A live grenade was carried on the body of a dead Kiwi soldier from Afghanistan to Christchurch without Defence Force officials knowing.

The Defence Force has issued footage from a chaotic 12-minute battle described as New Zealand's "biggest firefight since Vietnam" after a court of inquiry released its findings on two deadly incidents in Afghanistan that killed five Kiwis.

Details of a Defence Force inquiry into fatal attacks in Afghanistan have been released this afternoon, along with footage of one of the incidents.

The Defence Force will today present the findings of a Court of Inquiry into two incidents which resulted in the deaths of five New Zealand soldiers in Afghanistan last year.

A criminal inquiry has started into a firefight in which two New Zealand soldiers were killed in Afghanistan last year.

Over one thousand NZ Defence personnel joined with soliders from around the world to take part in Exercise Alam Halfa 2013. For almost a month, they trained in various live fire drills and maneuvers around the North Island. The areas shown in this video highlights few of the environments that our soldiers train in to keep their skills sharp and relevant for contemporary operations.

Two brothers who suffered horrific injuries in army training accidents could be nearing the end of their long battle for compensation. (WARNING: Graphic image)

The Air Force kapa haka group and band spent several hours yesterday with a couple of schoolboy rugby teams in Washington DC.

Being military-free would be something to be truly proud of, writes Bob Jones. "If the Aussies and Americans don't like it, well, bad luck, they'll get over it."

A New Zealand Defence Force peacekeeper was abducted from an observation post in the Golan Heights and held for five hours today.

Six translators who helped elite NZ troops in Afghanistan and who fear for their lives are demanding to know why they haven't been granted asylum like other interpreters.

It takes a special class of sleep-deprived conspiracist to imagine John Key would have welcomed, let alone engineered, the Aaron Gilmore brouhaha, writes Toby Manhire.

The Government is maintaining there is no specific threat to the safety of New Zealanders in South Korea, despite a new warning issued by the North.

Japan has deployed Patriot missiles in its capital as it readies to defend the 30 million people who live in greater Tokyo from any North Korean attack.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has expressed his gratitude to the 10 New Zealand soldiers who have died in Afghanistan.

Authorities are to take urgent action to monitor rapidly increasing drone activity after conceding they know of as few as one in 10 unmanned flights.

A New Zealand Army officer charged with beating a fellow soldier has appeared before a court martial this morning at Linton Army Camp.

Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman rejected suggestions the non-combat deaths of defence force personnel were linked to low morale.