Police then killed the assailant, who was armed with an assault rifle.

The shooting took place on Sunday evening in Kizlyar (pictured), a town of about 50,000 people on the border with Chechnya.

Worshippers were learning a traditional pre-Lent festival, Maslenitsa when the incident broke out, according to Russia media reports.

State news agency Tass cited mayor Alexander Shuvalov as saying four people were killed and four wounded.

St George’s Church in Kizlyar, Dagestan

The motive for the shooting was not immediately known.

Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim region between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea.

Following two separatist wars in neighbouring Chechnya, an Islamist insurgency spread to Dagestan.

Reporting by Associated Press (received via the Press Association)

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Although circumfusion is widely done for religious and cultural reasons, a bill in the Icelandic parliament calls for someone to imprisoned for up to six years if the procedure is not done solely for medical reasons.

The proposed bill states that “Anyone who… causes damage to the body or health of a child or a woman by… removing sexual organs shall be imprisoned for up to six years.”

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the Catholic Church in the European Union (COMECE), has attacked the idea.

He said in a statement: “Protecting the health of children is a legitimate goal of every society, but in this case this concern is instrumentalised, without any scientific basis, to stigmatise certain religious communities. This is extremely worrying.

“COMECE considers any attempt on the fundamental right to freedom of religion as unacceptable.

“The criminalisation of circumcision is a very grave measure that raises deep concern.”

COMECE President Cardinal Reinhard Marx

COMECE said although Iceland is not part of the EU, it has with it privileged relations which imply the respect of certain principles and obligations.

Supporters of the bill have expressed concern that male circumcision is not carried out with anaesthesia and is conducted by religious leaders, not doctors.

They are also worried about the “high…

The Church Commissioners – which manage the Church’s £7.9 billion investment fund – criticised the sportswear giant amid a string of controversies at the high street chain, the Press Association understands.

In a series of letters delivered to the company, the Church is thought to have touched on issues including executive pay and working conditions at the retailer.

The correspondence came at a time when Sports Direct was dealing with serious operational, governance and risk oversight problems.

These included what unions described as “Victorian” working conditions at the high street chain’s Shirebrook factory in Derbyshire, and the retention of Keith Hellawell as chairman against the wishes of key shareholders.

The retailer also admitted to paying warehouse workers below the national minimum wage in 2016.

Mr Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United Football Club, was hauled before MPs to answer questions on the controversies, after which Sports Direct ordered in-house law firm RPC to carry out a review of the failings.

The Church’s investment arm, which has a minority holding in Sports Direct, made its disapproval clear at the group’s AGM, voting against the re-election of both chairman Mr Hellawell and chief executive Mr Ashley in 2017, as well as the head of the remuneration committee and remuneration report.

The…