6 Israeli soldiers die in Gaza City fighting

6 Israeli soldiers diein Gaza City fighting
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Palestinian militants blew up an Israeli armored personnel carrier today, killing six Israeli soldiers in one of the fiercest battles in Gaza City in recent months. Five Palestinians were killed and 88 wounded in the fighting.
For more than 12 hours, explosions and machine gun fire from tanks and helicopters were heard across Gaza City, and white smoke rose into the air.
The death of six soldiers -- the highest casualty count in a single army operation in nearly two years -- was expected to increase public pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip. Sharon is pushing for a withdrawal, but the plan was vetoed by his Likud Party in a referendum last week.
Hours after the bombing, Sharon called an emergency meeting of his inner Cabinet in response to the killings, government officials said. The inner Cabinet is usually convened to approve military reprisals for the killing of Israelis by Palestinian militants.
Israeli media said the armored personnel carrier exploded when it drove over a massive bomb weighing about 220 pounds.
President Gloria Arroyo leads in Philippine voting
MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took an early lead in Philippine elections, according to unofficial returns today, but her movie star opponent charged that widespread irregularities had cast doubts on the vote.
Actor Fernando Poe Jr. outlined a list of alleged problems in Monday's polling, including men in military uniforms opening boxes to burn ballots, vote-buying, harassment of voters and switching of ballots.
Arroyo praised what she called relatively orderly balloting but urged Filipinos to remain "vigilant until the last vote is counted." The military warned against violence or mass protests and said it would use "necessary force" to maintain order.
Asked about polls showing her ahead, Arroyo did not directly answer. But she appeared confident and said "the important thing now is we must leave behind the rancor that unfortunately characterized the campaign."
Study: Students pay pricefor unruly classrooms
WASHINGTON -- The way teachers see it, today's classroom environment often deserves a D -- as in disrespectful, distracting and disheartening enough to drive many of them away.
Most teachers in middle and high schools say misbehavior by a handful of children is such a disruptive, pervasive force that a majority of students suffer for it, a study released today said.
Although schools have become better at responding to serious offenses, such as guns and drugs on campus, the cumulative problem of routine unruly behavior is undermining academic achievement, says the report by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan research group. Most teachers say they contend with students who disrespect them, cheat, show up late and harass others.
More than three in four teachers said they could do their job more effectively if not for discipline problems; more than eight in 10 said most students suffer because of a few troublemakers. Nevertheless, the time spent on crowd control is not the kind of problem that generates public attention or outrage among policy-makers, the study said.
The study was based on a mail survey of 725 public middle and high school teachers and a telephone survey of 600 parents of public school students in grades five through 12. Both had had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The study was financed by Common Good, a bipartisan legal reform coalition.
Drinking report deniedby Brazilian president
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The office of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva angrily denied a published report that he has a drinking problem, calling it "calumny and defamation."
"It's infamy," Vice President Jose Alencar added Monday. "President Lula is a good man. All of us Brazilians have to be indignant."
Silva, Brazil's first working-class president, has never hidden his affection for alcohol, appearing on occasion with a glass of beer or whiskey. He has never been known to be drunken in public, however.
The nature of his drinking, a subject of speculation among local journalists, attracted particular attention after The New York Times published an article Sunday under the headline "Brazilian Leader's Tippling Becomes National Concern."
"We do not consider this article to be valid journalism," presidential spokeswoman Marcia Ornelas said. "It is a piece of calumny and defamation and shows a prejudice against the president."
She said the president's office was considering legal action.
Lightning strikes twice
DEXTER, Mich. -- When Russell Tanner picks his next lottery numbers, it might be a good idea to copy him.
The 78-year-old Dexter resident won his second $1 million scratch-off lottery game earlier this month -- the only known two-time winner of the game in Michigan.
The retired custodian and factory worker who still lived in a manufactured home following his June 2002 winning ticket, said he was stunned to win again.
"I couldn't believe that I could be so blessed. It just feels great to win," he said.
The odds to win the game just once are one in 623,825.
Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters said odds of winning twice haven't been calculated. No one at the state lottery office can remember someone winning $1 million twice, he said.
"We have so few $1 million winners from instant games as it is, but to have one gentleman win twice is really extraordinary," Peters said.
Associated Press