Judge attacks gay marriage plan

26 December 2012 Last updated at 13:44 GMT Ministers say religious groups will be able to "opt in" to holding ceremonies Ministers are pursuing the "wrong policy" on gay marriage, and should be focusing on family breakdown, a High Court judge has said.

Sir Paul Coleridge told the Times same-sex unions are a "minority issue".

But Liberal Democrat minister Lynne Featherstone has dismissed what she sees as the "shameful" arguments being used by some religious figures.

The comments come after the Roman Catholic Church's leader in England and Wales denounced the plans.

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols told the BBC the government had no mandate to push through same-sex marriage laws in England and Wales.

And in his Christmas Eve sermon he said that marriage between men and women shares in "the creative love of God".

Sir Paul told the Times newspaper: "So much energy and time has been put into this debate for 0.1% of the population, when we have a crisis of family breakdown.

"While it is gratifying that marriage in any context is centre stage... but it [gay marriage] is a minority issue.

"We need... a more focused position by the government on the importance of marriage."

Sir Paul last year launched independent charity Marriage Foundation to support married couples but said the charity did not take a stance on gay marriage.

He added the breakdown of marriages and its impact on society affects 99.9% of the population, which is where more investment and time should spent.

'Strongest attack'

During his BBC interview, Archbishop Nichols said of the gay marriage plans: "There was no announcement in any party manifesto, no Green Paper, no statement in the Queen's Speech. And yet here we are on the verge of primary legislation.

"From a democratic point-of-view, it's a shambles. George Orwell would be proud of that manoeuvre, I think the process is shambolic."

He claims during a "period of listening", those who responded were "7-1 against same-sex marriage".

Archbishop of Westminster: "I think there is something of a sham going on"

Lib Dem minister Ms Featherstone writes on her blog that it is "quite shameful to argue against equal marriage on the grounds that religions will be forced to conduct such marriages".

This "not only became untrue once the government's intention to make it permissive for those religions that wish to conduct such services to have the freedom to so do - but on which issue the government is bending over backwards (some would say too far) to ensure any such fears are unwarranted", she says.

Ms Featherstone, who used to be the equalities minister and now has an international development brief, adds that "it is even more shameful" that some argue there is "no mandate" for the change.

BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said Archbishop Nichols's comments were his strongest attack yet on the government's plans for gay marriage.

In the past, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has likened committed gay relationships to "profound friendships".

Pope Benedict XVI reiterated his opposition to gay marriage last week in a pre-Christmas address, saying it was destroying the very "essence of the human creature".

"People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves."

The UK government has previously announced that the Church of England and Church in Wales will be banned in law from offering same-sex marriages, with other religious organisations able to "opt in" to holding ceremonies.

The government plans to allow gay marriage but says it will not force religious bodies to perform services.

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North Iraq bomb attacks kill 25

17 December 2012 Last updated at 16:54 GMT Two bombs exploded in a Shia district of Tuz Khurmatu At least 25 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts across Iraq, officials and medical workers say.

Car and truck bombs were detonated mainly in ethnically diverse towns and villages in northern Iraq.

The area is a source of dispute between the Iraqi government and the Kurdish minority, which governs an autonomous region in the north.

The attacks mark a second consecutive day of violence in the region, though it is unclear who is behind them.

The bloodiest attack was in a village near the city of Mosul, when a truck bomb exploded killing seven people, officials said.

The village is inhabited by families from the Shabak ethno-religious minority group.

Two car bombs also exploded in a Shia district of Tuz Khurmatu, a town 70km (45 miles) south of Kirkuk, killing five people and wounding at least 24 others.

There were also reports of bombings targeting Shia pilgrims heading to city of Samarra, as well as deadly bomb attacks in the capital Baghdad.

Disputed territories

On Sunday at least nine people were killed and dozens wounded when blasts struck three Shia Muslim targets in the city of Kirkuk and an office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the town of Jalula, to the south-east.

Kirkuk and Jalula are in oil-rich territories that border the area administered by the Kurdish regional government, which claims rights over them.

They have been a potential flashpoint since the last US troops left a year ago.

Last month, both the government and Kurdish authorities sent troops to reinforce military positions in the disputed territories.

No groups have claimed responsibility for the bombings, but the mayor of Tuz Khurmatu Shalal Abdul told Reuters: "The bombers are trying to stir tensions, but we are telling them we will be more unified by these attacks."

Although sectarian violence has decreased in Iraq since the height of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, attacks are still common.

Gun and bomb attacks on a Shabak family near Mosul and Shia in Tuz Khurmatu left several dead and injured on a single day in October.

The Shabak, who number about 50,000 and live between the Mosul plane and Baashiqa, have their own distinct language and belief system.

They are sometimes described as Ahl al-Haqq, a sect which venerates Ali. Others believe they are Shia or followers of Yarsanism, sharing its belief in seven good and evil spirits. They are also said to believe in a universal spirit and practise some Christian rites.

The Shabak are said to be of Turkic, Persian or Kurdish ethnic origin. Some speak Gorani, a dialect of Kurdish, while others speak a Turkic dialect. In recent decades, many Shabak have become Arabised.

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