TMCnet News
ANZAC Day services being held throughout the world; 500 NZ Defence Force staff in various places; wet day ahead in NZ(IRN News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Services to remember Australia and New Zealand's war heroes are being held throughout the world today. Anzac Day dawn services are likely to be grey and wet across much of New Zealand. MetService forecaster Bob McDavitt says most places will have at least some drizzle or rain, which will become widespread throughout the morning. He says a rain band which has stalled over the South Island and a new anti-cyclone coming across the south Tasman will bring cold weather to Canterbury. Otago should also brace itself for heavy rain. Those attending dawn services in New Zealand's four main centres will be offered a complimentary coffee and an Anzac biscuit. Around 20,000 visitors are expected to gather at the Gallipoli Peace Park on the Turkish Peninsula. It will be a high tech event with audio-visual links to the main services at Anzac Cove, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair. More than 500 New Zealand Defence Force personnel are marking the day in various parts of the world including the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Korea, Malaysia and Sudan. In Bamyan, Afghanistan, the New Zealand provincial reconstruction team is planning a traditional dawn service. Group Captain Steve Moore, says local dignitaries and aid agencies will be invited to join the troops in dawn commemorations which will start just after 4am local time. He says the service will be followed by a traditional hot breakfast. Then, it is back to work for the day, but Captain Moore says the troops are planning a barbecue for lunch and a hangi for dinner. He says the meaning of Anzac Day really hits home when New Zealanders are overseas, serving for their country. Planned dawn services in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, have been cancelled because of the curfew imposed to quell rioting. In Darwin, the threat of cyclone Monica has put services on hold. |