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Shadowing practice: Kushner-linked resort plan sparks protests in Albania | DW News

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  1. Albania's capital has been rocked by days of protests against a luxury resort project linked to US President Trump's son -in -law Jared Kushner.0:00
  2. Thousands of people marched through Tirana demanding the government cancel the plan.0:08
  3. Protesters also clashed with police and security at the building site.0:14
  4. Environmental activists warned the development is taking place in a protected wildlife zone and that it would have a serious impact on Albania's coastline.0:18
  5. Despite the protests, Albanian Prime Minister Eddie Rahma defended the project.0:30
  6. There is no chance that this investment will stop as long as I am here.0:37
  7. And in the meantime, I am absolutely open, as I have been on other occasions, to discuss it with anyone who has concerns.0:41
  8. Let's get more on this now with Bezar Likmetta, a journalist in Tirana.0:52
  9. Bezar, what's the situation in Tirana at the moment?0:58
  10. How significant are these protests?1:00
  11. The protests are significant.1:04
  12. Thousands of people gathered in the main square in Tirana's counter -back square and they marched to the Prime Minister's office.1:06
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  1. They were met by water cannons, but they didn't stop them.1:12
  2. They marched in Herzogang against the government, asking for the development, the resort, linked to the Trump family to be stopped, asking for the resignation of the Prime Minister.1:15
  3. But also, Herzogang against the whole ruling elite, which they see as corrupt, as tied to organized crime, as a level of state capture is involved in this project.1:26
  4. So they are not happy.1:40
  5. They are not happy that this project is moving forward.1:42
  6. There is definitely a lack of transparency.1:44
  7. It's unclear who the people behind it are, although the Trump family is being presented as the figureheads.1:46
  8. We have seen that there is local oligarchs involved, that there is people from, let's say, investments from Qatar behind it, and also ties to underworld figures.1:52
  9. Just today, the Special Prosecutor's Office in Tirana blocked a transfer of nearly 180 million euros or dollars tied to this investment for suspicions of being tied to organized crime,2:02
  10. to an underworld figure who they believe or suspect has been behind the land, which has been taken by local villagers who were protested just a few days ago.2:18
  11. So it's a murky investment.2:28
  12. It's unclear who benefits, the people who benefit from it, and the people who are behind it are.2:30
  13. Well, Prime Minister Eddie Rama is clearly behind it.2:38
  14. He's made it clear that the project will go ahead.2:41
  15. We heard at Soundbite from him there.2:45
  16. Tell us more about Eddie Rama's, Prime Minister Rama's position on this resort.2:47
  17. Well, it's the model of development that Prime Minister Eddie Rama has chosen for the Albanian coast.2:55
  18. It's a model where a contract got handed to government cronies to develop and then blighted the Albania coast to concrete.3:00
  19. And the people behind it are always very close to the Prime Minister or media or oligarchs.3:09
  20. But the Albanian people benefit very little from these areas.3:15
  21. They get very little employment.3:18
  22. The country has a migration rate of 1 percent.3:20
  23. Thirty thousand people left the country last year.3:23
  24. Many of them migrate into places like Germany.3:26
  25. That's because the young people don't have the future.3:28
  26. The people in the street today protesting.3:31
  27. They are Gen Z's.3:33
  28. They are young families who want to have a future in Albania.3:34
  29. This kind of model of development that takes pristine areas and auction is off to the highest bidder with no regard for protection of the environment, with no regard for3:39
  30. protection of natural monuments.3:51
  31. This is not a kind of development that they're asking.3:53
  32. This is not the kind of development for a country which aspires to become a member of the European Union.3:56
  33. That's where they are on the streets.4:01
  34. They are fed up and they're asking for the government to resign.4:03
  35. They're asking for Prime Minister Adirama to go.4:06
  36. They're asking for the rule of law to be upholded.4:09
  37. Because this development, it's not the only illegal according to Albanian law.4:12
  38. But it's also illegal to European contracts and agreements that Albania has signed.4:18
  39. So it is a controversial project for many of the reasons you've already mentioned.4:25
  40. But the project's link to Jared Kushner is attracting a lot of attention.4:30
  41. Is the Trump family connection part of what makes this resort so controversial?4:35
  42. For Albanians, it's the model of development.4:43
  43. It's not only the Trump family.4:46
  44. If it was only the Trump family, I don't think you'd be that controversial.4:48
  45. But if you have, let's say, the Trump family, underworld figures, corrupt officials, local oligarchs into a mix, and then companies who are registered offshore, which provide very little transparency,4:53
  46. add to that the protected area, which is bulldozed, as you can see from the pictures, then I think that's a toxic mix.5:07
  47. That's not development.5:14
  48. That's just aggression towards nature, aggression to the rights of people to safeguard their environment.5:15
  49. Bezar, thank you very much for talking with us today.5:22
  50. That was journalist Bezar Likmeta in Tirana.5:24
  51. Well, I'm joined now by Olsenika, Executive Director of Eco Albania.5:32
  52. That's an NGO that's working to protect Albania's natural ecosystems and wildlife.5:36
  53. It's good to have you with us.5:41
  54. You've been directly involved in the protests, I understand.5:43
  55. Can you describe what happened during the clashes over the weekend?5:46
  56. Well, actually, we've been initiated in the protests, but now it's massive and people are also articulating not only the messages to concern nature and against harmful projects, despite, regardless,5:55
  57. let's say, the fact whether it is linked to Donald Trump's son -in -law or to Homebrew else.6:10
  58. So it looks like this is the message that enough is enough for also for other problems that Dania is facing nowadays, I think.6:15
  59. And these are the messages that are being articulated by the protesters in these three, four days.6:25
  60. Olsenika, I want to make sure that we understand you here.6:34
  61. Are you saying that the protesters, they are upset about much more than just a threat to the environment with this project?6:36
  62. Exactly.6:47
  63. I think this was the detonator, the initiation of the protests.6:48
  64. But if you read carefully, and if you hear actually the messages that are being said by the megaphones in the protests, they are claiming a lot more in terms6:53
  65. of like, you know, resigned from the prime minister and also resigned of this role of the literal opposition party, for instance.7:02
  66. So there is an interesting mixture in the protests.7:11
  67. However, we are, I mean, our position as the NGO and actually as environmental groups, we are claiming all the withdrawal from the project because it's unacceptable, it's illegal in7:14
  68. a way, and it's against all the principles of nature conservation.7:29
  69. Do you think the fact that President Trump's son -in -law, Jared Kushner, the fact that he is involved in this project, does that make it even more likely that7:33
  70. it will go through?7:45
  71. I mean, does it make your chances of getting it blocked that much smaller?7:46
  72. Just to be clear in one thing, so we are definitely not against development and we have never been against development.7:53
  73. So we are a country under development and of course we are eager to develop any sort of strategic sector of our economy and apparently tourism seems to be one7:59
  74. of the major ones.8:10
  75. However, there is always and it has to be a red line on the territories that we cannot develop such sort of projects and these are the protected areas.8:11
  76. So this is our clear message and I think that this project will not get through because, I mean, it can get through but not in this particular area.8:22
  77. So this is what we claim and I think that this will not get through in this particular area because it's also very complicated and it implicates the Albanian EU8:31
  78. negotiation process in the process that we are to getting the membership from the EU.8:43
  79. So who do you think is on your side?8:50
  80. Of course, you know, to answer your question, of course, there is always this bigger pressure when big investors like Donald Trump, Sonny Lo, it appears in the horizon and8:52
  81. somehow could also some of the regulatory framework could get overcome in this.9:08
  82. But, you know, our position is very clear.9:14
  83. We are not against the development.9:18
  84. They can develop any sort of resort they want but not in the protected areas because it's simply these areas do not does not belong to us, law but also9:19
  85. to Europe and to future generations.9:28
  86. Well, who is who is on your side?9:30
  87. I mean, if I read you correctly, it sounds like you're saying that Brussels, the European Union is on your side, but your own government probably is not.9:33
  88. Is that an accurate reading?9:43
  89. It could be like that, but European Union is not just, you know, the mixture of countries.9:48
  90. I think also some of the member states are very concerned about the overall situation on the protected areas in Albania and they are also closely monitoring the whole situation9:53
  91. in this.10:06
  92. So, I am very sure about these that at one point there will be kind of, you know, negotiation also with Albanian government from the international factor that is, it's10:06
  93. cooperating with Albania.10:22
  94. Let me just ask you before we run out of time, you know, your country is in a process of serious transformation.10:23
  95. You want to join the European Union.10:31
  96. You want prosperity and jobs to come.10:33
  97. That may mean having a lot of foreign investment.10:36
  98. This project, has it become a symbol, though, of foreign influence that has gotten out of control in Albania?10:40
  99. You could read it also like that and Albania has 80 % of the country, of the territory of the country, which is open and free to get such sort10:51
  100. of investments.11:04
  101. So, we are not protected areas.11:04
  102. What we have in Albania is only 20 % and to be precise, 21 .7 % that are protected areas.11:06
  103. On the other hand, Albania is committing to increase these to 30 % even, but what we are witnessing is that all the legal framework, all the institutional framework is11:15
  104. working to the direction of opening up these areas for huge and massive development.11:25
  105. This is absolutely unacceptable because it's not aligned with international commitment of Albania as a state and especially on the road towards getting the EU membership.11:30
  106. Also, Nika, Executive Director of Eco Albania, we appreciate your time and your insights tonight.11:43
  107. Thank you.11:49
  108. Thank you.11:51

A B2 news interview for english listening practice: Albania's Kushner resort protests

This clip is a DW News segment: an anchor introduces a story, then crosses live to journalist Bezar Likmetta in Tirana for a phone interview. That shape, a scripted lead followed by unscripted back and forth, is why it works for english speaking practice as well as listening: you get a written news register in the opening lines, then a real person answering questions without a script. Rated B2, the clip runs at 164 words per minute and holds 120 lines, so the pace is faster than most of the catalogue and rewards a listener who can already follow connected news English.

The story itself: protests over a luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner have filled Tirana's streets for days, met at points by police and water cannons. Prime Minister Edi Rama defends the project on camera, then Likmetta lays out why people are angry: a lack of transparency, oligarchs and offshore investors behind the money, and a Prosecutor's Office freezing part of the transfer over suspected ties to organized crime. Practising on real reporting like this, not a script written for learners, is what makes the vocabulary, oligarchs, implicates, regulatory, worth learning.

The language in this interview: pronunciation cues for english shadowing practice

Three lines are worth isolating. The anchor's opener, "rocked by days of protests against a luxury resort project," stacks four noun phrases in one breath, a good drill for pacing before a full stop. Rama answers a question with "There is no chance that this investment will stop as long as I am here.", and the stress falls hard on "no chance", worth exaggerating when you repeat it. Likmetta's own assessment, "There is definitely a lack of transparency.", is flatter and more formal, the kind of hedge you hear in analysis rather than in casual talk.

  • "rocked by days of protests against a luxury resort project": four stacked noun phrases in one breath, read it slowly first, then at speed.
  • "There is no chance that this investment will stop as long as I am here.": Rama's stress lands on "no chance", exaggerate it when you repeat the line.
  • "There is definitely a lack of transparency.": Likmetta's flatter, more formal delivery, useful for the register of spoken analysis rather than casual chat.

How to shadow this line by line: working through the Tirana interview for daily english conversation practice

Work the clip in the order the interview actually runs, not at random. Start with the anchor's setup, then move into the exchange with Likmetta, where questions and answers replace narration. That switch is the main thing to practise: matching a different rhythm every few lines instead of one steady voice.

  • Line 1: read the anchor's opening sentence once for meaning, then shadow it at full pace to work on unbroken noun phrases.
  • Line 6: shadow Rama's "There is no chance that this investment will stop as long as I am here." and match the certainty in his stress, not just the words.
  • Lines 16 and 17: repeat "So they are not happy." then "They are not happy that this project is moving forward.", practising the shift between a flat statement and its expanded follow up.
  • Line 18: shadow "There is definitely a lack of transparency." for the flatter, analytical tone, then keep going into Likmetta's account of the oligarchs and offshore money behind the project.
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