News brief: Big stories of the day

North Koreans are forced to pay bribes to officials to survive in their isolated country where corruption is "endemic" and repression rife, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday in a report that Pyongyang dismissed as politically motivated.

In a major setback to West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, three MLAs from West Bengal, including Trinamool Congress-turned-BJP leader Mukul Roy's son Subhrangshu Roy, along with more than 50 councillors on Tuesday joined the BJP here.

The Pakistan government has sought the help of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to probe the recent outbreak of HIV in the country’s Sindh province, that has till now affected over 600 people, mostly children, according to a media report.

Rahul Gandhi is the best person to pull the Congress out of its predicament following the setback in the Lok Sabha polls, says party leader Shashi Tharoor while declaring that his party is "alive and kicking" and it is too premature to write its obituary.

China on Tuesday rejected US Ambassador Terry Branstad's call to Beijing to engage in "substantive dialogue" with the Dalai Lama, saying it was firmly opposed to "foreign interference" in Tibet and its internal affairs.