An injured Thai soldier

Thailand's Foreign Ministry sent its own letter to the Security Council on Monday to formally protest the "repeated and unprovoked armed attacks by Cambodian troops." In the past Thailand has ruled out foreign involvement in its dispute with Cambodia.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said skirmishes began again early Monday after halting around midnight. There was no immediate comment from Thai authorities, but an Associated Press reporter in the area said the sound of gunfire and artillery could be heard.

Late Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply concerned" by the fighting and urged both sides "to exercise maximum restraint," his spokesperson said in a statement.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry voiced its concern in a statement Monday and called for the two neighbors to negotiate for their own sake and "the broader interests of ASEAN."

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has long been a stable region, where the exchange of cross-border gunfire is highly unusual.

In 1962, the World Court determined that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. Thai nationalists dispute the ruling and have seized on it as a domestic political issue.

Built between the 9th and 11th centuries, Preah Vihear is dedicated to the Hindu diety Shiva and revered partly for having one of the most stunning locations of all the temples constructed during the Khmer empire — the most famous of which is Angkor Wat. It sits atop a 1,722-foot (525-meter) cliff in the Dangrek Mountains about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of the Cambodian capital.

UNESCO calls the site "an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture." The Khmer empire, which once encompassed parts of Thailand and Vietnam, shrank to the size of present-day Cambodia. The country was plunged into civil war, and the temple fell into disrepair.

Tensions have risen in recent days because of demonstrations in the Thai capital, Bangkok, demanding that the government oust Cambodians from the area near the temple.

At least five people have died in the border clashes that began Friday — one civilian and one soldier from Thailand and one civilian and two soldiers from Cambodia. On Sunday night, a Thai army spokesman said about 10 Thai soldiers were wounded.

Actor Balthazar Getty

Christina Aguilera cemented herself in the annals of national anthem atrocities on Sunday night. Singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" to kick off the Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aguilera messed up the line, "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming," repeating an earlier line of the song that she also botched.

Aguilera sang "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming" instead of the correct lyric, which begins "What so proudly we hailed."

The Internet pounced. Criticism of Aguilera's performance flooded Twitter, Facebook and blogs. She was almost as quick to apologize, releasing a statement Sunday night that said "I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."

Fret not, Aguilera: you're far from the first star to lose herself in America's anthem.

In 2009, pop singer Jesse McCartney skipped multiple verses of "The Star Spangled Banner" while performing at a NASCAR event in California. He took to Twitter to apologize: "Here At the Nascar race! So much fun! Can't believe I forgot the words to the Anthem! I've performed it 100 times. Bad Nerves today I guess."

Michael Bolton crooned a cringe-worthy version of the anthem at Boston's Fenway Park in 2003. At one point, he broke from his overly passionate performance to look at crib notes scrawled on his hand.

In 1993, Olympic champion Carl Lewis caused a chorus of boos when his voice broke in the middle of his "Star Spangled Banner" performance. He told the crowd he'd "make up for it" but went on to butcher the remainder of the song.

But the title of most offensive anthem singer ever -- earned intentionally, not accidentally -- probably goes to Roseanne Barr. At a 1990 San Diego Padres game, the comedienne sang a squawky, off-key version of "The Star Spangled Banner" and peppered her performance by grabbing her crotch and pretending to spit.n

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 4) Former Armed Forces Chief and Defense Secretary Angelo Tomas Reyes on Tuesday morning committed suicide by shooting himself in front of the grave of his mother at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.
He was 65.
A close friend of Reyes called the Philippine Daily Inquirer to break the news, while Colonel Boogie De Leon, a former administrative officer of Reyes when he was AFP chief, said Reyes was rushed to the Quirino Hospital at about 7:45 a.m. to revive him. Members of his family could not be reached for comment.
De Leon said that Reyes’s son Jett called him up to inform him of the incident.
Reyes, who earlier suffered a mild stroke before the congressional investigations on the alleged AFP financial irregularities, said he could not take anymore the smear campaign against his name and his family.
“Not my family,” he said.
Reyes, who loved his mother very much when she was still alive, earlier told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview that he would never do anything that would besmirch the name of “my good mother.”
In a press conference aired on radio and television, Health Secretary Enrique Ona confirmed Reyes has died from gunshot wound to the heart. He said Reyes was proclaimed dead on arrival at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
Ona said the doctors tried to resuscitate Reyes who was brought to the hospital at 7:30 a.m. from Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City where he visited the grave of his mother.
Ona refused to say what caused the gunshot wounds and could not determine the kind of gun used, saying all these were under investigation.
He “was brought here to the emergency room, wala nang pulso at di na humihinga. Nilagyan ng tubo at nag-resuscitation, swero, binigyan ng gamot. But after 45 minutes, which means that at 8:32 a.m., talagang wala na (without pulse and not breathing. He was tubated and resuscitated, put on IV. But after 45 minutes, which means that at 8:32 a.m., he’s really gone)."
He had a gunshot wound to the heart and an external wound to the back. However, doctors cannot determine yet if the bullet wound was self-inflicted.
Ona said that an autopsy of the body of the retired general will be conducted to determine if he had committed suicide.
A bullet wound on the left side of the chest near the heart was the cause of death.
"Malamang may tama sa puso (The heart was probably hit)," Ona told reporters.
In a separate press briefing, Dr. Fernando Lopez, a spokesman for the Quirino Memorial Medical Center, said Reyes was brought to their hospital at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Reyes had no blood pressure, heart beat, and respiratory rate, his pupils were dilated, he was not breathing and had cold, clammy skin, Lopez said.
A gunshot wound, with entry point at the 5th intercostal space on the left side of the chest and with one centimeter in diameter was seen. The exit wound was on the left side of the back, also 1 centimeter in diamater.
Reyes, a graduate of Philippine Military Academy Class ’66, was AFP chief under President Joseph Estrada, and secretary of defense, interior and local government, and energy during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2001 to 2003. He graduated as the class valedictorian in high school and was among the top ten graduates of the PMA.
He went on to obtain two masteral degrees, namely: Masters in Business Administration from Asian Institute of Management in 1973 and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1991. He also took up International Defense Management Course in Monterey, California in 1983.
In 1987, he graduated No. 1 in Trust Operations Management Course conducted by the Trust Institutes Foundation of the Philippines at the Ateneo Business School which eventually earned him a scholarship to the Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.

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