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.

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

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

John Key says leaked cables from the US Embassy in Wellington, which form part of this week's massive Wikileaks release, "could cause some embarrassment".

The two European superpowers, long distrustful of each other, have entered into a Defence Treaty.

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.