Rory's near miss

When Rory Channing was correspondent Kuwait in 1987, the Iran-Iraq war was raging and reporting was difficult in hyper-sensitive Gulf states. He fell foul of the authorities and was escorted on to a plane out of the country, with no clear explanation why he was being expelled. But shortly before takeoff, officials back-pedalled and pulled him off the aircraft.

Rory's relief at this last-minute reprieve was tinged with a hint of disappointment - he had just missed his badge of honour. In that part of the world, expulsion of Western journalists was generally considered recognition that you were doing your job well, sometimes too well for the host government's liking.

Fortunately for Reuters, Rory was able to carry on doing his job and maintain the same exacting standard of competence and professionalism that defined his career. ■