Latest news with #SazanIsland
The Guardian
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Five Great Reads: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, a mysterious skyjacker, and Albania's Trump Island
Happy Saturday! The world felt like a scary place this week, but these five reads kept me going – as did the campaigners who forced Jeff Bezos to relocate his wedding in Venice. If only we got the inflatable crocodiles – but at least there was a Bezos lookalike confusing the crowds. Continuing with the theme of the rich, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island – one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean. Unlike in Venice, the Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama, has welcomed the purchase of Sazan Island, saying 'We need luxury tourism like a desert needs water.' Albanians call Sazan Ishulli i Trumpëve – Trump Island. Until now mostly untrammelled by development, the island, which was once home to a military base, is on the verge of becoming a mecca for ultra-luxury tourism – once the unexploded ordnance has been removed. Environmental concerns: Environmentalists such as Olsi Nika, a marine biologist and the director of the NGO EcoAlbania, are worried about the development. 'This area is in the Karaburun-Sazan maritime national park. It means the beaches and waters within 2km (1.25 miles) of the shore are protected. What will large public works, the building of docks, yacht traffic and sewage run-off do to the place?' How long will it take to read: five minutes. It's been hard to shake the image that the character Lena Dunham's landmark series, Girls, gave Allison Williams. In this interview, the actor reflects on privilege, growing up with a famous parent, and her role in sci-fi horror film M3gan. What does she think of AI, tech and parenting? Williams recounts using ChatGPT to answer one of her three-year-old son's questions. 'Watching what happened to his face was like when Gemma sees her niece interacting with M3gan. Like, I have connected my kid to a drug, this is so immediately addictive and intoxicating,' she says. She quickly put her phone away and made a mental note to go to the library next time to get out a book. 'I can't justify it, logically,' she says. 'It just felt like an innate instinct.' And her thoughts on Botox? She loves having it when she's not filming – 'because, you know, you need to make facial expressions when you're shooting'. How long will it take to read: five minutes. Further reading: if you want to be really terrified, read what Paula Cocozza learned recording thousands of hours of teenagers on their phones. This year marks 80 years since the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 200,000 people. Today, every one of the crew members who carried out the bombings is dead. One of the last writers to interview them reopens his files. 'Just in the last week, war has broken out in the Middle East over fears that Iran may be very close to having a bomb. In such times, perspective matters … History has lessons to teach us.'. How long will it take to read: 11 minutes. Further reading: one million and counting: Russian casualties hit milestone in Ukraine war. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion On 24 November 1971, a man who called himself 'Dan Cooper' hijacked a plane for US$200,000. He then parachuted out in his suit and dress shoes, never to be seen again. 'It's like the best book I've ever read, but I'm missing the first and last chapters,' podcaster Darren Schaefer tells writer Daniel Lavelle, who both potentially suffer from the 'Cooper curse' (a term coined by author Geoffrey Gray about being totally obsessed with the case). I've personally still got whiplash from the opening of this story. DB Cooper effect: the mind-boggling mystery has inspired news article after article, books, podcasts, movies, documentaries, even a DB Cooper-themed bar – and an annual convention held in Oregon. How long will it take to read: five-and-a-half minutes. Imagine performing at an theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that was built between AD98-117 in 'Europe's longest continually inhabited city'. Or a former panopticon Lukiškės prison in Vilnius, Lithuania, or the Lycabettus hill theatre in Athens. Laura Snapes takes us inside Australia's experimental rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's European residency tour, where the group of six don't rehearse and but do make time to be tourists in the cities they perform in. Photography: Maclay Heriot captures it all on film. Hot tip: throw on the band's existential new record in the background while reading. How long will it take to read: five minutes. Enjoying the Five Great Reads email? Then you'll love our weekly culture and lifestyle newsletter, Saved for Later. Sign up here to catch up on the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture, trends and tips for the weekend. And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner's $2 billion move after White House exit
Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, are set to invest a staggering $US1.4 billion ($A2.1 billion) into turning an abandoned Soviet weapons base into a luxury island resort. Ivanka, 43, and Kushner, 44, have spent the past year working on plans to transform the Albanian island of Sazan — one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean — into a must-visit destination for the wealthy and privileged, Realtor reports. The couple, who both served as senior advisers in US President Donald Trump's first administration but opted not to rejoin his cabinet after his 2024 election win, took a massive step toward their dream of creating the 'extraordinary' retreat in January, when their plans received preliminary approval from the Albanian government, according to the New York Times. That approval came just two months after Ivanka's father claimed victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, and days before he was inaugurated for the second time. The outlet noted that the project is 'one of several' involving members of the president's family and foreign government entities that Trump will be actively working with in the White House. Both Kushner and a spokesman for the Albanian government had previously shut down any suggestion the project's evaluation process would be influenced by its direct connection to Trump — however, that hasn't stopped questions from being raised over the approval. 'The fact that such a renowned American entrepreneur shows his interest on investing in Albania makes us very proud and happy,' a representative of Albanian President Edi Rama told the Times in 2024. Even before the couple had received approval for their plans, locals were abuzz with speculation about the project, with many now referring to the island as 'Ishulli i Trumpëve,' which translates to 'Trump Island.' Both Ivanka and Kushner have close ties to the real estate industry via their respective families. Before President Trump launched himself into politics, he was best known for his career as a developer, while Kushner's family owns a vast portfolio of commercial, residential, and retail properties in and around New York. However, this project marks the first time the couple will venture into the heady world of luxury hotels — with multiple reports noting they face a steep uphill battle before the resort will be ready for visitors. Having conquered the first hurdle — receiving approval from the government to forge ahead with their plans — the duo will now have to tackle the remnants of the island's somewhat dark past as a Soviet-era storage facility for chemical weapons. According to Italian journalist Marzio Mian, who visited the island in July 2024, shortly after Ivanka and Kushner's plans for the 1400-acre land were revealed, it is littered with 'signs depicting skull and crossbones, warning of landmines,' with visitors to the area warned not to venture too far off specific paths out of fears that they could stumble across an unexploded ordnance. Plans to remove the remaining weapons and ammunition on the island are well underway, however, with the Albanian government announcing in July 2020 that members of the country's armed forces had been dispatched to Sazan in order to begin clearing it of any dangerous ordnance. After Ivanka and Kushner's plans for their resort received preliminary approval, the Albanian government confirmed it would work with them in order to continue clearing their development site of all unexploded and buried weapons. As for the crumbling military buildings and 3600 derelict bunkers that were abandoned on the island, the couple is reportedly planning to incorporate at least a few of them into their hotel plans. Ivanka revealed in a 2024 podcast interview they were working with the 'best architects and the best brands' to make the resort into an 'extraordinary' property. Despite the remnants of the island's dark past as a Communist military base, tourists began flocking to its dazzling beaches as early as 2017, when it was reopened to the public after being closed for years. According to Lonely Planet, the island is easily accessible by regular ferries from Vlore, one of Albania's most popular — and luxurious — tourist destinations, a reputation that Ivanka and Kushner will undoubtedly be keen to transfer to their own high-end hotel. 'Once used as a submarine and chemical-weapons base by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, it's now home to an Albanian-Italian military base used to combat narcotics smuggling,' Lonely Planet states. 'In the summer of 2017, a small area of the island opened to visitors, making parts of its pristine coastline and historic relics accessible for the first time.' President Rama made no secret of his excitement about the Trump-Kushner development. He told The Guardian he believes Albania 'can't afford not to exploit a gift like Sazan' and added: 'We need luxury tourism like a desert needs water'. To that end, the government is even in the process of building an airport near Vlore to ferry wealthy tourists directly to the country's most affluent and desirable area — an airport that would also serve as an easy access point for Ivanka and Kushner's hotel. However, not everyone is thrilled about the project, with some critics accusing the Albanian government of a lack of transparency about the deal with the couple, according to the Times. One, Agron Shehaj, who is a member of the opposition party in the Albanian government, told the outlet: 'Of course for Albania, which is a poor country, it is important to develop tourism. 'But there has been a lack of transparency here, and it makes it look like this is a private deal that is in the political interest of the prime minister of Albania.' Others raised concerns about the impact the development will have on the island's thriving wildlife. Freelance tour guide Arben Kola, who told The Independent: 'The way tourism works for Sazan at the moment is it helps to preserve nature, not damage it. We shouldn't change that'. Though Kushner has not commented on the recent reports about his proposed tourism mecca, he told The Guardian in 2024 that their plans would carefully consider Sazan's natural environment — stating: 'When people announce a development, everyone gets scared. 'Everybody assumes the worst. But once they see the plans we have, the way we're designing it, the way we're being faithful and considerate of the environment around us, I think that people will be very, very pleased. 'And again, with developments, you never make everyone happy.' It is unclear when work on the resort will begin — with documents pertaining to the preliminary government approval noting officials had the right to revoke the decision pending further negotiations. Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission.
