HO CHI MINH CITY - SINGAPORE and Vietnam can turn the current economic crisis into opportunity - by preparing their workforce for the new economy that will emerge after the recession, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said on Monday.

Mr Lee exchanged views on the impact of the global recession with Ho Chi Minh City's top official Party Secretary Le Thanh Hai last night, after arriving here at the start of a five-day visit to Vietnam.

BANGKOK - THAILAND'S government said two men was killed in protests that raged in Bangkok on Monday, saying they were shot in clashes between demonstrators and local residents.

'One hour ago there was a serious clash near Government House between protesters and local residents. Three were shot and one of them died at hospital,' cabinet minister Satit Wonghnongtaey said on local television.

BANGKOK- FORMER premier Thaksin Shinawatra accused Thailand's embattled government of lying to cover up deaths in an army crackdown on protesters Monday.

Speaking to CNN from an undisclosed location, the fugitive tycoon said soldiers who were seen earlier firing rounds into the air to disperse his rioting supporters in Bangkok had killed 'many'.