\u2018It\u2019s still going on, largely unreported, largely unchecked\u2019: This case is the only successful conviction for organ trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act in the UK. Frank Tietie, a human rights lawyer, says there is a simple reason that such convictions are rare, particularly in Nigeria: \u201cThose who are involved are usually very powerful people, and they\u2019re able to influence our justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notable quote: \u201cHe had not told me anything about this. I would never have agreed to any of this. My body was not for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n
How long will it take to read: 11 minutes<\/p>\n
Further reading: \u2018For me, there was no other choice\u2019: inside the global illegal<\/a> organ trade.<\/p>\n 2. The brief life and sudden death of ZyzzBodybuilder and YouTube influencer Aziz \u2018Zyzz\u2019 Shavershian. Photograph: Stan<\/p>\n Aziz Shavershian was an Australian teenager who became a fitness influencer in the 2000s, a bit of a pioneer \u2013 filming his workouts and thoughts, and posting them to YouTube. He was skilled in rage-bait long before anyone had heard of it. But in 2011, \u201cZyzz\u201d made headlines when he suddenly and unexpectedly died, aged just 22. Now, 15 years later, the truth about his death<\/a> is finally being revealed.<\/p>\n A \u2018camaraderie of training together\u2019: The story has come out via Revealed \u2013 Poster Boy: Becoming Zyzz<\/a>, a Stan documentary directed by the film-maker Selina Miles. Aziz and his older brother, Said, were born in Russia to Kurdish parents who then migrated to Australia. In the film, the boys\u2019 friends \u2013 many of them first-generation Australians \u2013 describe struggling to fit in but finding community in bodybuilding.<\/p>\n Fame, gains and hate: Aziz needed money to maintain his appearance and began to increasingly experiment with substances untested on humans, and without the recommended cycling on and off. As his fame grew, so did the gains. But the hateful comments from strangers also multiplied.<\/p>\n How long will it take to read: Just under three minutes.<\/p>\n Further reading: \u2018So destructive\u2019: women are paying for face scans<\/a> that tell them what cosmetic procedures to get, and From bone smashing to chin extensions<\/a>: how \u2018looksmaxxing\u2019 is reshaping young men\u2019s faces<\/p>\n 3. Why do so many fitness fans end up needing surgery?How much exercise is too much? Composite: Guardian design\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Extreme exercise seems to be a bit of a theme this week and this story might be enough to make you put off that hardcore session at the gym (did you need convincing?). Anna Moore takes a look at the dangers of people pushing themselves too hard<\/a> in their workouts and asks what lessons the rest of us can take from them.<\/p>\n Not enough or the wrong kind? Each year, more than a quarter of a million people in the UK have joint replacement surgery and by 2060 demand is expected to have risen by 40%. So what\u2019s going on \u2013 is it too much, too little, or the wrong kind of exercise? A consultant orthopaedic hip surgeon, Giles Stafford, has some insight. \u201cThere\u2019s clearly a genetic aspect, but also a big mechanical aspect too,\u201d he says. \u201cWe all have a certain number of cycles in us before the damage sets in, and someone who is going to the gym, running marathons, taking on high-impact, high-intensity, repetitive exercise programmes might hit their number younger and faster.\u201d<\/p>\n Squatters beware: Several orthopaedic surgeons have expressed reservations about high-intensity, high-impact regimens. \u201cAnything that involves a lot of deep-weighted squats, and repeatedly taking your body to end range under load, can damage your joints,\u201d Stafford says. Another specialist says he has seen patients in their mid 20s and early 30s who have lost a lot of cartilage from under their kneecaps after these (yeeeaargh!).<\/p>\n How long will it take to read: Just under five minutes.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Five Great Reads<\/p>\n Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n 4. The journalist taking on the \u2018tech fascists\u2019 of Silicon ValleyGil Dur\u00e1n\u2019s book exposes a decades-long campaign by tech billionaires to replace elected governments with corporate rule. Photograph: Winni Wintermeyer\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Stuck in an endless doomscroll? Worried about the creeping control technology has over our lives? You are not alone. In a new book, the journalist Gil Dur\u00e1n argues that many of big tech\u2019s billionaire owners have seized economic and political control and are steering the fate of the planet towards their own bizarre, apocalyptic visions. And Dur\u00e1n is fighting back<\/a>. <\/p>\n Everyone\u2019s addicted to the billionaire money: According to the author, who worked in communications for Kamala Harris when she was California\u2019s attorney general, the Democrats are as much as fault as much as the Republicans for failing to tackle this new power. \u201cThey have failed tremendously to stand up to billionaire power because the only people as addicted to billionaire money in American politics as the Republicans are the Democrats,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Notable quote: \u201cIn fighting against billionaire power, we find the key to all of our problems. Every moment is an important opportunity to wake people up and to start to fight back.\u201d<\/p>\n How long will it take to read: Just over three minutes.<\/p>\n 5. The terrifying rise of birthdayzillasAdult birthday celebrations are getting bigger, splashier and heavier with meaning. Illustration: Belicta Castelbarco\/The Guardian<\/p>\n It\u2019s the weekend, as you might have noticed, and it\u2019s possible you might be going to a birthday party. If your invite started with a WhatsApp group you never signed up for or an expensive-looking invitation in the post, and the actual event seems a bit OTT for a fully-grown adult who isn\u2019t turning a major milestone, then you are not alone. As <\/a>Meena Alexander<\/a> finds out<\/a>.<\/p>\n What IS going on? Where once a slice of cake sufficed to ring in a new age, Meena writes, today it\u2019s not unusual to throw a fully catered party, rope your friends into a series of activities or organise a group holiday abroad. Lauren, a 29-year-old from Edinburgh, has already run through her annual leave allowance. \u201cI\u2019ve been to eight 30ths this year and the most low-key was a dinner in a private room that still set me back \u00a3100,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Lovers, haters and the why-the-hell-not brigade: Some have had their friendships \u2013 and bank balances \u2013 sorely tested by this phenomenon, which one puts squarely on the \u201cmain-character energy\u201d of their generation, and are left feeling like the \u201cpoor friend\u201d. But as Krisha, who flew to the Dominican Republic for a week of hiking, safaris, horse riding and massages to mark a new friend\u2019s birthday, asks, why not \u201cspend on a bucket-list experience\u201d in a time when saving for a house deposit feels futile? \u201cI find it interesting that when I tell people I flew across the world for a birthday party they say it\u2019s insane, but when it\u2019s for a wedding they don\u2019t question it.\u201d<\/p>\n How long will it take to read: Five and three-quarter minutes.<\/p>\n Sign up<\/p>\n If you would like to receive these Five Great Reads to your email inbox every weekend, sign up here<\/a>. And check out out the full list of our local and international newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Good morning. Maybe you\u2019ve been worrying about the rise of Silicon Valley billionaires and what it means for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[589,163,85,46],"class_list":["post-578146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782517273_811_500.jpg\")
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