The family feud that has torn apart one of France’s richest dynasties officially ended this week when the Bettencourts, heirs to the L’Oréal cosmetics empire, signed a surprise truce between warring mother and daughter. But France is still reeling from what the spat has revealed about the nation.

Among the revelations which you can read about in the Guardian is that the uber rich family as well as the secret ownership of Arros, a private island in the Seychelles, which appeared to have been promised to Banier the man at the centre of the family feud.

Banier noted to the guardian…

“Can I make clear that I couldn’t give a damn about their money?” Banier told investigators. “That island, I hate it, it’s full of mosquitos, it’s tiny, and it’s very humid. Plus there are sharks. I hate islands. Johnny Depp has two islands in the Pacific where he’s invited me several times and I never go.”

to see the whole article visit the guardian

The New York Times hates when anybody uses any of there text, but it’s a fascinating story so check it out at the New York Times.

photo credit: Craig Dilger for The New York Times

The Los Angeles Times recently explained the dispute noting that the Coastal Commission contends that the Bay Island Club, an association of 24 homeowners on the tiny island by that name, must allow public access to the bridge if the club wants to replace the aging 130-foot span. It’s a classic example of the struggle between private landowners and state government, which since the 1976 passage of the California Coastal Act, has aggressively protected the public’s access to shorelines and waterways.

The city owns the  canal under the bridge and the Newport Beach City Council voted unanimously July 27   to support the islanders in court. The island is about halfway down the Balboa Peninsula.

Defendants of the island state: “Yes, it’s across public property,” said Councilman Don Webb. “But it really has no use other than coming on and off the island.”

Read more: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Hopes to Ward Off Oil with Fake Islands | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Floating Island in Maldives

A low lying island nation, the Maldives is at the front line in the fight against global warming. Already facing damage from rising sea levels, the Maldives is facing a grim future if action is not taken immediately.

Refusing to go gently into the good night, Maldives is fighting back with plans to build a series of man-made artificial islands.  Maldives government and Dutch Docklands/Dutch Watervalley recently signed an agreement to develop several floating facilities for the islands, including a convention center and golf courses.

Designed by architect Koen Olthuis or Waterstudio.NL, the renderings for the amphibious mini-cities appear depict star-shaped, tiered islands with indoor spaces hidden under lush green-roof terraces, complete with interior pools and beaches. While exact design details of these new floating islands are still unavailable, Dutch Docklands does have a history of creating water developments using methods and procedures that reduce impact on underwater life and minimize changes to coastal morphology.

The article notes that the central government must take over the islands to restore public access, noting that having no public access would make islands vulnerable to crime and make it easy to change ownership. Apparently public access is the priamry concern of critics of island ownership.

Although I am huge proponent of public access to private islands, corporate ownership brings, development, tourism and jobs to an island region and should be considered when these often outrageous foreign ownship laws are passed. Indonesia already has some of the tightest island ownership regulations in the world and further restrictions would only stagnate Indonesia Tourism.

To read the full article visit the Jakarta Post

Stanford, owned Guiana Island A 1,500 acre island that has emerged as the heart of his elaborate dealings. Antigua and Barbuda’s government obtained approval last week to seize 250 acres of the island following the charges against Stanford in February.

An official stated “Our main aim is to make sure that the lands are returned to Antigua,”  Apparently this move is in response to massive outstanding debt to local suppliers owned by the Stanford Group.

To read more visit Reuters.uk. I think this is a cautionary tale for potential island owners. Although an island may feel like “your own kingdom” it is still subject to the laws of the nation to which it belongs.

Tourism Queensland is working hard to promote their region as a top tourist destination, and I must say they are doing a fantastic job. First they came out with an island caretaker position, where the proud winner gets to live on a beautiful island for 6-months and recieves $150,000 at the end of their term (READ: Island Caretaker). Now Tourism Queensland has come out with a beautiful new video called the Islands of the  Great Barrier Reef.

While President elect Barack Obama is vacationing in Hawaii, his second in command Joe Biden visited the U.S. Virgin Islands with his family for a brief vacation. A government spokesman says Gov. John deJongh greeted Biden at the airport.

Jean Greaux said Saturday that Biden is “here for a couple of days of rest and relaxation.” The St. John Source newspaper reported that Biden is staying at a private house on Water Island which is a 500 acre island with only 161 residents. The island remains largely un-commercialized and is maintained by members of the Water Island Civic Association and residents along with intermittent assistance from the Virgin Islands’ government..

One of the Channel Islands, Sark is a British Crown Dependency and has a population of just 600. Sark’s main industries are finance, industry and tourism, however, what has made the island famous is that until just this year it was the last feudal state in Europe.

Sark has been inhabited for well over 2000 years and during its time has been occupied by the Romans, French, Germans and of course the British. In 1990 an unemployed French nuclear physicist named André Gardes attempted a singlehanded invasion of Sark, armed with a semi-automatic weapon. He put up signs declaring his intention to take over the island the following day at noon. He was arrested while sitting on a bench, changing the gun’s magazine and waiting for noon to arrive, by the island’s volunteer Constable.

For more information on this interesting state visit Wikipedia, where they have an excellent article.