This week: the Angel of Dieppe, the world's oldest person and a pioneering Asian-American actor

THE French nun Sister Agnes-Marie Valois, who has died aged 103, was known as the Angel of Dieppe for her selfless, courageous work treating and helping British and Canadian soldiers after a disastrous Allied raid on occupied France during the Second World War.

Sister Agnes, who was born in Rouen, was on duty at a hospital in the city when the raid was launched near Dieppe, about 40 miles away. Called Operation Jubilee, it was launched from England on August 19, 1942, and involved around 6,000 soldiers, most of whom were Canadian.

The operation was one of the first of the Allies' co-ordinated invasions of the war, but it was a disaster and the Germans were waiting for the soldiers as they waded ashore. More than 900 Canadians were killed and around 100 British and many more were injured.

Sister Agnes cared for nearly 2000 soldiers at her hospital and stood up to the German authorities who demanded that she treat German soldiers first. Among the soldiers she cared for, she became a symbol of hope and love, earning the name the Angel of Dieppe.

Born into a well-off family in Rouen, Sister Agnes had joined the Augustinian order and began training as a nurse in 1936. The mayor of Dieppe, Nicolas Langlois said flags were flown at half-mast in the city to pay tribute to "a great lady of our history".

Valois had been living in retirement at a monastery when she died.

THE world's oldest person Nabi Tajima, who has died aged 117, was the last known person born in the 19th century, and raised seven sons and two daughters and reportedly had more than 160 descendants, including great-great-great grandchildren.

She was born on August 4, 1900, in Kikai, a small island of about 7,000 people halfway between Okinawa and Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, and became the oldest living person seven months ago.

On reaching the landmark, a ceremony was held in Kikai to mark the achievement and Ms Tajima was shown on television moving her hands to the beat of music played on traditional Japanese instruments.

The US-based Gerontology Research Group says that another Japanese woman, Chiyo Miyako, is now the world's oldest person in its records. Ms Miyako lives south of Tokyo in Kanagawa prefecture, and is due to turn 117 in 10 days.

Guinness World Records certified 112-year-old Masazo Nonaka of northern Japan as the world's oldest man earlier this month, and was planning to recognise Ms Tajima as the world's oldest person.

THE actor Soon-Tek Oh, who has died aged 85, was a pioneering figure in Asian-American television and theatre. He appeared in some of the biggest television shows of the 1970s and 80s but was perhaps best known for establishing one of the first Asian-American theatre companies in the United States.

Born in Korea, Oh became a familiar face on television in shows such as MASH, Charlie's Angels, Hawaii Five-O and Eighties hits such as Magnum PI and Cagney and Lacey. He also appeared in films - in 1974, he was a baddie turned goodie in the Roger Moore Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun; he also voiced Fa Zhou in the animated film Mulan and its sequel.

However, Oh's greatest lasting legacy is probably as the founder of the East West Players which helped pave the way for other Asian-American theatre companies. Oh also taught acting in Korea for several years before returning to live in the US.