TOLEDO, Spain, Aug 30 (Reuters) - European Union defence ministers are to discuss the situation in Gabon, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday, adding that a coup, if confirmed, would heap more instability on the region.

A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term.

LIBREVILLE, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Gabonese military have canceled presidential election results and dissolved state institutions, officers said Wednesday, claiming that they have taken power and put President Ali Bongo under house arrest.

In a televised statement, a group of senior Gabonese officers said that they seized power after Bongo, the incumbent president, was announced to be re-elected in a contested election. The election results were cancelled, state institutions dissolved, and all borders closed until further notice, they said.

BUDAPEST, August 30. /TASS/: Hungary has refused to discuss EU funding for military aid to Ukraine as the government of that country still lists Hungary’s OTP bank as an "international sponsor of war," said Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

He made the remarks in a video posted to Facebook (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as extremist in Russia) following an informal meeting with his EU counterparts that took place in the Spanish city of Toledo.

CAIRO, Aug 30 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt is planning to drill 35 new natural gas wells in the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile Delta, in the next two fiscal years, to boost its natural gas production, the Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement yesterday.

The country already drilled ten natural gas wells during the fiscal year 2022-2023, which ended on Jun 30, 2023, the statement quoted Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Molla, as saying.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 30 (APP): Pakistan and China during the 8th round of two-day Pakistan-China Bilateral Consultations on Arms Control & Non-Proliferation, held in Beijing, discussed a broad spectrum of related topics and the regional and global security situation.

Mohammad Kamran Akhtar, Additional Secretary (Arms Control & Disarmament/Policy Planning) from Pakistan and Sun Xiaobo, Director General, Department of Arms Control, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China led their respective delegations, Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a press release on Wednesday.

TOKYO, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The average retail gasoline price in Japan climbed to a record high level by rising for the 15th consecutive week, industry ministry data showed Wednesday.

The national average price for regular gasoline as of Monday rose 1.9 yen from a week earlier to 185.6 yen (1.3 U.S. dollars) per liter, the highest level since comparable data became available in 1990, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

CAIRO, Aug 30 (NNN-MENA) – Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, and visiting Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, yesterday discussed bilateral ties and the latest developments in the Sudanese crisis.

An Egyptian presidential spokesman said in a statement that, during the meeting, at the coastal city of New Alamein, Sisi attached great importance to the historical bonds and deep relations between his country and Sudan, at the official and popular levels.

MANILA, Aug 30 (NNN-PNA) – Super typhoon Saola, triggered floods and landslides in seven regions in the Philippines, affecting nearly 200,000 people, the government said today.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said, at least one person was reported missing. No death has been reported, so far.

The disaster management agency said, Saola flooded 193 areas and triggered 12 landslides on the main Luzon island and the central Philippines. More than 35,000 of the displaced residents are still in temporary shelters.

NEW YORK, August 30. /TASS/: Western countries can no longer afford to integrate Ukraine into NATO, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with Tucker Carlson.

TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Aug 30 (NNN-ANA) – Three miners have been killed, after they were trapped underground, in a collapsed mine in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province, an official said today.

Several miners were working in a tunnel of the gold mine in Rastaq district this afternoon, when the tunnel caved in, killing three miners, provincial police spokesman, Abdul Mobin Safi, said.

Without providing more details, the official added that, an investigation had been initiated into the exact cause of the accident.

29 August 2023; MEMO: Egypt plans to drill 35 gas wells by mid-2025, according to the country’s Petroleum Minister on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The drilling of the 35 wells will cost over $1.5 billion in investments, and aims to increase the country’s production and reserves,” Tarek El-Molla said in a statement.

The drilling of the new well is part of a plan worth $1.9 billion to explore for gas in the Mediterranean and the Delta.

29 August 2023; MEMO: Bahrain has granted an increase in some human rights for those incarcerated within its prison system, amid a mass hunger strike involving hundreds of prisoners in the country.