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Good morning. This selection from around the Guardian has a tragic mystery, an underground door, two quite different leaders and a new body part to worry about … so, something for everyone?

Whatever story you choose to dive into this weekend, enjoy the read.

1. The mystery Patrick Radden Keefe couldn’t ignore

When 19-year-old Zac Brettler jumped to his death in London, the coroner recorded an open verdict, admitting: “I don’t know what happened.” The American writer and journalist Patrick Radden Keefe (pictured) spoke to Anna Moore about his search for answers – now a new book.

How he heard about the story: Keefe was on set in London for the filming of Say Nothing, the television adaptation of his feted account of a Northern Ireland Troubles murder. He got talking with a visitor, who happened to mention friends of his, the Brettler family, who had experienced something tragic, strange and terrible.

“This was that rare case where, within minutes, I knew that if this family was ready to talk, this would be how I’d spend the next year of my life,” Keefe says.

How long will it take to read: five or six minutes

2. On the trail of Sydney’s huge fatberg

A charming acronym resurfaced this week, courtesy of NSW reporter Penry Buckley: congealed FOG – or “fats, oils and grease”.

Buckley toured the problematic Malabar wastewater plant, where some accumulated FOG can’t be accessed, let alone cleared, and has formed a fatberg that keeps depositing poo balls on Sydney’s beaches.

‘You’re either built for sewage, or you’re not’: The area at the bulkhead door in front of the fatberg is “eerily odourless”. Not so in Sedimentation Room Area 4, however. “As we step inside, the smell matures quickly from a seaside pong to a meaty fug which opens up the nostrils. It’s a pandemonium of aromas so bad they seem to cancel each other out.”

None of the staff, Buckley notes, wear anything to cover their noses. “I reckon you’re either built for sewage, or you’re not,” the hub manager tells him.

How long will it take to read: three minutes

3. ‘In a war with no winners, Netanyahu looks like the biggest loser’

This analysis from senior international correspondent Peter Beaumont suggests the Israeli president’s massive gamble with his war on Iran is not paying off, to put it mildly.

“In his failure to secure the fall of the theocratic regime, the seizure of Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, or meaningful state degradation, Israel’s global standing – already massively tarnished by its actions in Gaza, where it has been accused of committing a genocide – has been damaged.”

What happens next? The fallout in public opinion, especially as Israel’s “horrific and unwarned-of” mass airstrikes on Lebanon continue, is likely to be serious, Beaumont writes. And not only globally – in Israel, it’s an election year.

How long will it take to read: three minutes

Further reading: Yesterday, Beaumont asked if Israel’s attack on Lebanon was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the Iran war ceasefire.

4. Was Bob Hawke our best PM?

Gareth Evans thinks so – though he freely admits his bias as “someone who was very much part of the action”. The former attorney general has laid out six reasons the Hawke government of 1983-91 – and the Keating government that came after it – should be held as a gold standard.

***

“A high level of mutual respect between cabinet members and commitment to the common cause … [always operated] as a brake on self-indulgent personality politics.” – Gareth Evans

Why does it matter now? With regular debate over the current Labor governments’s ability – or will – to push for meaningful change, a look back at (one man’s view of) what factors fed “unparalleled reformist momentum”.

How long will it take to read: four minutes

5. ‘A kind of facialisation of hand care’

I have mixed (read: mainly bad) feelings about this story on the industry boom in anti-ageing care for hands.

The “scientific” reason some people may worry about the appearance of their hands is that the skin there is thinner, has fewer oil glands and is more prone to dryness. The beauty reason is “harmony”, an aesthetic doctor informs Paula Cocozza.

What? “We have four faces: face, neck, chest and hands,” he elaborates. “There’s no point just working on one. If it’s not matching and there’s no harmony, then we pick up on something else, which is a lack of authenticity. I liken it to a car. You wouldn’t clean the front half of your car and leave the back half.” I … guess so?

That said … the idea of a hand-care ritual recommended by one brand founder here (so not exactly a disinterested party) sounds nice enough.

How long will it take to read: five minutes

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