News in Brief

No progress was made in yesterday's meeting between Secondary School Teachers' Association Chairman Ran Erez and Education Ministry Director General Shmuel Abuov, who had hoped to come to an agreement that would allow the school year to open on schedule on Monday. High school teachers are threatening to strike over unmet contract demands for a wage hike, smaller class sizes and other items. Erez said after the meeting that Abuov meant well but did not have the authority to negotiate with the union. (Or Kashti)

A convicted pedophile who was arrested on Monday while snapping pictures of naked children on a Tel Aviv beach with his mobile phone will be arraigned this morning ahead of a likely indictment. The police are expected to present the court with a declaration of intention to indict from the state. The relatively minor nature of the current charge pending against Shlomi Korido, 28, led to an argument between the police and the prosecutor's office, with some of the parties advising against prosecution. Police are still investigating whether Korido, who served six years in prison for sexual offenses against children, intended to distribute the images captured on his phone camera on the Internet. (Roni Singer-Heruti)

Twenty people from Kibbutz Snir were sent for emergency prophylactic rabies treatment after a female dog who had been on the kibbutz was diagnosed with the disease. No reports of bites were received. Dr. Amar Hussein, head of the emergency room at Rebecca Sieff Hospital in Safed, where the treatment was administered, stressed that rabies is fatal if not treated. "In the event of contact with a sick animal, or a bite, the affected area should be washed with soap and water and followed by an antiseptic, and the victim should immediately go to the closest first-aid center or hospital emergency room." (Eli Ashkenazi)

The Tiberias woman who was arrested last week for allegedly abusing her two young sons will be indicted today. The Northern District Prosecutor's Office is expected to charge the woman, who is 30, with abuse of helpless minors as well as false imprisonment. When police were called to her apartment last week they found her sons, aged 2 and 3, locked in separate rooms, with welts on their bodies. The suspect's attorney, Dan Gilad, protested against the "murder by media" of his client and described the very difficult circumstances of her life. Neighbors of the woman interviewed by Haaretz said they never saw signs of physical violence against the children. (Eli Ashkenazi)

Dozens of people, including about 15 refugees from Eritrea and Sudan's Darfur region, demonstrated yesterday in Jerusalem's Paris Square against the expulsion of refugees to Egypt. "We came in the name of our organization, which includes mainly African refugees," Rami Adut of the African Refugees Development Center said yesterday. "Our message is against deporting anyone who requests asylum, not only Sudanese from Darfur." The ARDC was established in 2003 and is registered as a non-profit association in Israel. Its goals include improving the living conditions of refugees in Israel. Yesterday, members called on the government to grant refugees aid when they arrive in the country and not to hold them in detention centers. (Jonathan Lis)

Ecological activists in Tel Aviv and Haifa said this week they would be running on a shared ticket in the 2008 municipal elections, according to Shmuel Gelbhart, deputy mayor of Haifa and head of the green faction on the Haifa municipal council. Gelbhart said the unity ticket in the two cities is a very important step. Gelbhart and the chairman of the Green Party, Pe'er Visner, decided that in light of the environmental dangers in the port and the city of Haifa, the Green Party should run a candidate for mayor. Haaretz has learned that Uzi Dayan, head of the Tafnit movement, has been approached to lead the Greens in the next Knesset elections. Tafnit said in response that it attached great importance to the environment and quality of life and was considering various offers. ( Fadi Eyadat)

Ofer Libo, 29, of Tel Aviv, suspected of raping a young woman from the North, had his remand extended for six days by the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court. The woman told police she met the accused in a club in Jaffa 10 days ago, had a few drinks with him and the next thing she remembered was waking up in his bed. Libo had sex with her without her knowledge after he spiked her drink with the date rape drug, she alleged. She said she does not remember what happened. Libo was questioned as a result of her complaint. He denied the accusations, saying they were both drunk. There are two other cases, both alleging sexual harassment, against Libo currently open. (Roni Singer-Heruti)