Veteran BBC journalist Brian Hanrahan dies

One of the BBCs leading foreign correspondents,Brian Hanrahan,best known for his coverage of the 1982 Falklands War,has died at the age of 61. Hanrahan,who spent almost 30 years with the corporation covering major stories from all over the world,was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. He was admitted to hospital with an infection 10 days ago.

His varied assignments spanned the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in the former Soviet Union,the Tiananmen Square massacre,the fall of the Berlin wall and the assassination of Indira Gandhi in India.

He famously counted returning Harrier jets to circumvent defence ministry restrictions during Falklands War. Im not allowed to say how many planes joined the raid,but I counted them all out and I counted them all back. Their pilots were unhurt,cheerful and jubilant,giving thumbs-up signs, he said.