Kane Tanaka

Living to celebrate your 100th birthday is largely down to genetics and pure luck. But there may be some simple ways to boost your chances, according to centenarians from around the world. Keeping the brain active is the habit 119-year-old Kane Tanaka in Japan (top left) swore by before she died. But Jessie Gallan of Aberdeen (top right) says staying away from men helped her live so long. San Francisco-born Maria Branyas Morera (top centre), who is 116, has prioritised living a calm existence, while Susannah Mushatt Jones (bottom left), who lived to the same age, was known for her love of eggs and bacon. Jeanne Calment (bottom centre), who lived to a record-breaking 121, enjoyed chocolate and red wine, while Juan Vicente Pérez (bottom right), spoke of the importance of making time to take holidays and relax.

A French nun who held the title of being the world's oldest person has died at the age of 118, her retirement home has said. Lucile Randon, who was born on February 11, 1904, passed away less than a month before she was due to turn 119 having survived catching Covid last year. Ms Randon, who went by the name Sister Andre after joining a Catholic charitable order in 1944, had taken the title last year after the death of a 119-year-old Japanese woman. Her death was announced on Tuesday, January 17,  by a Toulon nursing home where she had spent the last years of her life on the Mediterranean coast.