August 29, 2012 - Updated 1959 PKT
From Web Edition
MARSEILLE: Paule Bronzini, France's oldest woman, has died at the age of 112, her retirement home announced on Wednesday.
Bronzini, who celebrated her 112th birthday on July 7, died overnight. She leaves five children, 12 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great-grandchildren.
A former housewife who had been a widow since 1967, Bronzini had become the oldest living Frenchwoman in June following the death of Marie-Therese Bardet one week after her 114th birthday.
Italian-born American Besse Cooper, 115, is the oldest woman in the world, according to the US-based Gerontology Research Group (GRG), which compiles birth certificates of people aged over 110 years.
The GRG lists cover the Americas, Europe, Australia and Japan, but do not include Russia, China or African states. (AFP)
