Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday, placing President Ali Bongo under house arrest and naming a new leader after the Central African state's election body announced Bongo had won a third term.

After Gabon's long-ruling President Ali Bongo Ondimba was re-elected for a third term in a controversial election, members of the local military say they have taken over.

EU foreign policy chief Borrell said the coup followed "elections full of irregularities." He addressed reporters ahead of an EU meeting with African stakeholders to also discuss Niger's coup.

We bring you reactions from the pan-African and French press after the coup in Gabon and appointment of a general as transitional president. What future awaits the region? Also: one of India's richest families, the Adani Group, is accused of stock market corruption in a damning report. Finally: Japan's prime minister eats fish from Fukushima's radioactive waters to prove that it's... not radioactive!

The EU foreign ministers met to discuss ways to help West Africa's ECOWAS regional group handle the military takeover in Niger. The meeting came the junta stripped the French ambassador of diplomatic immunity.

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Gabonese hope for jobs, eventual civilian rule following military coup

The regional bloc CCAS, and the country's opposition coalition, have urged international partners to push for a rapid return to civilian rule. Also in this edition: In Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 48 protesters are reported to have been killed in the eastern city of Goma. And finally: In South Africa, the death toll rises to 76 after the devastating Johannesburg fire at an abandoned apartment block that housed dozens of homeless people and squatters.

General Brice Oligui Nguema was sworn in as Gabon's interim president on Monday in a ceremony designed to portray the military as liberators of an oppressed society.

Niger's military rulers are reopening the country's airspace after seizing power on July 26. The junta previously cited the threat of military intervention from the West African bloc ECOWAS as the reason for the closure.

Military coups are resurging in Africa. A phenomenon that once plagued the continent. There have been over 70 coups in Africa since countries on the continent gained independence from colonial rule. Here are the African countries currently being led by military juntas.

No details have yet been given by Malian authorities on any casualties from the attack. It's the latest violence in the West African country after two assaults by suspected jihadis killed dozens a day prior.