The island nations of New Zealand and Sri Lanka are separated by some 6,600 miles (10,600 km) of ocean. But in just over a month's time, each has seen mass killings that generated similar headlines.

“It’s a challenge to describe that noise,” says Reuters senior photographer Mike Blake, after witnessing his first rocket launch.

The first online troll I met was a middle-aged, potbellied Indonesian man, dressed casually in jeans and sneakers. He said his nickname was "Commandant".

From a 14-hour wait outside Tokyo's main jail on Christmas Day to a momentous photograph filed from the top of a step-ladder, covering the Carlos Ghosn story has mostly been about mastering the art of Japanese stakeout journalism.

It took Reuters journalists a few days of research to work out that the numbers coming out of Africa’s vast gold trade did not add up.

(Backstory is a series of reports showing how Reuters journalists work and the standards under which they operate.)

From the dusty town in Honduras where thousands are fleeing violence to the currents of the Rio Grande, Reuters photographers walked, waded and flew to capture images of thousands of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the United States.

(Backstory is a series of reports showing how Reuters journalists work and the standards under which they operate)

(Backstory is a series of reports showing how Reuters journalists work and the standards under which they operate)

(Backstory is a series of reports showing how Reuters journalists work and the standards under which they operate.)