The US has sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the first time, accusing him of human rights abuses. A statement from the US Treasury named him as directly responsible for violations in his country. Ten other top North Korean officials have also been blacklisted. There has been no response yet from the North Korean government. The measures freeze any property the individuals have in the US and prevent US citizens doing business with them. North Korea is already under an extensive sanctions regime for its nuclear activities, but analysts see the latest move as an escalation of US efforts to isolate the nation. 'Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labour, and torture,' the Treasury statement said. The sanctions were announced to coincide with a State Department report documenting abuses in North Korea. It estimates that between 80,000 and 120,000 prisoners are being held in North Korean prison camps where torture, sexual assault and executions are routine.

The death toll from Sunday's suicide bombing in Baghdad has risen to 250, the Iraqi government says, making it the deadliest such attack since the 2003 US-led invasion. A lorry packed with explosives was detonated while families were shopping for the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the suicide attack. Iraq remains under an official state of mourning following the bombing. The destruction of the area was all but complete. Bewildered local residents have held candlelight vigils and prayed for peace. Scores of people were injured, but most have been released from hospital, according to the health ministry. Reports said a lorry packed with explosives had been left near the Hadi Centre, popular with shoppers. The powerful blast engulfed the area in flames. Such was the chaos it took days for the scale of the attack to become clear.

The streets of Zimbabwe's main cities were deserted during a nationwide strike to protest at the lack of jobs and unpaid wages. The protests were organised through the messaging site WhatsApp but it is not clear which group is behind it. The BBC's Brian Hungwe in Harare says it was one of the biggest protests in many years. Protesters also set up burning barricades in Harare. Some of the messages calling for a stay away also called on President Mugabe, who has governed the country since independence in 1980, to step down. On Twitter, activists used the hashtag #ShutDownZimbabwe2016 to mobilise support. Many civil servants have not been paid in more than a month: they went on strike on Tuesday. On Monday, taxi drivers complaining about police extortion clashed with the security forces in parts of Harare. The economy has also been hit by currency shortages and a severe drought.

Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina announced two days of national mourning after an attack on a café in Dhaka left 28 people dead - twenty hostages, six militants and two police officers. In a televised address to the nation she called for unity against criminal elements following the attack in the diplomatic quarter of Bangladesh’s capital.  Also, thirteen people were rescued after more than a hundred commandos stormed a bakery early on Saturday after a twelve-hour siege. 'I request everyone to unite against these handful of criminals,' said Hasina. She earlier said one of the gunmen had been captured alive in the dawn raid. A senior minister said the jihadists were members of a homegrown Bangladeshi militant outfit, the Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Bangladesh. 'They have no connections with IS', he stated.