A common supposition – that of the purposeless disbeliever, lacking anything to ascribe ultimate meaning to the universe – does not bear scrutiny, a university study said.

Most endorse objective moral values and human dignity at similar rates to the general populations in their countries, the report presented at the Vatican said.

One of the authors, University of Kent sociologist Dr Lois Lee, said: “These findings show once and for all that the public image of the atheist is a simplification at best, and a gross caricature at worst.

“Instead of relying on assumptions about what it means to be an atheist, we can now work with a real understanding of the many different world views that the atheist population includes.

“The implications for public and social policy are substantial – and this study also stands to impact on more everyday interactions in religiously diverse societies.”

The research is supported by a £2.3 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation and is led by the University of Kent in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast, St Mary’s University Twickenham, and Coventry University.

The global Understanding Unbelief programme to advance the scientific understanding of atheism and non-religion will present the results from its research at the Vatican in Rome.

The multidisciplinary research programme maps the nature and diversity of “unbelief”…

Most of the victims were schoolgirls who were lined up at a bus stop near Noborito Park in the city of Kawasaki when the man in his 40s or 50s, carrying a knife in each hand, began slashing them.

An official at the Kawasaki city office told the AP that 16 people, most of them schoolgirls, were wounded and three others, including the attacker, were believed to have died.

The official said three of the injuries were serious and 13 others were not life-threatening.

NHK national television, quoting police, said that the suspect died after cutting himself in the neck.

Police would not immediately confirm the specifics of that report.

Most of the victims attended a private school founded by Soeurs de la Charite de Quebec, an organisation of Catholic nuns in Quebec City in Canada.

A witness told the Mainichi newspaper that he heard children shrieking after walking past a bus, and when he turned around, he saw a man wielding a knife in each hand, screaming “I will kill you” and that several children were on the ground.

NHK, citing police, said that a bus driver told officials that a man holding a knife in each hand walked toward the bus and started slashing children.

NHK also interviewed a witness who said he saw the suspect trying to force his way onto a bus.

The attacker’s identity and motives were not immediately known.

Television footage showed emergency workers giving…

Leaders of the Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian churches issued a statement announcing the project to restore the foundations and flooring of the church, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, entombed and resurrected.

A Greek team headed the 2016 restoration project to preserve the aedicule, a large structure inside the church housing the tomb.

The upcoming second rehabilitation project will involve two Italian institutions.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is shared by multiple Christian sects under a status quo management agreement.

Even perceived alterations to the status quo have resulted in arguments or violence.

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