Uber has announced it is closing its operations in Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country – and the East African nation of Uganda with immediate effect.

The global ride-hailing giant said it had come to the “difficult decision” after a thorough review of its business. It began operating in Nigeria in 2014 and in Uganda two years later.

Uber taxi drivers in Nigeria have long complained that app prices are too low given rising fuel costs and that commission charges are too high. The company has also faced pressure from rival platforms.

The announcement came as Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, said the company was cutting its global workforce by 10%.

Over the last year, Uber has also pulled out of Ivory Coast and Tanzania. The latest announcement means Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa are the only African countries in which the firm now operates.

“This decision is limited strictly to these two markets and does not impact our operations across the rest of the continent,” Uber’s statement to the BBC said.

“We remain committed to sub-Saharan Africa, where we continue to see strong growth and opportunity.”

Over its 12 years operating in Nigeria, Uber had expanded its services. In the commercial hub of Lagos, a boat service was launched in 2019 to help commuters bypass the city’s notorious congestion.

Lagos, one of Africa’s largest and busiest cities, is infamous for its long traffic jams that cause gridlock and hamper business activity.

Other ride-hailing taxi apps have launched in the West African nation over the last decade, including international competitors such as Bolt and inDrive, as well as several local operators.

But the Nigerian market has become increasingly challenging for them all, with drivers staging protests and industrial action in recent years over rising operating costs, low fares and working conditions.

The removal of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy after President Bola Tinubu’s election in 2023 led to a rise in the cost of living. The subsidy had kept down the price of petroleum products for decades.

This year, motorists have been hit again by rising petrol prices following the US war with Iran.

Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper said Uber’s departure would mean a major change for commuters in the capital, Kampala. But it said the void was likely to be filled by other taxi apps such as Faras, Bolt and SafeBoda.

Uber pledged to support employees and drivers affected by the decision and said its help centre would remain open in Nigeria and Uganda until 23 September to address outstanding issues.

myjoyonline.com

At least 82 people have been killed and two are missing after a coal mine blast in northern China, officials have said.

Rescue officials revised down the death toll in an update late on Saturday, having earlier said at least 90 people had died.

The gas explosion at the Liushenyu Coal Mine in Shanxi province is the worst mining disaster in China since 2009.

There were 247 workers reportedly on duty when the blast happened at 19:29 local time (11:29 GMT) on Friday, with more than 100 people said to be saved and hundreds of rescuers sent to the site.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said no effort must be spared in efforts to treat the injured and search for survivors.

The country’s state council later said a “rigorous” investigation would be conducted and those found responsible would be “severely punished”.

Officials apologised for the confusion over the death toll, saying the situation was chaotic at the beginning which led to an unclear headcount and an incorrect figure.

They said that 128 people were being treated in hospitals, including two in critical condition.

Most were affected after inhaling poisonous gas, according to state media, though it is not clear what type of gas it was.

Early on Sunday morning, rescuers deployed mine inspection robots underground, equipped with gas sensors and infrared cameras, state media reported.

The robots were operated by rescue workers who used them to enter unreachable areas to collect data and detect signs of life.

Local officials have also ordered immediate safety inspections of coal mines across Shanxi province. Production has been suspended at all four mines run by the group in charge of the Liushenyu Coal Mine, state media reported.

Wang Yong, an injured miner, told state media that when the incident happened, he did not hear a sound but saw a sudden plume of smoke.

“I smelled sulphur, the same smell you get from blasting. I shouted at people to run. As we were running I could see people collapsing from the fumes. Then I blacked out too,” he said.

“I lay there for about an hour or so before I came round on my own. I woke up the person next to me and we got out together.”

Some of the management team at the mine have reportedly been detained. The cause of the gas explosion has not yet been revealed, but state media reported that the levels of carbon monoxide – a highly toxic, odourless gas – in the mine were found to have “exceeded limits”.

China’s Ministry of Emergency Management has sent 345 personnel from six rescue teams to help with the operation.

State media said the rescue operation had encountered difficulties as water has built up near the explosion site, preventing access to certain areas, while blueprints provided by the mine did not match the actual conditions.

In 2024, the Liushenyu mine was listed as one of the “severe safety hazards” by the Chinese National Mine Safety Administration.

Tongzhou Group, which runs the mine, has reportedly received two administrative penalties in 2025 for safety issues.

Shanxi province produces more than a quarter of China’s total coal output.

This disaster is a reminder of the darkest days of China’s coal mining industry.

In the early 2000s, deadly accidents were common in coal mines across the country. Safety standards have been tightened in recent years, and there has also been a crackdown on illegal coal mines, especially in Shanxi.

But accidents still happen.

In 2023, a collapse at an open-pit coal mine in the northern Inner Mongolia region killed 53 people.

And in 2009, an explosion at a mine in Heilongjiang province in the north-east killed more than 100.

China is the world’s biggest consumer of coal and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, even as it installs renewable energy capacity at record speed.

The incident comes just days after high-profile visits by US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the country.

bbc.com

Gunmen have kidnapped more than 50 children from three schools in the same town in north-eastern Nigeria, teachers and parents have told the BBC.

Most of those missing are aged between two and five years old.

Eyewitnesses who saw the attacks on Friday morning in Mussa, Borno state, say the suspects used the children as human shields while fleeing on motorbikes, preventing security forces from opening fire.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Government officials have not responded to the BBC’s requests for comment, but a press statement issued on Saturday by Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South said at least 42 children had been abducted from two schools.

The kidnappings took place at the town’s Government Day Secondary School, Mussa Central Primary School, and State Universal Basis Education Board (SUBEB) Secondary School.

Some reports suggest the attacks bore the hallmark of Boko Haram – the Islamist group vying for control over the region against its rival faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).

Nigeria is currently grappling with a spate of mass abductions by a range of culprits.

Locals in Borno state have endured decades of insecurity. These latest attacks have prompted some resident of Mussa to flee the area.

Yet traumatised parents have told the BBC they feel they have no choice but to wait in anguish for news about their children.

One man, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said his wife was inconsolable after their six-year-old daughter was snatched away by the gunmen.

Abdu Dunama, headmaster of Mussa Central Primary School, described hearing gunfire before armed men stormed the school and rounded up children.

He said 34 children – mostly nursery pupils aged five and under – were seized by the attackers from their classrooms.

The suspected militants arrived at the schools on motorcycles soon after troops on patrol left the town, according to residents.

“[It was] immediately after they left, it was not up to 30 minutes after,” said Bukar Buba, whose daughter was taken.

Witnesses said the gunmen fired sporadically, forcing residents to run for cover. Many parents watched helplessly from a nearby hill as their children were loaded onto motorcycles and taken away.

Some older students managed to flee into nearby bushes during the chaos, according to residents.

The largely farming community – already struggling economically – is now appealing urgently to the government to help secure the safe return of the children.

Dunama, who is in touch with security forces, says troops are currently on the ground and continuing efforts to track the abductors.

myjoyonline.com