Tributes to Private John 'Jack' Howard, reveal a brave man known to his British mates as 'Kiwi'.

The mother of a NZ soldier shot in Afghanistan told an emotional press conference today that if her son "wanted something, he did it", describing John Howard as a man "never prepared to accept less than the best."

The death of a New Zealander serving in the British Army in Afghanistan is "very sad", Prime Minister John Key says. The soldier is understood to be John "Jack" Howard.

The New Zealand soldier killed in Afghanistan while serving with the British Army is understood to be John "Jack" Howard. Private Howard had been patrolling in the Nad 'Ali district of Helmand province when he was shot.

A sudden epidemic of polio has ravaged the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Staff at the US Embassy in Kabul are concerned about unauthorised releases of prisoners which have been happening.

Sweden's royal family has been rocked by a new scandal.

Every arm of the Defence Force will undergo changes to gain greater efficiency of operation from a constrained state purse, the defence white paper suggests.

NZ war hero Lieutenant Colonel John Milbanke Masters, who saved a Gurkha soldier's life in Borneo and campaigned tirelessly for agent orange victims, has been farewelled.

Hero who always put others first.

A look at the United States war logs for one day from the WikiLeaks release, October 17, 2006, 24 chaotic hours of car bombs, kidnaps and death squads.

Prime Minister John Key and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may discuss New Zealand's involvement in Afghanistan.