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Six car bombs kill at least 15 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Six car bombs shook Baghdad's Shiite neighborhoods Sunday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 62 others, police said.

A security official told IraqiNews.com: "Most of the explosions took place in Sadr city while other bombings hit Kamaliya, Habibiya and Saydiya areas."

CNN said the bombings targeted open markets in Shiite neighborhoods.

Although violence in Baghdad has dropped significantly, instances like Sunday's attack continue in the run-up to next month's 10-year anniversary of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq, CNN said.

Six workers kidnapped in Nigeria

JAMA'ARE, Nigeria, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Six people were kidnapped from a Lebanese-owned construction site in northern Nigeria, officials said.

Four of the missing were Nigerian, while the other 2 were foreigners, reported the Nigerian daily newspaper P.M. News, Lagos.

"There was an attack on the Setraco construction company site in Jama'are town (in Bauchi State) by unknown gunmen, Police Chief Mohammed Ladan said of the Saturday incident. Six company staff, including two expatriates, have been identified as the victims, he said.

Further details were not immediately available.

80 witnesses to testify in gang rape trial

NEW DEHLI, India, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Advocates said the trial of five men charged with gang-raping a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Dehli will take another three months.

The Indo-Asian News Service said the New Dehli trial was delayed when the judge's father died, but it will resume Monday.

The trial is likely to be lengthy, as police plan to produce 80 witnesses, including the woman's friend, doctors at the hospital and the magistrate who recorded the victim's statement, IANS said.

Reporters are not allowed in the daily hearings, IANS said, and lawyers are prohibited from talking to journalists about the proceedings.

The five men and a juvenile allegedly gang-raped and tortured a young woman in a moving bus on Dec. 16, IANS said.

The men then allegedly threw the women and her male friend off the bus. The woman died 13 days later.

The defendants' lawyer said he is doubtful his clients will receive a fair trial with the public pressure surrounding the incident.

Court trial for Israel's FM begins

JERUSALEM, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman Sunday pleaded not guilty in a Jerusalem court to charges of fraud and breach of trust.

Lieberman's Jerusalem District Court trial is expected to take months, The Jerusalem Post said. The judges set the next hearing for April 25, Maariv said.

Three judges will preside over the hearings, The Post said.

Lieberman stepped down from his post after he was indicted Dec. 27 on the charges of fraud and breach of public trust for allegedly failing to report a leak by former Belarusian ambassador Ze'ev Ben-Aryeh concerning a police probe against Lieberman in Belarus, for allegedly laundering millions of dollars. The former foreign minister is also suspected of trying to advance Ben-Aryeh's diplomatic position in exchange for the information he received, Haaretz said.

During his trial, Lieberman is barred from sitting in the Cabinet but can continues his parliamentary activities, Haaretz said. If he is found guilty and the offenses carry moral turpitude, he will have to resign immediately from the Knesset. If he is sentenced to more than three months in prison, Lieberman will be barred from running for the Knesset for seven years, starting from the date he completes his sentence, the paper said.