News in Brief

The trial of Ehud Olmert's travel planner, Rachael Risby-Raz, in connection with the so-called Rishon Tours double-billing scandal, opened yesterday. The charges include fraud, breach of trust and maintaining false corporate records. The state claims Risby-Raz helped Olmert's former office manager, Shula Zaken, to raise about $92,000 by double-billing travel expenses in order to pay for overseas trips by Olmert and his family. Risby-Raz's attorney told the court the charges should be dropped because they are the result of selective enforcement of the law and discrimination against his client. (Nir Hasson)

An Israel Defense Forces soldier was convicted of manslaughter yesterday and sentenced to 27 months in prison for having accidentally killed a fellow soldier. Daniel Dresner of the Golani Brigade was cleaning his gun this past August when it accidentally went off, killing Sgt. Or Hadad. The conviction and sentence handed down by the military court stemmed from a plea bargain. It reflected the fact that on one hand, cleaning one's gun is a legitimate military activity, but on the other, Dresner was seriously negligent in not having first made sure the gun was not loaded. (Anshel Pfeffer)

An Israel Police representative acknowledged yesterday that the force had no domestic violence investigators who speak Amharic, the native language of the country's Ethiopian immigrant community. The representative was speaking at a session of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women marking the observance today of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Committee member MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima), who himself of born in Ethiopia, said in response that it is inconceivable that the Israel Police "not be attentive to an entire population," adding that law enforcement must be accessible to all Israelis. (Jonathan Lis)

EasyJet Airlines announced Monday that it was removing all 250,00 copies of the current issue of its in-flight magazine from its aircraft because it features photos of fashion models taken against the backdrop of the cement columns of the Holocaust memorial in Berlin. The airline, which inaugurated service this month between Tel Aviv and London, apologized for the publication and said the mishap was caused by an outside firm which produces the magazine. EasyJet expressed shock at the publication and said it was reconsidering its ties with the company that produced the magazine. (Assaf Uni)

The Second Television and Radio Authority sent a complaint yesterday to Channel 2 franchisee Keshet regarding the possible use of prohibited forms of advertising on its "Big Brother" show on Sunday. The episode involved efforts by participants to discover secrets from their fellow team-members' pasts. One participant mentioned that he had worked for the Bezeq telecommunications company, which is a sponsor of the show. The show also featured a picture of his workplace and a spokesperson for Bezeq. A Keshet spokesman said Keshet was in compliance with all applicable regulations. (Gili Izikovich)