some names of metro stations have been changed. Station Europe on metro line 3 is now "Europe Champions". Porte de Saint Cloud is "Paris is magical". And Rue de Bac has turned into "Rue Back2Back". We don't know how long they'll stay this way, so tourists and locals, make sure you don't get lost!
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