Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort launches rustic garden-to-table dining experience

The Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort Executive Chef Geert-Jan Vaartjes has revealed an innovative Saturday evening garden-to-table dining experience at the resort, located in the south of the island.

Guests arrive around 6 p.m. at The Plantation Club colonial-style restaurant on the resort grounds. After they enjoy a welcome cocktail, the resort’s gardener shows them the vegetable garden while explaining the various herbs. Taking advice from the gardener, guests pick an assortment as ingredients for their dinner.

The guests then sit back on the simple wooden tables outdoors and enjoy impromptu Mauritian creole light bites, as Chef goes to work using traditional utensils such as old-style cauldrons, pans (called tawa) and wooden ladles. The meal is prepared on a wood fire.

“There is no fixed menu,” says Vaartjes. “But chances are we will create a vibrant creole garden salad for starters and then a chicken or fish curry main course. It depends on our guests’ curiosity, passion and culinary interests. Rest assured, it will be delicious because it’s from the heart – and the garden.”

Around the allotment beside The Plantation Club Vaartjes says that freshly picked vegetables and herbs such as lady fingers, beetroot and sorrel are his favorites. The rustic dinner will be served with faratha flat bread and local condiments such as coconut chutney, dried shrimp chutney, chillies and local achaar (pickles).

As it’s Mauritius, to accompany the experience, guests will be served barbecued banana marinated in local rum.

Drinks are served in a copper mug in the outdoor garden setting with log furniture. Old style lamps are used for light as the twilight thickens. To add to the atmosphere, the hosts are dressed in local creole and Sega attire. A singer-guitar player entertains guests throughout.

The garden-to-table experience at The Plantation Club costs 1,800 MUR (US$52) per person and 900 MUR (US$26) for children under 12.

Creole Jazz Brunch – Now on Sundays

The famous Creole Jazz Brunch at the Outrigger will now take place on the first Sunday of every month. Sumptuous Creole and international flavors are available at the colonial-style Plantation Club for MUR2,400 (US$69) per person from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For an extra MUR500 (US$14) guests can add free-flow selected wines and local draft beer – or add MUR1,100 (US$32) for free-flow Champagne, wine and beer.

Visitors can make the most of the resort’s facilities during the Sunday brunch visit. Adult visitors can use the resort’s beach, pool and other complimentary facilities until 7 p.m. and children (3-12) have access to the Coral Kids Club. For the brunch and the hotel facilities, infants are free, children 4-12 pay half; and there is a 30% discount for teenagers.

Thinking Out of the Box: Bentos to Go

The chefs at the Outrigger have a new innovation: Bento lunch boxes for guests to take away on day trips, to the beach, to enjoy on their balcony, or as private dining in their rooms.

There are four Bento options: Asian, Mediterranean, Garden, or Plantation Club (seafood). Prices range MUR1050-1450 (US$30-42).

I Scream Ice Cream

The Outrigger has also launched its Ice Candy Shop featuring premium ice creams, sorbets and lollipops. The flavours include Gin & Tonic sorbet and beer-based ice cream for adults. There’s also pistachio-wasabi, passion fruit, salted caramel and Toblerone ice cream, and much more, for all ages. The Ice Candy Shop is next to the Edgewater restaurant and is open from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

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Kroll: Businesses Report All-Time High Levels Of Fraud, Cyber, And Security Incidents During 2017

Fraud, cyber, and security risks are at an all-time high, according to senior corporate executives surveyed worldwide for the 2017/18 Kroll Annual Global Fraud & Risk Report.

The proportion of executives reporting that their companies fell victim to at least one instance of fraud over the past 12 months increased to 84%, from 82% in the previous survey. Levels of reported fraud have steadily risen every year since 2012, when the reported occurrence was just 61%.

An even greater percentage of executives surveyed (86%) said their companies had experienced a cyber incident or information theft, loss, or attack over the past 12 months, slightly up from 85% in 2016.  Seven in 10 respondents (70%) reported the occurrence of at least one security incident during the past year, compared to 68% in the previous survey.

The Kroll Report reveals that respondents are experiencing a heightened sense of vulnerability to fraud, cyber, and security risks, with information-related risks now being the area of greatest concern. As criminals and other threat actors continue to find new ways to monetize confidential data, including personal data, data assets are becoming increasingly valuable and attractive targets.   

Confidential information subject to increasing threats

For the first time in the Kroll Report's 10-year history, information theft, loss, or attack was the most prevalent type of fraud experienced, cited by 29% of respondents, up 5 percentage points from the previous year. This edged out theft of physical assets or stock, long the most common type of organizational loss, which this year was the second most frequently cited incident (27%).

Cyber attacks represent one of the most persistent threats to confidential information. In fact, the reported level of occurrence for every type of cyber incident included in the survey increased in the last 12 months.

In the year when major viruses such as WannaCry and Petya hit across the world, nearly four in 10 (36%) executives surveyed said their companies had been impacted by a virus or worm attack, an increase of 3 percentage points year-over-year. One in three (33%) said they had suffered an email-based phishing attack (up 7 percentage points from the last report), 27% had suffered a data breach, and 25% were affected by data deletion. Beyond digital threats, information was highly susceptible to loss through other means: 29% of executives surveyed said equipment with sensitive data was stolen, while 27% said equipment was "lost."

Physical theft or loss of intellectual property (IP) was by far the most prevalent type of security incident. Of those executives whose company experienced a security incident this past year, 41% said their organizations fell victim to IP theft or loss.

Top three types of incidents reported by survey respondents (by category)
	Fraud	Cyber	Security
1.	Information theft, loss, or attack (29%)	Virus/worm attack (36%)	Physical theft or loss of intellectual property (41%)
2.	Theft of physical assets or stock (27%)	Email-based phishing attack (33%)	Environmental risk (including damage caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, etc.) (28%)
3.	Management conflict of interest (26%)	Data breach resulting in loss of customer or employee data, IP/trade secrets/R&D (27%)	Workplace violence (23%)

Jason Smolanoff, Senior Managing Director and Global Cyber Security Practice Leader for Kroll, explained: "In a digitized world with growing levels of data creation, collection, and reliance for businesses, information assets have become increasingly valuable and exposed to threats. Exacerbating the challenge of safeguarding data is that criminals and other threat actors are continually developing new ways to monetize confidential information, including personal data.

"People instinctively think about data being targeted by cyber attacks, but not all threats to information are confined to the digital realm. There is a convergence between physical and digital threats, with issues arising from equipment with sensitive data being stolen or lost, for example, or employees with access to highly sensitive information accidentally or intentionally causing a breach."

Costly and wide-ranging repercussions

In addition to reporting extremely high incidence levels, respondents indicated that the repercussions of fraud, cyber, and security events were costly and wide-ranging, affecting employees, customers, as well as the organization's reputation and bottom line.

Employee privacy, safety, or morale was negatively affected by incidents according to 82% of respondents whose companies had experienced fraud, 81% of those that reported a cyber incident, and 80% of executives whose companies endured a security event.

Approximately three quarters of respondents stated that customers had been negatively impacted by all three risk factors – 76% by a fraud incident, 74% by a cyber incident, and 74% by a security incident. Almost two-thirds said that the impacted company's reputation had suffered due to a fraud (65%), cyber (67%), or security (66%) incident.

Businesses suffered significant economic damage from fraud, with nearly one in four respondents (23%) reporting losses of 7% or more of company revenues, an extremely worrisome increase from the prior year when only 3% of respondents reported this magnitude of financial impact.

Executives feeling increasingly vulnerable to risks

The Kroll Report further reveals mounting concerns among surveyed executives about their companies' potential exposure to fraud, cyber, and security risks.

In particular, information-related risks overwhelmingly represent the top worries for respondents across every risk category – fraud, cyber, and security.  Almost six in 10 (57%) respondents believe their companies are highly or somewhat vulnerable to information theft, loss, or attack, up 6 percentage points from the previous survey.

With reported cyber incidents at an all-time high and perpetrators seeming to develop new methods of attack virtually every day, at least half of all executives surveyed are apprehensive about every type of cyber incident identified in the survey – with almost two-thirds (62%) especially wary of a virus or worm attack.

The proportion of respondents who said they feel highly or somewhat vulnerable to physical security threats also grew over the last year. In particular, 63% of respondents stated their companies could be particularly prone to physical theft or loss of IP, the greatest single concern.

Culprits inside and outside

Insiders and ex-employees continue to pose the greatest threat to companies around the world. Respondents revealed that fraud, cyber, and security incidents are often inside jobs perpetrated by members of management or current, former, or temporary/freelance employees.

Of those reporting a fraud incident, 81% cited one or more insiders as perpetrators; likewise, 58% of respondents who reported a cyber incident and 71% of those who experienced a security incident primarily identified insiders as the perpetrators.

Junior employees were the most commonly named perpetrators of fraud incidents (39%) and former employees were cited most frequently for security incidents (37%). However, for respondents who had experienced a cyber incident in the last 12 months, a random cyber-criminal or threat actor was the single most commonly named perpetrator (34%).

Imperative to mitigate risks

Nearly all anti-fraud measures mentioned in the survey were widely adopted by over 70% of respondents, with information controls the most widely implemented anti-fraud measure at 78%.

Reflecting the high levels of vulnerability reported by respondents to cyber intrusions, the top three cyber risk mitigation measures that executives expect their companies to implement in the next 12 months all address the problem of intrusions: i.e., intrusion detection systems that are device-based (57%), endpoint threat monitoring tools (55%), and intrusion detection systems that are network-based (54%).

Cyber security is also rapidly becoming a board governance mandate as the anticipated likelihood of an incident grows, compounded by increasing regulatory pressures and the costly reputational risks associated with data privacy and data loss events. 46% of respondents currently involve the board of directors in the formulation of cyber security policies and procedures, but another 40% plan to do so in the next 12 months.

A large proportion of respondents have adopted security risk mitigation measures, but given the high incidence and feelings of vulnerability around theft/loss of IP, it was surprising to see that only 66% of respondents have a plan for securing intellectual property. However, almost a quarter (24%) of respondents plan to implement these measures over the next 12 months.

Kroll CEO David Fontaine commented: "Senior executives are becoming acutely aware that threats to their organizations can arise at any time and originate from any place.  Insiders and ex-employees continue to pose a significant threat and have, together with external criminals and threat actors, more tools at their disposal than ever before with which to target and exploit companies.

"In the face of these mounting threats, organizations seeking to manage and mitigate the possibility of loss must take a holistic approach to enterprise risk management and implement diverse and layered measures that can enhance their ability to anticipate, detect, and respond to threats rooted not only in human error or intentional misconduct, but also in technological or  internal control gaps."

deVere Group launches cryptocurrencies app due to soaring global demand

A cryptocurrency app is to be launched by one of the world’s largest independent financial services organisations due to “soaring global demand” and in defiance of financial traditionalists.

deVere Crypto is the deVere Group’s second major fintech [financial technology] offering in less than 12 months.  It will be available in a matter of weeks.

deVere Group’s founder and CEO, Nigel Green, comments: “2017 saw the true dawn of the financial technology era.  Fintech is already fundamentally changing the way we access, manage and use money - and the changes are coming quicker than ever before due to improving technologies and growing demand.  

“Nothing has captured the imagination in this new fintech age quite like cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin.  No-one was really talking about it back in 2016.  But those who invested in Bitcoin before the beginning of last year have enjoyed an impressive price increase.

“History will teach us that 2017 was the year that digital currencies came into the mainstream.”

He continues: “To meet this soaring global demand, we’re launching deVere Crypto, a pioneering cryptocurrency app, available for Apple and Android.  It allows users to store, transfer and exchange five major cryptocurrencies. These include Bitcoin and Ethereum.

“A team of some of the world’s leading blockchain – the revolutionary technology that underpins Bitcoin - and other fintech experts have created this new app which, I believe, is going to set a new standard in the thriving cryptocurrency sector.”

Mr Green goes on to add: “Our digital world needs digital currencies.  It makes sense.”

He says: “The world has changed in three significant ways that support the rise of cryptocurrencies.

“First, technological advancement. We are adopting more and more technology into our lives.  And the rate at which we’re doing so is increasing. It’s not just digitalisation or existing technology. From self-driving cars to intelligent robots, advanced new technologies will impact every part of our lives. Our financial lives will be no exception. Tech is now in our DNA.

“Second, political shifts. There is an appetite, a huge and growing one, for currencies that are not controlled by central banks and governments.  Supporters believe that these digital currencies are part of the antidote to what they see as the ills caused by the traditional system.

“And third, globalisation.  Whether some populist politicians like it or not, globalisation is happening and it’s here to stay.  We’re all becoming increasingly interdependent and internationally-minded, and this, when harnessed properly, is an immensely positive force for trade, commerce and prosperity across the world.”

The deVere CEO concludes: “Traditionalists who declare cryptocurrencies ‘a fad’ are akin to King Canute trying to command the tides of the sea to go back.

“deVere Crypto is designed to meet the growing need and want to store and transfer cryptocurrencies. It’s meeting the evident demand.”

Investigatiôns : Confrontations - A vendre : Ile Maurice

Située à 9 000 kilomètres de la métropole et à 30 minutes de vol de La Réunion, l’île Maurice a tout d'un paradis tropical. Elle attire 1 300 000 touristes par an, soit autant que sa population. Mais les écarts entre les plus riches et les plus pauvres se creusent à toute vitesse. Jusqu'à quand les Mauriciens accepteront-ils que leur île soit vendue au plus offrant? Investigatiôns a enquêté.

L'île Maurice fait tout pour séduire les Occidentaux, surtout s'ils ont la poche pleine. Depuis dix ans, elle séduit les investisseurs étrangers grâce à une santé économique insolente : 3,5 % de croissance et un PIB par habitant parmi les plus élevés d'Afrique. Une stabilité politique et sociale qui fait figure d’exception dans cette zone géographique. Une véritable performance pour ce pays indépendant depuis 1968 seulement. Une bonne énergie favorisée par une fiscalité aussi clémente que le climat (pas de taxes foncières et d'habitation). Paradis fiscal et eldorado pour les entrepreneurs, l’île Maurice devient l'enfer pour ceux qui ont raté le train de cette mondialisation à marche forcée. Les programmes immobiliers pour étrangers fortunés fleurissent partout dans le pays, tandis que les Mauriciens s’inquiètent pour l’avenir de leur île, dont l’âme est peu à peu bradée sur l’autel du libéralisme.

France Ô diffusé le mercredi 10 janvier 2018 à 20h55

Nespresso: Step Into The Mythical Origins Of Coffee

The African continent birthed most of the legends about the discovery of this magical plant. Just as the coffee cherry cradles two beans, so tradition on the source of coffee presents two myths. We went back to the regions where coffee was first grown and selected beans that brought to life the sources where everything started.

Arabica Ethiopia Harrar

Imagine the expanses of western Ethiopia where Kaladi , a young goatherd, lay down to nap in the shade while his goats bounded freely about. When he woke up, he found them hopping up and down, up and down, around a plant bearing red cherries. After tasting the fruit, he himself felt unusually wonderful and started hopping and dancing with the goats. A monk, noticing what was happening, grew suspicious of the cherries and threw them into the fire. When the heady aromas wafted up, the monk removed the cherries, crushed them, and, from the beans, prepared a drink that captured his heart there and then.

Discover a blend with notes of ripe fruit, flowers, and grains. A mild, medium roast espresso blend, with  a velvety body.

Robusta Uganda

Imagine yourself in the distant past of Buganda, better known to us today as Uganda, where the valuable Robusta beans were an inseparable part of a ceremony that would take place on the banks of Lake Victoria. Under the starry sky, two families  gathered around the bonfire, and split a single Robusta coffee cherry down the middle. One representative of each family would then bite into one of the beans of the fruit. United through this ceremony by bonds of loyalty and friendship, the two families now started to dance around the fire, their shadows long against the surrounding mountains.

Introducing our extra-strong espresso, surprising in its sweetness, given the Robusta contents. A powerful blend, intense with cocoa notes.