New Zealanders living in Australia have chalked up a small but important victory for expats after being accepted for trials with the Australian Defence Force.

United States markets head into the last week of the year with a "Santa Claus rally" having lifted them to record highs, picking up momentum from outstanding GDP numbers in the world's biggest economy.

Even by the outrageous standards of North Korean propaganda chiefs, it was an unusually vulgar slur, a dramatic escalation in the two-week-long war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.

Being far from his children on Christmas Day is hard for Major Brett Grieve, especially when he's stationed in Antarctica, but he knows it's all part of his duty, he says.

The Defence Minister has paid tribute to the events the Defence Force has participated in this year, including the search for missing flight MH370.

The MP who chaired the anti-terrorist legislation rushed through Parliament last week, MarkMitchell, says the bill was "100 per cent" justified.

Kiwi troops sent to Iraq need a clear objective and a way out within two years, says a military academic and former army officer who has served in the country.

New Zealand could further extend its mission training security forces in Afghanistan beyond next year after the United States announced it was delaying the planned withdrawal of 1000 troops from Afghanistan.

Gerry Brownlee is one of National's most level-headed, collected, unflappable and even-tempered Cabinet ministers.

It's not easy being a member of the Swiss Guard. There's the silly uniform to wear, and occasionally you might have to step in and risk your life to save the boss.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters claims "large-scale" military preparations are under way at New Zealand bases in anticipation of a deployment to Iraq.

We all know John Key is susceptible to brain fade when it comes to historic events, writes Brian Rudman. But to forget what happened at Gallipoli 99 years ago does suggest he should really start upping his ginseng and cod-liver oil intake.

Defence Force staff have begun training for potential deployment to Iraq to support the fight against Islamic State (Isis), Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has confirmed.

NZ and Australia are in talks around forming a joint force to serve in Iraq against Isis, a century after the first Anzac force was created, Australian media are reporting.

When the SIS comes to the Beehive it brings its briefing papers in a locked case and once the briefing is finished it gathers all the copies up, locks them back in the case and takes them away.

Racially charged protests in Ferguson are fuelling an exponential increase in gun sales among mainly white customers at one of the premier shooting ranges in the United States.

Only in a topsy-turvy world would it be seen as rational to bring a posse of spies to heel by increasing their rights to snoop without a warrant, writes Brian Rudman.

China is building a massive island in the South China Sea that could host an airfield in an area where Beijing is locked in territorial disputes with neighbouring states, a US military spokesman says.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion aircraft which has been supporting counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Arabia has had its mission extended for another year.

Nine years after The Cosby Show star settled out of court with an alleged victim of sexual assault, a string of fresh claims have been made about the 77-year-old comedian's past.

An agent who evaded the Nazis to send coded messages to Britain is to be honoured by France. Andrew Stone writes about a modest war hero who lives quietly in Auckland.

A chilling but illuminating legacy of the former East German state is the archives of its Ministry for State Security, the dreaded Stasi.