SINGAPORE residents are tougher and more self-reliant than is believed by many.

A survey has found that eight in 10 locals prefer to rely on themselves than on the Government in these bad times.

The finding surprised the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), which carried out the survey three months ago.

ONE Singaporean who has been put on phone surveillance after returning from Mexico suffered flu-like symptoms on Sunday morning and was taken to the Communicable Disease Centre.

However, he tested negative for Influenza A, the Health Ministry said in its daily update on Sunday evening. The man is one of three Singaporeans and two foreigners who had been put on voluntary phone surveillance after returning from flu-hit Mexico recently.

MEXICO CITY - HEALTH experts walked a tightrope on Sunday, unsure whether the swine flu epidemic was starting to fizzle out or was just in a lull before another surge. Germany and Italy reported new cases, and Hong Kong kept 350 under quarantine in a downtown hotel as a precaution.

Mexico reported three new deaths from the swine flu epidemic late Saturday from a virus that has killed 19 in people in Mexico, one in the US and is spreading across Asia and Europe.

BANGKOK - THE founder of a royalist movement that helped topple former Thailand premier Thaksin Shinawatra said on Sunday he believed soldiers were to blame for an assassination attempt on his life last month.

Speaking for the first time in public since the April 17 attack, Sondhi Limthongkul, who led a blockade of the kingdom's main airports last year, said 'a few bad apples' in the army were responsible.