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Georgia Claims World's Oldest Person, 130 Years Old

   VOA News 08 July 2010
   Authorities  in  the  former  Soviet  republic of Georgia claim Antisa
   Khvichava is turning 130, making her the oldest person on Earth.

Photo: AP

   Antisa Khvichava, reportedly 130-year-old Georgian woman, looks at her
   birthday  cake  during  a ceremony marking her birthday at home in the
   remote mountain village of Sachino, 8 Jul 2010.

   Authorities  in the former Soviet republic of Georgia say a woman in a
   remote  mountain  village  celebrated her 130th birthday Thursday -- a
   claim that would make her the oldest person on Earth if confirmed.
   A  spokesman  for  the  Civil  registry branch of the Georgian Justice
   Ministry  (Georgiy  Meurnishvili) says Antisa Khvichava has Soviet-era
   documents  showing  she was born on July 8, 1880.  The spokesman said
   Antisa's original birth certificate had been lost.
   The official told the Associated Press that Khvichava retired from her
   job harvesting tea and picking corn in 1965, at age 85.
   Georgia's  privately-run  Rustavi-2  television  said  Sachino village
   governors  were  expecting  official guests from the capital, Tbilisi,
   Thursday to help celebrate the occasion.
   Gerentologists   say   the   world's   oldest   documented  person  is
   114-year-old  French woman Eugenie Blanchard.  The Georgian claim has
   not been authenticated.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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