Star Wars Collectibles at Auction ahead of 9th Chapter's Premiere

A prototype Imperial Stroomtrooper helmet from 1976, estimated at £30,000-60,000, goes on view at Sotheby's in London, England. (Getty Images)
A prototype Imperial Stroomtrooper helmet from 1976, estimated at £30,000-60,000, goes on view at Sotheby's in London, England. (Getty Images)
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Star Wars Collectibles at Auction ahead of 9th Chapter's Premiere

A prototype Imperial Stroomtrooper helmet from 1976, estimated at £30,000-60,000, goes on view at Sotheby's in London, England. (Getty Images)
A prototype Imperial Stroomtrooper helmet from 1976, estimated at £30,000-60,000, goes on view at Sotheby's in London, England. (Getty Images)

From posters to action figures, Star Wars collectibles are up for grabs in an online auction, days ahead of the release of the sci-fi saga's highly-anticipated ninth chapter.

The online auction features more than 100 items dating back decades, with prices ranging from 100 to 60,000 pounds, according to auction house Sotheby's.

Among the memorabilia is a helmet from 1976, which as an estimated price tag of 30,000 - 60,000 pounds ($38,490 - $76,980).

A toy shop display of "The Empire Strikes Back" figures and Millennium Falcon ship is priced at 7,000 - 10,000 pounds.

A 1976 poster designed to promote the first Star Wars film, "A New Hope", and signed by actor Mark Hamill has a price tag of 5,000 - 8,000 pounds.

Bruce Marchant, film poster consultant for Sotheby's, told Reuters: "It has taken over a year to put together pieces from all over the world."

The online sale began last week and runs until December 13.

The latest film, "The Rise of Skywalker" begins its cinema roll-out from December 18.



Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
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Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

Nearly 1,000 firefighters and helicopters battled a wildfire about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of France's second-largest city Marseille on Friday, but officials said lower temperatures and increased humidity had improved the situation.

The 240-hectare (593 acres) wildfire flared up a week after a separate conflagration reached the northwestern outskirts of Marseille, forcing people to evacuate or into lockdown and temporarily shuttering the area's airport.

Pierre Bepoix, the colonel of rescue operations and deputy director for the area's firefighters, said 150 people had been evacuated, but firefighters had managed to save 150 homes and portions of the area's forests.

"It was a fire that swept through relatively dense vegetation ... which made our work particularly complicated," Bepoix told Reuters. "Obviously, priority was given to the preservation and protection of these homes and the lives that could be in these buildings."

Local officials said in a statement that 120 homes had been threatened by the fire, adding that it was not possible yet to identify any possible damage to them, and that two firefighters had been injured.

Meanwhile in Spain, a wildfire that broke out on Thursday evening in the central Toledo province and could be seen from downtown Madrid, ravaged 3,200 hectares of woodland.

Regional emergency services said early on Friday firefighters had secured the perimeter, though there were concerns over strong winds and high temperatures forecast throughout the day.