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Nov. 30 (UPI) — Swiss voters have rejected a tax on ultra wealthy residents and turned down a proposal to extend mandatory military service to women, initial poll results showed Sunday.

Nearly 85% of voters rejected military or civic service for females, and 79% voted against a 50% inheritance tax for the most wealthy Swiss.

The inheritance tax would have imposed the levy on individuals receiving a tax-free amount of 50 million Swiss Francs, or just over $62 million. The proposal, made by the youth wing of the leftist Social Democrats, would have directed the funds toward the nation’s climate change mitigation efforts.

The inheritance tax would have affected about 2,500 hundred Swiss, or about 0.03% of the population.

The mandatory military proposal, called “For a committed Switzerland,” would have extended compulsory military or civilian service to women. It already applies to Swiss men.

It would have expanded forms of service to include causes that benefit society, including environmental protection, helping vulnerable citizens and aiding in disaster prevention efforts.

The Geneva-based servicecitoyen.ch proposed the service initiative, ans was backed by a petition with 107,613 signatures. It had the support of the Liberal Greens, the Evangelical Party, the Pirate Party and the youth wing of the Center Party.

Polling ten days prior to the election predicted broad based opposition to both measures. Critics of the inheritance tax warned that passing it could lead to an exodus of wealthy people from the country and cause irreparable economic harm, and that any proceeds generated by the tax would not make up for the lack of spending by the people affected if they left.

A 1940 self-portrait by Frida Kahlo has sold for $54.7m and made auction history at Sotheby’s in New York.

A haunting 1940 self-portrait by famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has sold for $54.7m, making it the most expensive work by a female artist to sell at auction.

The painting of Kahlo asleep in a bed, titled El sueno (La cama) – or in English, The Dream (The Bed) – surpassed the record held by Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No 1, which sold for $44.4m in 2014.

The sale at Sotheby’s in New York on Thursday evening also topped Kahlo’s own auction record for a work by a Latin American artist.

The 1949 painting, Diego and I, depicting the artist and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, went for $34.9m in 2021.

Her paintings are reported to have sold privately for even more.

The self-portrait that broke records on Thursday is among the few Kahlo pieces that have remained in private hands outside Mexico, where her body of work has been declared an artistic monument.

Kahlo’s works in both public and private collections within Mexico cannot be sold abroad or destroyed. Because the painting sold on Thursday comes from a private collection, it is legally eligible for international sale. Sotheby’s said the owner who put the painting up for auction – and whose identity has not been disclosed – “astutely” purchased the piece also at auction in New York in 1980.

The buyer’s identity was also not disclosed.

‘El sueño (La cama)’ by Frida Kahlo soars to $54.7 million, becoming the most valuable work by a woman artist ever sold at auction.

Painted in 1940 during a pivotal decade in her career, marked by her turbulent relationship with Diego Rivera. pic.twitter.com/t6Sni7fIKT

— Sotheby’s (@Sothebys) November 21, 2025

Some art historians had scrutinised the sale for cultural reasons, while others had raised concerns that the painting, which was last exhibited publicly in the late 1990s, could again disappear from public view after the auction.

It has already been requested for upcoming exhibitions in cities including New York, London and Brussels.

The piece depicts Kahlo asleep in a wooden, colonial-style bed that floats in the clouds. She is draped in a golden blanket and entangled in crawling vines and leaves. Above the bed lies a skeleton figure wrapped in dynamite.

Kahlo vibrantly and unsparingly depicted herself and events from her life, which was altered by a bus accident at 18.

She started to paint while bedridden, underwent a series of painful surgeries on her damaged spine and pelvis, and then wore casts until her death in 1954 at age 47.

During the years Kahlo was confined to her bed, she came to view painting as a bridge between worlds as she explored her mortality.

“I’m very proud that she’s one of the most valued women, because really, what woman doesn’t identify with Frida, or what person doesn’t?” her great-niece, Mara Romeo Kahlo, told The Associated Press news agency before the auction.

“I think everyone carries a little piece of my aunt in their heart.”

Kahlo resisted being labelled a surrealist painter, a style of art that is dreamlike and centres on a fascination with the unconscious mind.

“I never painted dreams,” she once said. “I painted my own reality.”

The new record for Kahlo’s painting came hours after a Gustav Klimt portrait sold for $236.4m, setting a new record for a modern art piece.

Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer sold after a 20-minute bidding war, also at Sotheby’s in New York, on Tuesday.

A solo female backpacker boarded a sleeper bus in Cambodia only to be greeted with an awkward surprise. She shared details about the uncomfortable situation online

An Australian backpacker was left baffled during a recent journey on a sleeper bus in Cambodia when she discovered an awkward surprise waiting for her as she boarded the bus.

Budget travellers often opt for overnight bus and train journeys as they’re typically more affordable than daytime travel whilst providing accommodation for the night at no additional cost. But one solo backpack traveller was forced to question just how far she’d go to save a few quid when she realised she’d have to share a tiny double bed with a complete stranger during her recent overnight bus trip in Cambodia.

Eden Kelly, 26, from Australia turned to Instagram to document the moment she climbed aboard a bus in the South Asian nation, only to find an unexpected bedmate already settled in the bed they were meant to share.

“10.5 hrs on a sleeper bus being paired with a total stranger in a SMALL double bed,” she penned in her post’s caption.

“Literally that’s what you share with someone,” Eden explained at the beginning of her video, displaying the cramped double beds in question. “And because I’m travelling solo, I share with a random [person]. Don’t know what gender, don’t know who they are.”

You can watch the reel here if the video post above isn’t working

The following clip showed Eden revealing a man already lying in the bed, enthusiastically waving hello to the camera.

Eden was then filmed having climbed into the narrow bed alongside the stranger, sitting upright whilst he remained lying down. Eden described the situation as ‘one of the most awkward’ she’d ever experienced, laughing nervously at her predicament.

She noticed a British couple she’d met earlier on her travels were nearby, so she quickly moved to chat with them, hoping to escape the discomfort of sharing a bed with a stranger.

Returning to her bed, she discovered that her unexpected bedfellow had requested a change of beds, leaving Eden alone and somewhat disappointed.

“I’m offended, a little bit sad, but it’s fine because now I get a whole bed to myself,” Eden shared with her viewers.

Viewers were quick to share their thoughts in the comments section, with many questioning why the man from the British couple hadn’t offered to swap beds with Eden, seeing she was clearly uncomfortable.

“Why didn’t you stay with your female friend and your male friend go with a stranger?” one viewer queried.

In response, Eden explained: “Hi all, I met them (the British couple) on a tour 12 hours before getting the bus. I might’ve ended up being a girlfriend snatcher. They did not AT ALL need to offer to swap beds as I was pretty much a stranger to them too!!! Xx”.

Another viewer chimed in: “I would’ve booked 2 spots, ain’t NO WAY I’d share an overnight bus and a bed with a stranger.”

Yet, another individual countered: “If someone came to the spot next to me constantly recording, including putting me on their video. I wouldn’t feel great about that, glad he could be more comfortable somewhere else.”

“I couldn’t ask for a better horse – Guchen gave me such a great feeling and I will remember this day forever.

“I just wanted to get round safely and repay the trust that Kim and Mat have had in me.

“I am really proud to be the first black British female jump jockey. When I was growing up I looked up to Khadijah Mellah and I hope that now other young people will look up to me as well and know that they can also reach their dreams.”

Mellah became the first British Muslim woman to win a horse race in Britain when victorious in the 2019 Magnolia Cup, and co-founded the academy.

“I have watched Aamilah progress over the years and I could not be more excited and proud to see her race today,” said Mellah.

“Visibility is so important and I am excited for her to have the opportunity to display her talent and hard work.”

Fellow academy co-founder Naomi Lawson said the organisation was aiming to “ensure that young people from diverse ethnic communities have the chance to shine in the sport”.

She added: “Only around 2-3% of licensed jockeys come from these communities, far below the national average, so we hope that Aamilah is the first of many to come through the ranks and succeed.”

David Robinson / Geograph

PA Media

‘Above bigotry’

Christian Concern