Pierre Mambele was never credited with telling the story of Congo's never-ending crises. But the news would often have gone unheard without him.

On the afternoon of July 1, before protesters in Hong Kong trashed the city's legislature and riot police countered with tear gas, there was a moment that captured the city's state of flux.

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

The first sign of the crisis in Russia's oil industry came on a quiet Saturday in April.

(Backstory is a series of reports showing how Reuters journalists work and the standards under which they operate. This one is part of a series marking the 75th Anniversary of D-Day landings in WW II)

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

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.