What to know about the growing opposition to Trump family-linked resort in Albania

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — 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.

Thousands protested peacefully in the Albanian capital Saturday evening, in one of the largest protests so far. Earlier in the day, several hundred people demonstrated in the town of Zvernec, while Albanian Australian swimmer Eva Buzo swam 15 kilometers (9 miles) around the disputed island to protest plans to develop the protected area.

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.

But the venture, spanning an abandoned island and a nearby stretch of seafront on Albania’s southern coast, has drawn opposition from environmental campaigners and critics of longtime Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Kushner and Ivanka Trump found the site on a barefoot hike

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.

The planned development of hotels, apartments, villas and a marina is linked to ...