Kushner-Linked Luxury Resort Plans Ignite Protests Across Albania |
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at controversial investment projects in Albania, the White House’s ire over the passage of a war powers resolution, and violent anti-immigrant attacks across South Africa.
Albania Is ‘Not for Sale’
Mass protests in Albania over proposed luxury resort developments linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to intensify, as thousands of people call on Tirana to block the controversial projects.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at controversial investment projects in Albania, the White House’s ire over the passage of a war powers resolution, and violent anti-immigrant attacks across South Africa.
Albania Is ‘Not for Sale’
Mass protests in Albania over proposed luxury resort developments linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to intensify, as thousands of people call on Tirana to block the controversial projects.
The uproar concerns two real estate projects on the Adriatic Sea that are backed by Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners. The first is a plan to build a luxury resort on the uninhabited island of Sazan, which was once a secret communist military base. The second is a plan to develop a tourism complex in a protected coastal area of Zvernec, which is home to flamingos, seals, and sea turtles. In January, 40 environmental organizations called for the Sazan resort project to be suspended, citing threats to biodiversity.
Their demands were not met. But recent sightings of construction fencing and equipment near the sites—as well as allegations of possible corruption—have reignited demands that the Albanian government cancel the projects. On Tuesday, Albania’s special prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the funds used to acquire the land titles for Zvernec. Tirana insists that these locations were privately owned and sold in a transparent manner.
However, critics disagree. “From start to finish, there has been a total lack of transparency,” said Aleksandr Trajce, the head of Albania’s leading conservation group, the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania. “We have seen no public consultation or public........