Devshirme (Ottoman دوشيرمه, Greek παιδομάζωμα, Paedomazoma - collection of children; Armenian: Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak') - child-gathering; Romanian: tribut de sânge; Croatian: Danak u krvi, Slovene: Krvni davek, Serbian: Данак у крви / Danak u krvi, Macedonian: Данок во крв / Danok vo krv, and Bulgarian: Кръвен данък/ Kraven Danak - blood tax) was the practice by which the Ottoman Empire forcibly took boys from Christian families, who were selected by skilled scouts to be trained and enrolled in one of the four imperial institutions: the Palace, the Scribes, the Religious and the Military.

Although the primary objective of the devshirme system was to select and train the ablest children for leadership positions, either as military leaders or as high administrators to serve the Empire, converting to Islam was mandatory to stay in the system. The devshirme candidates were not supposed to be orphans, or the only child in their family (to ensure the candidates had strong family values); they must not have already learned to speak Turkish or a craft/trade. The ideal age of a recruit was between 10 and 20 years of age, although they recruited much younger boys. As the devshirmah were recruited to rise up to the grand vizier status, a few Christian parents were known to bribe scouts to take their children in Bosnia. Nevertheless, the devshirme system was locally resented and was resisted, even to the point of disfiguring their sons. This system as explained by Kara Khalil Chendereli, founder of the Janissaries, "The conquered are slaves of the conquerors, to whom their goods, their women, and their children belong as lawful possession..", indicates the clear opinion of an Ottoman official regarding devsirme.

Riccardo Fogli (born 21 October 1947 in Pontedera, Province of Pisa, Italy) is an Italian singer.

Riccardo Fogli was born on 21 October 1947 in Pontedera. He was fond of music since his childhood. In the 1960s, he became a fan of The Beatles, which also influenced his decision to start his career as a singer.

In 1964, at the age of 17, Fogli joined Slenders. Two years later, in 1966, he became the lead singer of Pooh. In 1973, he left Pooh and started his solo career; however, later on he performed many songs together with Pooh, most notably Giorni cantati "The Days Sung Together".

In 1973, Riccardo issued his first album Ciao amore come stai (Hello, Love, How Are You?), which was followed by his second album Riccardo Fogli in 1976; the song "Mondo" ("World") from this album became a hit. However, it was not until the early 1980s that Fogli eventually worked out his style of performance.

The 1980s were a pinnacle of success for Riccardo Fogli. In this period, the lyrics of his songs became more philosophical and his singing manner became more emotional. It was in the 1980s that Fogli gained overwhelming popularity both within and outside Italy. In 1981, Fogli performed one of his most famous and lyrical song, "Malinconia" ("Melancholy"), and in 1982 he was a winner at Festival di Sanremo with his another hit "Storie di tutti i giorni" ("Everyday Stories"), where he out-did even the duet of Al Bano and Romina Power with their hit "Felicità" ("Happiness"). Since then, Riccardo Fogli became world famous; his 1982 album Collezione (Collection) was issued in nearly a million copies in Western Europe, Japan and the USSR, where he became particularly popular.

Hrant Dink (Armenian: Հրանդ Տինք (Western variant) or Հրանտ Դինք (Eastern variant), pronounced [həˈɾɑnt dinkʰ]) (September 15, 1954 – January 19, 2007) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descenteditor, journalist and columnist.

As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos (Ակօս), Dink was a prominent member of the Armenian minority in Turkey. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey; he was often critical of both Turkey's denial of the Armenian Genocide, and of the Armenian diaspora's campaign for its international recognition. Dink was prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness, while receiving numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists.

Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogün Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist. This was shortly after the premiere of the genocide documentary Screamers, in which he is interviewed about Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the case against him under article 301. While Samast has since been taken into custody, photographs of the assassin flanked by smiling Turkish police and gendarmerie, posing with the killer side by side in front of the Turkish flag, have since surfaced. The photos created a scandal in Turkey, prompting a spate of investigations and the removal from office of those involved.