Egypt: Blindfolded child to pick Coptic Pope

Clergy from the Coptic Orthodox Church began casting ballots yesterday to decide who will become the leader of the Middle East's largest Christian minority – a process which will end with a ritual involving a blindfolded child making the choice at random.

More than 2,400 clergy and lay people arrived to register their vote at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo, following the death of Pope Shenouda III in March. On Sunday the process will end with a "lottery" system.