Osinbajo meets Presidential Task Force on food security (Read full details)

Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo(right) in a meeting with the Food Security Task Force members at the Presidential Villa yesterday

Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday met behind closed doors with members of the Presidential Task Force on the rising cost of food items in Nigeria.

All members of the group attended the meeting, which took place at Aguda House, the official residence of the acting President.

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the setting up of the task force as part of efforts to enhance affordable food prices across country.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the task force is to urgently consider measures that would ensure a steady flow of produce to the market and reverse recent price increases, as well as explore options to promote availability and affordability of food items to Nigerians.

The task force, which is expected to submit its interim reports on February 8, has Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; Mrs. Kemi Adeosun (Finance); Dr. Okey Enelamah (Industry, Trade and Development); Mr. Rotimi Amaechi (Transportation); Alhaji Suleiman Adamu (Water Resources); and Dr. Chris Ngige (Labour and Employment) as members.

Nigeria’s consumer prices rose by 1.1 per cent in December last year, against November’s 0.8 per cent increase.

The inflation figure for the period was 18.6 per cent, the highest since October 2005, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, which the inflation was fueled by higher prices in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.

‘Hidden Figures’ takes top prize at SAG Awards (Read full details)

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 29: (L-R) Actors Kimberly Quinn, Kirsten Dunst, Octavia Spencer, Saniyya Sidney, Taraji P. Henson, and Janelle Monael, co-recipients of the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award for 'Hidden Figures,' pose in the press room during The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. 26592_008 Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/AFP<br />Frazer Harrison / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

Fox’s biographical comedy-drama “Hidden Figures” landed the top prize Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, seen as a major bellwether for the Oscars.

Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, it took the trophy for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, the SAG equivalent of a best film Academy Award.

Theodore Melfi’s movie, which recounts the story of African-American mathematicians who helped NASA put the first men in space, was a shock winner, with Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” widely tipped for the top prize.

It also beat coming-of-age drama “Moonlight,” comedy “Captain Fantastic” and race relations story “Fences.”

“Manchester” star Casey Affleck — the frontrunner for the best actor Oscar — was also shut out, with the SAG award going instead to Denzel Washington for “Fences.”

Washington, 62, who has two Oscars, also beat competition from Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”), Viggo Mortensen (“Captain Fantastic”) and Ryan Gosling (“La La Land”).

In the best actress category, Emma Stone won for “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle’s whimsical tribute to the musicals of Hollywood’s golden age.

The support acting awards went to Mahershala Ali for “Moonlight” — his second trophy of the night after the “Hidden Figures” cast prize — and Viola Davis, who made it a double for “Fences.”

Ali, 42 — best known for his portrayal of White House chief of staff Remy Danton in Netflix political drama “House of Cards” — gave an emotional speech about the need to support the marginalized.

“I think what I’ve learnt from working on ‘Moonlight’ is we see what happens when we persecute people — they fold into themselves,” said Ali, a Muslim with a Christian minister for a mother, fighting back tears.

– ‘This award is legitimate’ –
On the television side, “The Crown,” which follows the lives and loves of Britain’s post-war Royal Family, picked up best actor awards for John Lithgow and Claire Foy.

Netflix’s nostalgic breakout hit “Stranger Things” — about a gang of 1980s children looking for their missing friend — won the award for best cast in a drama series.

The SAG nominations are the second major announcement in Tinseltown’s glittering awards season, which climaxes with the Academy Awards on February 26.

The evening was marked by speeches denouncing President Donald Trump’s immigration ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus followed suit as she picked up her second SAG award for comedy acting in “Veep” — her eighth statuette overall.

In a speech aimed solely at Trump, Louis-Dreyfus — whose father fled Nazi-occupied France — said she loved the US but hated its blemishes, adding “this immigration ban is a blemish.”

The 56-year-old also poked fun at Trump’s focus on attendance at his inauguration and allegations of voter fraud.

“Whether the Russians did or did not hack the SAG awards, I look out across the million, maybe 1.5 million people in this room and say this award is legitimate and I won it,” she said. “La La Land”, set in modern-day Los Angeles, cleaned up at the Golden Globes earlier in January, winning all seven categories in which it was nominated.

– ‘Difficult times’ –
Although less high-profile than the Globes, the SAG awards are seen as more of an indicator of Oscars glory, since members represent some 1,200 of the roughly 6,000 voters for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Last year, “Spotlight,” a drama about sexual abuse in the Catholic church, took the prize for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture — and went on to win the best film Oscar.

The awards season is being closely watched as it follows controversy over the lack of diversity in last year’s list of Oscar nominees. The scandal was largely stopped in its tracks this year with a high proportion of black actors among the nominees for February’s Oscars.

The SAG awards escaped criticism in any case with a good number of ethnic minority wins last year. Washington was the only black nominee among the 10 hopefuls for best lead role in a movie, although there were four nominees from ethnic minority backgrounds in the supporting categories.

Sterling K Brown, Courtney B Vance, Riz Ahmed, Rami Malek, Thandie Newton, Audra McDonald and Kerry Washington were all nominated for individual TV acting awards, although they all lost out to white actors.

“We’ve been through more difficult times. We got through it then during the segregation era and we’ll get through it now,” Janelle Monae of “Hidden Figures” said backstage.

“As the great Kevin Costner said, we all pee the same color.”

‘Hidden Figures’ takes top prize at SAG Awards

Google, Facebook show tech dismay on Trump immigration order (Read full details)

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai

Alphabet Inc.’s Google asked staffers who may have been affected by a new executive order on immigration to return to the U.S. quickly, joining a growing number of technology executives voicing concerns over restrictions that could interfere with how they do business.
Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai slammed President Donald Trump’s move in a note to employees Friday, telling them that more than 100 company staff had been affected by the order. Microsoft Corp. said it was in touch with 76 staffers from the seven countries identified in the executive order. They received a reprieve on Saturday after two judges temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the order that would have led to the removal from U.S. airports of refugees, visa holders and legal U.S. residents from seven mostly Muslim countries.
“It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues,” Pichai wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. “We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so.”

The comments underscore a growing rift between the Trump administration and several large U.S. technology companies, which employ many immigrants and have lobbied for fewer immigration restrictions. Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg voiced concern over the policy on Friday, and Airbnb Inc. CEO Brian Chesky said Saturday in a tweet that “closing doors further divides” people. Twitter Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweet Saturday the order’s “humanitarian and economic impact is real and upsetting.”
Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Travis Kalanick said Saturday he plans to outline his misgivings with the order at the first meeting of the Trump administration’s business advisory group next Friday in Washington.
Stranded Drivers
Uber had about a dozen staffers affected by the order, as well as a number of drivers, Kalanick said in an e-mailed statement.
“This order has far broader implications as it also affects thousands of drivers who use Uber and come from the listed countries, many of whom take long breaks to go back home to see their extended family. These drivers currently outside of the U.S. will not be able to get back into the country for 90 days,” he said. He said Uber was working out a plan to compensate those drivers stranded abroad.
Trump signed the executive order on Friday prohibiting entry by people from seven majority-Muslim nations for 90 days. Citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen would be banned from entering the U.S. for the period, while the government determines what information it needs to safely admit visitors.
Airbnb will provide free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed into the U.S., Chesky, the home-stay network’s CEO, said on Twitter. “Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing,” he wrote.
Some visa and green-card holders were blocked from boarding flights to the U.S. after the order was issued and several people were being detained at U.S. airports when they arrived, the New York Times reported. The Department of Homeland Security issued a directive on Friday afternoon ordering the Customs and Border Control agency to enforce the order immediately.
Barriers for Talent
“We’re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.,” a Google spokeswoman said in a statement. “We’ll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere.”
Some Google employees were traveling abroad and were trying to get back to the U.S. before the order took effect. The company asked them to reach out to Google’s security, travel, and immigration teams for assistance, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person asked not to be identified talking about internal company communications.
Google declined to say Saturday whether any employees were detained or blocked from boarding flights.
Rushing Home
The employees in question normally work in the U.S. but just happened to be abroad either on work assignments or vacations. One employee rushed back from a trip to New Zealand to make it into the U.S. before the order was signed, Google’s Pichai wrote in his memo.
“We are advising our clients from those seven countries who have green cards or any type of H-1B visa not to travel outside the U.S.,” said Ava Benach, a partner at immigration law firm Benach Collopy LLP, while noting that the order takes effect immediately.
“No one is really sure whether a green card holder from these seven countries can return to the U.S. now. It’s fairly clear that an H-1B visa holder can’t,” Benach said. The H-1B lets U.S. companies employ graduate-level workers from other countries in technical occupations such as technology, engineering and science.
“If anyone in these situations has the misfortune to have gone abroad recently, it’s a treacherous moment, possibly for green card holders too,” Benach said.
Other technology companies are likely in a similar situation, she added.
Microsoft Memo
Microsoft Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said in a memo to staff Saturday that the company is working with affected personnel and that it supports immigration policies that “protect the public without sacrificing people’s freedom of expression or religion.”
Microsoft also affirms “the importance of protecting legitimate and law-abiding refugees whose very lives may be at stake in immigration proceedings,” Smith wrote.
Immigration restrictions “may inhibit our ability to adequately staff our research and development efforts,” Microsoft said in a securities filing on Thursday.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg said Friday he was “concerned” by Trump’s recent moves to restrict immigration.
A blanket entry ban “ is not the best way to address the country’s challenges,” Tesla Motors Inc. CEO Elon Musk said Saturday on Twitter.
“Many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the U.S.,” Musk wrote. “They’ve done right, not wrong and don’t deserve to be rejected.” In a separate statement, Tesla added: “We hope that this temporary action by the administration transitions to a fair and thoughtful long-term policy.”

Google, Facebook show tech dismay on Trump immigration order