Still smiling at 117, Albanian may be world’s oldest woman

According to Jamaica Observer (General News), KUÇOVA, Albania (AFP) — At 117, Qamile Marra is not particularly concerned with proving she may be the world’s oldest woman — or even persuading Albanian pension officials that she is not dead. For a woman born under Ottoman rule, who turned 36 a fortnight before the end of World War II and outlived Albania’s communist dictatorship, her focus remains firmly on enjoying life. “Life is beautiful, like Mount Tomorr in bloom,” she told AFP with a smile, referring to one of Albania’s loftiest peaks as she sat outside her home in Ferras, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital. Surrounded by fruit trees, Marra has spent almost her entire life in the village, growing her own food and tending livestock. “You live as long as God has decreed,” she said, her deeply wrinkled face framed by a traditional white headscarf. According to her birthdate as listed on several official documents