Marcia Lucas, the Oscar-winning editor of the original Star Wars film, has died aged 80.

Lucas, who was married to Star Wars creator George Lucas during the making of the first three films, was regarded as a pivotal creative force behind the space saga’s early success, imbuing the original series with emotional depth and narrative clarity.

She died from metastatic cancer at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, on Wednesday surrounded by loved ones, according to her family.

“Marcia was a force,” her family said in a statement to US media on Friday. “A true trailblazer for women in film and one of the most influential editors in cinematic history; she helped redefine what film editing could be.”

Lucas won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for 1977’s Star Wars – later renamed A New Hope – alongside editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch.

Although her contributions largely took place behind the scenes, her role in shaping the film’s emotional heart and narrative structure has been widely recognised in the decades since its release.

George Lucas credited her with helping make sense of the vast amount of footage filmed for the climactic Death Star battle sequence.

“It was extremely complex and we had 40,000 feet of dialogue footage of pilots saying this and that,” he told Rolling Stone shortly after the film’s release

“Nobody really has ever tried to interweave an actual plot story into a dogfight, and we were trying to do that.”

Born Marcia Griffin in Modesto, California, in 1945, she began her career as a film librarian before becoming one of Hollywood’s most respected editors.

After marrying George Lucas in 1969, she worked on several of his early films, including THX 1138 and American Graffiti – earning an Oscar nomination for the latter.

She also collaborated with director Martin Scorsese on a string of his acclaimed 1970s films including Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver and New York, New York.

Lucas later returned to the Star Wars franchise, working on The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983.

She and George Lucas adopted a daughter, Amanda, in 1981. The couple divorced in 1983 after 14 years of marriage.

She later married Tom Rodrigues, a production manager at Skywalker Ranch, with whom she had a second daughter, Amy.

[BBC]

At least 18 people, including women and children, were killed when a cargo truck carrying recently returned Afghan refugees from Pakistan overturned on a major highway in eastern Afghanistan, authorities said.

Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the crash took place in the Qarghayi district of Laghman province on Saturday.

The vehicle, heavily loaded with displaced families and their household belongings, veered off the road at approximately 5:30am local time (01:00 GMT) near the Surkhakan intersection in Qarghayi district.

The provincial Director of Public Health Aminullah Sharif said the accident occurred when the truck fell into a ditch after the driver fell asleep.

Authorities said at least 10 children were among the dead.

Abdul Malik Niazay, a spokesperson for the Laghman provincial governor, said more than 30 other passengers were injured, some critically. The families had been temporarily staying in eastern Kunar province and were en route to the capital, Kabul.

Emergency services quickly transferred the wounded to medical facilities in neighbouring Nangarhar province, where several remain in intensive care.

The central government expressed formal condolences to the families of the victims. The Taliban’s Mujahid said in a post on X, “we pray for the speedy recovery of the injured”, adding that he was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy which took place at the end of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority announced 730,000 afghanis ($10,000) in emergency financial assistance for the affected families.

[Aljazeera]

The former head of China’s famous Shaolin Temple – known as the birthplace of kung fu – has been sentenced to 24 years in jail for crimes including embezzlement and bribery.

Shi Yongxin had misappropriated temple assets worth more than 282m yuan ($42m; £31m) from 2003 to 2025, a court in the central Henan province said.

It said Shi had also used his official position to illegally obtain millions from temple construction projects, as well as offering huge bribes to Chinese officials.

Shi – whose birth name is Liu Yingcheng – had earlier admitted his guilt, China’s state Xinhua news agency reported. On Friday, he said he would not appeal against the verdict.

The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple – located on a mountain range – attracts thousands of disciples from China and elsewhere every year.

Shi took office there as abbot in 1999, soon earning the nickname “CEO monk” for transforming the institution into a global brand.

Under his leadership, the temple started opening schools outside China and formed a travelling troupe of monks who performed Shaolin kung fu shows – the temple’s signature style of martial arts.

Last year he was defrocked, China’s Buddhist association said.

Shi was investigated for embezzlement and fathering several children in 2015, but was later cleared of the charges.

In an interview with BBC Chinese that year, he said: “If there were a problem, it would have surfaced long ago.”

The name “Shaolin Temple” has gained prominence in pop culture over the years, including being the title of a 1982 film starring Jet Li.

The temple is referenced in songs by American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and inspired a spin-off of the video game Mortal Kombat.

[BBC]