The Romanian Foreign Ministry warns Romanian citizens travelling to Istanbul to avoid the city centre, which has been the stage of violent protests. On Saturday, for the second day in a row, protesters staged rallies against the government. The police forces had a tough response, using water cannons and tear gas. The protests started peacefully on Friday, in a park in downtown Istanbul and sparked off from a local problem: developers in the area cut the trees in order to build a shopping mall. Shortly afterwards, the protest gained magnitude, turning into a protest against Prime Minister Recep Erdogan and spread to other Turkish towns.

British Crown Prince Charles, who is on a private visit to the western Romanian region of Transylvania, is currently the owner of four houses in the village of Valea Zalanului, Covasna County (in central Romania). Local official sources say in the spring of 2013, Prince Charles purchased a fourth house, with two rooms and a kitchen, made of brick. The local authorities hope Prince Charles’ decision to buy property in the area will largely contribute to developing eco-tourism and traditional agriculture. Prince Charles, who arrived in Romania on Thursday, paid several private visits to Transylvania in the past few years. He made his previous visit to Romania in June 2012.

Between June the 2nd and 7th, Bucharest is hosting the 36th World Congress of Vine and Wine, to be attended by 44 countries. This year’s edition has as major theme „Vine and wine, between tradition and modernity”. Attending the event will also be the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Romanian Dacian Ciolos. Romania became a member of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine in 1927. Our country ranks 6th in Europe in a classification based on the surface of wine-growing areas and 7th in Europe in terms of the production of grapes and wine.

Over 150 Romanian and foreign feature films are presented at the Transylvania International Film Festival, TIFF, held in the western Romanian city of Cluj Napoca, until June 9th. The 12th edition of TIFF started with the screening of Pedro Almodovar’s “Los Amantes Pasajeros”. The film, presented for the first time in Romania, has been a success with both critics and the audience. The film tells the story of the pilots, the crew and passengers of a plane heading for Mexico City, who are trying to forget the anguish of the moment, when it seems that the end is in sight, and face the greatest danger, which we carry within ourselves.

The Bookfest International Book Fair continues in Bucharest until Sunday. The over 200 participants in this year’s Bookfest represent leading publishing houses and library chains in Romania. This year’s guests of honour, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, take part in the fair with an international project called "Three countries, one language," developed by the Frankfurt Book Fair. Writers and actors will read out, in unconventional locations, texts by contemporary authors like Jonathan Coe and Péter Esterházy, or classical writers like Franz Kafka or James Joyce.

90 countries, including Romania, are participating as of Saturday, in the 55th Art Biennial in Venice, which runs until November the 24th.