Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets of Tirana in what protesters are calling the "flamingo revolution," dem...

Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets of Tirana in what protesters are calling the "flamingo revolution," demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama halt a $4 billion coastal resort project tied to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. The proposed development spans two sites in southern Albania: the Narta Lagoon, a protected wildlife area and major Adriatic migratory bird habitat, and Sazan Island, a former communist-era military base. The project calls for hotels, apartments, luxury villas, and a marina. A Kushner-linked investment firm has already received strategic investor status from Albanian authorities. Rama is holding firm. He told the Associated Press there is "a lot of disinformation" surrounding the project and accused foreign online actors, including what he described as Iranian targeting of his government, of fueling the unrest. He has insisted Albania should not fear "such an exceptional project, in which exceptional partners are investing 4 billion euros." Excavators and heavy machinery have been operating in the area since late May, carving access roads, digging into sandy terrain, clearing land between pine trees, and installing fencing. Environmental groups from Albania and across Europe say protected habitats face irreversible damage. Albania's Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Prosecution confirmed it is investigating aspects of the project. Albanian authorities separately froze 128.3 million euros in assets belonging to Albanian Land Development LLC over land sale contracts in the development zone, with competing claims emerging over whether the privatization of that land was legal. Solidarity protests have spread to Albanian communities in Greece and other European countries. EU officials say they are monitoring the situation to ensure the project complies with Albania's accession obligations. Ivanka Trump, speaking on a podcast, said the location was discovered by chance during a vacation. "We were on a friend's boat and stopped for a swim. That's basically how we found the island," she said. Serbia offers a cautionary parallel. Last November, the Serbian parliament passed a special law enabling a Kushner-linked luxury dev...