{"id":4989,"date":"2026-06-04T08:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T08:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4989"},"modified":"2026-06-04T08:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T08:14:07","slug":"plans-for-a-trump-family-linked-resort-spark-protests-in-albania-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4989","title":{"rendered":"Plans for a Trump family-linked resort spark protests in Albania : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-125928\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 6315;&#10;        --source-height: 4210;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6315x4210+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2F0b%2F9b4998c9420785379093e12f4661%2Fap26154640906409.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                Police officers block a street during a demonstration in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, opposing a luxury coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump over concerns about environmental impacts and transparency.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Hameraldi Agolli\/AP Photo<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><b>toggle caption<\/b><\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Hameraldi Agolli\/AP Photo<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>TIRANA, Albania \u2014 A massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, is facing growing resistance from protesters in Albania.<\/p>\n<p>The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.<\/p>\n<p>But the venture, spanning an abandoned island and a nearby stretch of seafront on Albania&#8217;s southern coast, has drawn opposition from environmental campaigners and critics of long-time Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">Kushner and Ivanka Trump found the site on a barefoot hike<\/h3>\n<p>The luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The planned development of hotels, apartments, villas and a marina is linked to Kushner and Trump&#8217;s daughter, Ivanka Trump.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview this week with U.S. podcaster David Senra, Ivanka Trump said they discovered the site by accident.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We were on a friend&#8217;s boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that&#8217;s how we found it,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We swam to the island. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">Harsh rule, pristine beaches<\/h3>\n<p>Albania has 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coast that remained largely underdeveloped during decades of harsh communist rule.<\/p>\n<p>Protest groups fear the sections of that pristine coastline could be snapped up by powerful investors. And public anger grew after video showed an activist being dragged by a private security guard while demonstrating at the site.<\/p>\n<p>The development is planned within a nature reserve and one of Albania&#8217;s most valuable biodiversity areas, a key stopover for migratory birds along the Adriatic coast.<\/p>\n<p>Protesters have carried cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos, one of the protected migratory bird species, at rallies in the capital Tirana.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-secondary-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap secondary\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Since late May, excavators and other heavy machinery have entered the area, opening access routes, digging into the sand, clearing land among pine trees and installing fencing.<\/p>\n<p>Environmental groups from Albania and elsewhere in Europe condemned the work, with one prominent local group charging that long-protected habitats are being &#8220;irreversibly destroyed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">A multi-billion dollar bonanza?<\/h3>\n<p>Albania&#8217;s state anti-corruption agency has confirmed it opened an investigation related to the project but has not disclosed details.<\/p>\n<p>The government says the land earmarked for the project is privately owned. But competing claims have emerged questioning the privatization \u2014 a common type of legal dispute.<\/p>\n<p>Rama has committed to the venture, saying it would align with Albania&#8217;s ambition to become a major global tourism destination.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Albania should not be a country that fears an extraordinary project like this one, where exceptional partners have come together to invest 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion),&#8221; Rama said.<\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8220;There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However, the demise of a similar project in Serbia offers a cautionary tale. In November, Serbia&#8217;s Parliament passed a special law to enable the building of a luxury complex in the capital, Belgrade, to be financed by an investment company linked to Kushner.<\/p>\n<p>The following month, Serbia&#8217;s prosecutor for organized crime charged four people, including a government minister, with abuse of office and falsifying of documents to help pave the way for the development.<\/p>\n<p>Kushner later withdrew from the planned multi-million investment that would have replaced a sprawling bombed-out military complex, a designated heritage zone whose legal protection was lifted by the former officials now on trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/04\/g-s1-125926\/albania-protests-trump-family-linked-resort\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police officers block a street during a demonstration in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, opposing a luxury coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump over concerns about environmental impacts and transparency. Hameraldi Agolli\/AP Photo hide caption toggle caption Hameraldi Agolli\/AP Photo TIRANA, Albania \u2014 A massive coastal development project linked to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}