Nepal's 'living goddess' in limbo

The appointment of a new "living goddess" in Nepal is being held up by the recent abolition of the monarchy, a Nepalese official says.

According to tradition, the king's priest appoints the girl, who is chosen in her infancy and is treated as a goddess, or Kumari, until puberty.

But the priest no longer has any say in the republic, the head of the trust overseeing the tradition says.

Hindus and Buddhists regard the Kumaris as incarnations of a deity.

'Unthinkable'

Shreeya Bajracharya, 6, has been selected by a religious panel as the "living goddess" in the town of Bhaktapur, near the capital Kathmandu.