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A euthanasia advocate has died after being detained following a woman’s “suicide capsule” death in Switzerland.

Content warning: this article contains references to suicide

Dr Florian Willet, who was arrested over the first reported use of the Sarco pod, died on 5 May, months after falling from the third floor of his building, according to an obituary written by Australian-born doctor Philip Nitschke, who invented the capsule.

Dr Willet was the co-president of The Last Resort, a Swiss affiliate of assisted dying group Exit International, and was the only person present during the death of a 64-year-old American woman in a forest cabin in Merishausen, northern Switzerland, in September 2024.

Florian Willet near his home in Zurich in May 2024. Pic: Exit International
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Dr Florian Willet died. Pic: Exit International

Exit International said the woman suffered from “severe immune compromise” and she was the first person to die using the 3D-printed Sarco pod, which it said cost more than $1m (£747,440) to develop.

The capsule is designed to allow a person inside to push a button that begins the assisted dying procedure.

Dr Willet was arrested in the Swiss forest and placed in pre-trial detention for 70 days, with a prosecutor alleging that the pod had not worked and the woman had instead suffered injuries consistent with strangulation.

Exit International claimed there was “no foundation” for the allegation, and previously said in a statement that the assisted suicide had been filmed and the footage had been provided to the prosecution.

Australian euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke attends a presentation by The Last Resort of the Sarco suicide machine, a 3D-printed capsule that gives the user the ultimate control over the timing of her/his death and that he created, in Zurich, Switzerland, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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Australian euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke. Pic: Reuters

Dr Willet had described the woman’s death as “peaceful, fast and dignified”, Exit International said.

Dr Nitschke, who lives in the Netherlands, said he was “pleased that the Sarco had performed exactly as it had been designed… to provide an elective, non-drug, peaceful death at the time of the person’s choosing”.

He added that his organisation received advice from Swiss lawyers that using the Sarco would be legal in the country.

Dr Willet was released from pre-trial detention in early December, but “he was a changed man” who lost his smile and self-confidence, whose “spirit was broken” and who “seemed deeply traumatised by the experience of incarceration and the wrongful accusation of strangulation”, according to Dr Nitschke.

The 47-year-old sought psychiatric support in Zurich at Christmas, but discharged himself from the clinic before New Year’s Eve.

In January, Dr Willet fell from the third floor of his Zurich flat.

“He did serious damage,” Dr Nitschke said, claiming doctors had diagnosed Dr Willet with an acute polymorphic disorder brought on by “the stress of the pre-trial detention and the associated pressures”.

Dr Willet had surgery and went to rehab for his injuries in the three months after his fall.

On 5 May, he died by assisted suicide in Cologne, Germany, Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reports. Assisted dying is legal in Germany.

Philip Nitschke and Florian Willet in December 2024. Pic: Exit International
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Dr Philip Nitschke and Dr Florian Willet in December 2024. Pic: Exit International

Swiss law allows assisted suicide so long as the person takes his or her life with no “external assistance” and those who help the person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive”.

Read more from Sky News:
Care consultant: Assisted dying bill should be scrapped
Assisted dying law ‘unworkable, unaffordable and naive’

Switzerland is among the only countries in the world where foreigners can travel to legally end their lives. It is home to several organisations dedicated to helping people achieve this.

However, some politicians have argued the law is unclear and sought to close what they say are legal loopholes, with health minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider suggesting the use of the Sarco would not be legal.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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Praise and fury for Trump’s Gaza peace deal – but Hamas’s first reaction is telling

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Praise and fury for Trump's Gaza peace deal - but Hamas's first reaction is telling

When Benjamin Netanyahu lands back in Israel, he will be hit by a wall of opinions. Some people are full of praise for the deal he has helped to construct, others hate it. Nobody is indifferent.

Among those who are spitting fury are members of his own cabinet.

As it happened: Trump reveals Gaza plan

Netanyahu will attend a cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening, and he will be faced by the anger of his two most outspoken ministers – Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Both come from the uncompromising political far right; both think that compromise is a sign of weakness; both were utterly outraged at the idea of the prime minister apologising to Qatar for the attack on Doha.

Israeli forces have been carrying out an offensive in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
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Israeli forces have been carrying out an offensive in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters

Ben-Gvir said that, far from being a source of shame, it had been “an important, just and supremely moral attack… Qatar is a state that supports terrorism, funds terrorism and incites terrorism”.

Smotrich, as if ever worried at being outdone, compared Netanyahu with Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of the Nazis, saying his “grovelling apology” was a “disgrace”.

Can either of these men really keep serving in a cabinet with Netanyahu? And if not, how long before the government collapses?

That wouldn’t imperil the peace plan – if it survives – because it will have the support of enough opposition parties to be passed into law.

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Trump announces ‘Board of Peace’

But it would hasten a new general election, where Netanyahu would try to portray himself as the statesman who brought back the hostages (if he does) while his rivals would paint him as the man who let October 7 happen on his watch.

But in the short term, Netanyahu’s plan has plenty of fans in Israel. President Isaac Herzog applauded it and so did the forum representing the families of the hostages.

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Witkoff ‘hopeful’ on Gaza plan

Leaders from Arab countries have all said they welcome it, albeit they have, unanimously, given the credit to Donald Trump, rather than the Israeli prime minister.

But then the applause dwindles. From Hamas, the initial reaction was telling – the plan hadn’t even been sent to them before it was announced to the world. And without their buy-in, what does a deal look like? Can it even work?

They say they can’t sign up to anything that does not include Palestinian self-determination. Which this, pointedly, doesn’t.

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And remember – Hamas have the hostages. For all the implicit threats made by Trump about what would happen if Hamas don’t sign up to this deal, the return of the hostages is the point that most loudly resonates with the Israeli public.

If Hamas don’t like the deal, they won’t return the hostages.

Read more:
What we know about the plan – and what Sky correspondents think

Tony Blair will be an unwelcome inclusion for many on the Palestinian side
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Tony Blair will be an unwelcome inclusion for many on the Palestinian side

As for the governance of Gaza – there is precious little support among Palestinians for a Trump/Blair leadership team.

Tony Blair is a war criminal who should be in The Hague, not Gaza,” said Mustafa Barghouti, the veteran politician who has been on the Palestinian Legislative Council for nearly two decades.

And that’s an opinion I’ve heard echoed more than once.

There are more negotiations to come. “I’ll believe it when it happens,” one military figure said to me, wearily. “I’m more confident than before,” said another source, “but before I wasn’t confident at all.”

Nobody is getting too excited, too early, and there are hurdles to overcome and concessions to be made. But there is a chance that things might happen, and if they do, they might happen fast.

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What we know about the Gaza peace plan – and what Sky News correspondents make of it

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What we know about the Gaza peace plan – and what Sky News correspondents make of it

Benjamin Netanyahu has said he supports Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza – but what does it actually say, and will it work?

The document lays out what the Trump administration calls a “comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict”, consisting of 20 points.

Here are some of the key clauses and what our correspondents make of them…

Gaza ‘to be redeveloped for’ its people

The first two points say Gaza will become “a deradicalised terror-free zone” and “redeveloped for the benefit of” the enclave’s people – but the role they’ll have is unclear, says US correspondent Mark Stone.

“Beyond Hamas, there is no defined role for the Palestinians beyond vague assurances that they can take over once reform has taken place,” he explained.

Stone also highlighted that “a central part of the plan is missing – Hamas”.

“Like it or not, this plan cannot proceed without their buy-in,” he said. “And, as has always been the case, their agreement to this plan would amount to suicide for their movement.

“The bet by the Trump administration and by the Israeli government is that Hamas is now so diminished and exhausted as an organisation that they will be forced to accept it. But I remain unconvinced.”

Benjamin Netanyahu has said he supports the plan while Hamas said on Monday night it was yet to receive and study it in full. A broad spectrum of middle eastern countries have welcomed the initiative.

Tony Blair to be on the ‘Board of Peace’

The plan states that a temporary governing board will be put in charge of Gaza and just one person has so far been confirmed to join Donald Trump on what he’s calling the ‘Board of Peace’: Sir Tony Blair.

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Blair to be on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

Chief political correspondent Jon Craig says the appointment is “controversial but not a surprise”.

“Sir Tony Blair has been one of the key architects of this peace plan,” he said. “It’s a Blair blueprint to a large extent, he went to the White House to discuss it August.”

Sir Tony “gets on well” with Mr Netanyahu, he added. The former British PM’s experience in the Middle East goes back nearly 30 years and he was previously involved in talks with then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the 1990s.

“From President Trump’s point of view, and indeed Benjamin Netanyahu’s, it makes sense because [Blair] is an experienced negotiator and go-between power broker in the Middle East,” Craig said.

All hostages to be released

The plan states that within 72 hours of the agreement being accepted, “all hostages, alive and deceased will be returned”.

A total of 48 hostages are still being held captive by Hamas and Israel believes about 20 of them are still alive.

Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv calling for a ceasefire last month. Pic: AP
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Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv calling for a ceasefire last month. Pic: AP

Middle East correspondent Adam Parsons says securing their release is crucial for Mr Netanyahu.

“I think Netanyahu’s gamble is that he will be seen as a statesman,” he said, “if he can bring home the hostages and do that deal, stop the casualties being suffered by the Israeli military, [and] stop the increasing… anger over the number of people who are being killed by Israeli bombardments in Gaza.”

The draft agreement states that once the hostages have been released, Israel will release 1,950 Palestinian prisoners, including all women and children who were detained after 7 October 2023.

“For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans,” it adds.

What are the other key points?

Some of the other significant guarantees include a promise that nobody will be forced to leave the Strip, and that Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza.

The document also states that full aid” will “proceed without interference […] through the UN, its agencies, the Red Crescent and other international institutions”.

What happens if Hamas does not accept the plan?

Hamas has not been given a deadline to agree to the offer, says Mark Stone – adding that “there are hints already that they are not inclined to accept it in its current format”.

One Hamas leader, Mahmoud Mardawi, is already being quoted in Middle Eastern media outlets as saying: “We will not accept any proposal that does not include self-determination for the Palestinian people and protect them from massacres.”

“If that line holds then the Israelis will be unleashed,” Stone said, pointing out something Mr Trump said to Mr Netanyahu at Monday’s news conference.

“Bibi, you’d have our full backing to do what you would have to do,” he told him.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro expands his powers in case US attacks

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro expands his powers in case US attacks

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has signed a decree to give himself increased security powers should the US military enter the country.

The move, announced by the nation’s vice president Delcy Rodriguez on Monday, comes as tensions continue to escalate between the two countries.

Mr Maduro has publicly alleged US President Donald Trump and his administration are plotting to oust him.

The decree would allow Mr Maduro to mobilise armed forces throughout the country and give the military authority over public services and the oil industry.

It comes after the US deployed a fleet of warships through the Caribbean, which Washington says is to combat drug trafficking through the region.

The US has also, in recent weeks, struck several boats it claims were carrying illegal drugs from Venezuela, killing those on board.

The legality of this has been questioned by experts.

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‘Drug boat’ hit in strike by US military

Mr Maduro has privately attempted to reconcile with Mr Trump. He sent a letter to his counterpart earlier this month offering to engage in direct talks.

Claims that Venezuela played a big role in drug trafficking have been rejected my Mr Maduro, who says he wants the relationship with the US to be “historic and peaceful”.

However, US military officials are drawing up plans to target drug traffickers in Venezuela, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reported on Friday.

Ms Rodriguez said: “What the US government, what warlord Marco Rubio is doing against Venezuela, is a threat.”

Read more from Sky News:
Putin’s defiant message on Ukraine war after Trump’s major reversal
Netanyahu issues fresh threat to Hamas if it rejects Trump’s peace plan

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Venezuela’s military has carried out training exercises with volunteer militia members in recent days.

Soldiers have been teaching members of the public to handle weapons for what leaders call a possible US incursion.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters news agency.

The powers granted to Mr Maduro would be valid for a 90-day period, with the option to renew for a further 90 days, according to the nation’s constitution.

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