IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Australia

Sydney gasps for air as smoke lingers

The Australian state of New South Wales was gasping under the worst air pollution ever recorded in the state on Friday as smoke from widespread bushfires caused a spike in hospital visits and hazards including poor visibility for drivers. Sydney, the country's most populous city, was blanketed in a thick haze for the fourth consecutive day, pushing it into a rare and repeat appearance in the list of top 10 cities with the worst air pollution in the world.

Ireland

16 migrants found in sealed trailer on ferry

The crew of a passenger ferry traveling to Ireland from France discovered 16 migrants of Middle Eastern origin stowed aboard in a sealed trailer on Thursday, all of them in good health, Irish police said. The 16 men were found during a routine inspection on board the ferry while it was traveling from the French port of Cherbourg to Rosslare in southeast Ireland, a spokesman for the vessel's Swedish operator, Stena Line, said.

United States

First Marvel comic sets auction record

The first comic book produced by Marvel, the famed US publisher behind Spider-Man, X-Men and The Avengers, fetched a record $1.26 million at an auction on Thursday, Heritage Auctions said. "This is a historic copy of a historic comic book," said Ed Jaster of the auction house. The book was published in 1939 by Timely Comics, which later became Marvel. "This is the granddaddy of all Marvel Comics, without which we would not have the characters we enjoy in today's comics and feature films," he said. The copy that went under the hammer this week was sold in very good condition and well above the price of 10 cents it fetched back in 1939.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/23/2019 page8)