After losing her son, healthy British woman will legally end her life in Swiss clinic

There are lots of reactions to Kazakhstan's announcement earlier this week that there will be no transit of its oil to Germany through Russia from next month. The Kazakh energy minister announced that the Kazakh oil transit to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline will be suspended from May 1, officially due to "technical constraints" from Russia. For the Frankfurter Allgemeine, it's clearly a political move. The paper notes that Russian oil is flowing through the Druzhba pipeline towards Slovakia and Hungary without any of these technical problems. It adds: "Russia is using oil as a leverage to pressure the German government into halting drone attacks on Russian oil terminals."

Vedomosti, a Russian financial daily, cites Igor Yushkov, a columnist for the state news agency TASS. He says the suspension of the pipeline will reinforce Europe's dependence on Russian ports, which in turn might make them more likely to want attacks by Ukraine to stop. The Times of Central Asia explains that Germany depends on the Druzhba pipeline for about 17 percent of its current crude supply. While Germany is looking into alternative deliveries, the suspension "exposes Berlin's reliance on a route that runs through Russia". The halting of the pipeline also comes with financial repercussions for the Kazakh economy. Orda, an independent Kazakh media outlet, tables the potential loss at $1.5 billion per year.

We move on to a story that has fascinated the British press: the assisted suicide of a British woman in Switzerland today. The Times of London explains that Wendy Duffy, a former care worker, will end her life at a Swiss clinic this Friday. She is a physically healthy 56-year-old woman of sound mind who has been unable to bear the heartbreak of losing her only child four years ago. Duffy attempted suicide after his death, but it almost led her to a vegetative state. Duffy says she has paid £10,000 to the clinic to end her life. It comes as the UK's assisted dying bill has stalled in the House of Lords. The legislation proposes allowing adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, pending approval from doctors and an expert panel.

Duffy's death is dividing the press. The Irish Daily Mail says on its front page: "Who is anyone to decide how much a human should endure?" Its writer says that while Duffy vividly "represents the deepest fears of those who are against assisted suicide", this should not detract from the "bone-deep sadness" of her case. She struggled with infertility, finally fell pregnant and was a single mother. She also made the tomato sandwich that killed her son, who choked to death. While her death raises more questions than it answers, she has got what she wanted, the writer adds. The conservative US magazine National Review is far more categorical in its critique, accuses the clinic of "promoting a death-on-demand culture."

Finally, we bring you a story about the surprising clauses in prenuptial agreements these days. The Wall Street Journal explains that prenuptial agreements are no longer seen as "stodgy arrangements" by the rich to protect their money. According to a survey, around one in five people had a prenup in 2023. Of them, 41 percent were Gen Z and 47 percent were millennials. Some surprising clauses find their way into pre-nups today: NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) to protect the very signing of a prenup or its details, but also decisions around who gets to keep frozen embryos, cryptocurrency funds and even "pet nups" – how to decide custody of a beloved pet in case of divorce.

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