PM Albanese attends Anzac Day dawn service at Isurava in PNG

The prime minister has told the crowd at an Anzac Day dawn service in Papua New Guinea that Australia "will never forget" the help the country's people provided to Australian soldiers during World War II.

Anthony Albanese marked Anzac Day with the completion of a two-day, 16-kilometre journey along the Kokoda Track with PNG's Prime Minister James Marape, a visit the leaders have used to highlight their shared legacy of war in the context of a growing security relationshipMr Albanese addressed hundreds of trekkers at an Anzac Day dawn service near the village of Isurava in the early hours on Thursday.

The village is the site of an intense six-day period of fighting by Australian and Papuan infantry against Japanese soldiers trying to capture PNG's capital Port Moresby.

"We are gathered in a place that has known the most pitiless ferocity of battle, fought with bullet, bayonet, mortar, and the desperation of bare hands," Mr Albanese told the crowd at the Isurava Memorial Site.

"It is also a place that has seen the unadorned strength of the Australian spirit.

"We feel the weight of history as we gather here along the Kokoda Track, this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance that has come to occupy a place of singular power in Australia's shared memory."

Ninety-nine of the 625 Australians who were killed on the Kokoda Track died in the Battle of Isurava.

Australians gather at Anzac Day services across the country to honour servicemen and servicewomen

Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders are starting to gather for Anzac Day dawn services and parades to honour those who served their countries.

This year marks 109 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the Turkish coastline at Gallipoli during World War I.

Their eight-month battle was ultimately unsuccessful, but their courage and bravery amid hardship have become an enduring symbol of military sacrifice.

The day now honours the more than 1.5 million men and women who have served Australia in all conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations, and the 103,000 Australians who lost their lives while serving.

Dawn services are kicking off in cities and towns across every state and territory in Australia and in Papua New Guinea, with a later service at Gallipoli at dawn local time.

Above | Sarah Watson travelled with her children from the Yass Valley in NSW to Sydney for the dawn service

'We feel the weight of history'

The National Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra has just wrapped up, with more than 32,000 people paying their respects.

This year's commemorative address was delivered by Vice-Admiral David Johnston, the incoming chief of the defence force.

"We know how many Australians have died in the service of our country but we do not know how many grieve each Anzac Day. How many are grieving amongst us today?" Vice-Admiral Johnson told the service.

"I ask you all to hold in your hearts those who mourn on Anzac Day and remember those whose service left them wounded in body, mind or spirit."

Vietnam War veteran helps uncover mass graves of soldiers he and his battalion killed

Memories of the Vietnam War's bloodied battlefields remain vivid for John Bryant 56 years after he was deployed to serve in the conflict.

Mr Bryant returned to the country in 2019, at the request of the Vietnamese military, to help uncover the bodies of missing Vietnamese soldiers he and his battalion killed in combat.

Earlier this month the 77-year-old led his team through the jungle to a mass grave containing 20 bodies, which was a result of his determined spirit and "personal collection of war photographs".

"It's mixed feelings," Mr Bryant said.

"I'm happy that we've found them and be able to give them back to Vietnam and their relatives."

He said the scorching heat and the fact that the mass grave had become a rubber plantation made the search difficult.

There had been a previous search conducted by another soldier about 500 metres from the grave site.

But despite years of searching, that mission proved fruitless.

"At the time of the battle, the terrain was different," Mr Bryant said.

Mr Bryant said the relentless journey to discovering the graves had allowed him to heal more than he ever thought was possible.

Solomon Islands election counting complete, as negotiation process to find a prime minister kicks off

An intense period of political horse-trading is underway in Solomon Islands after no political party won enough seats in last week's election to form government on its own.

In what one expert labelled an "extraordinary process" where "acts of corruption" historically take place, the main political parties and their winning MPs will now divide into camps in hotels across the capital Honiara to try and build a governing coalition and select a prime minister.

The process is expected to take weeks.     

The incumbent, pro-China prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, leads a crowded pack, even though his party lost more than half its seats, finishing the count with 15 MPs. 

In Solomon Islands, 26 MPs are needed to form a government.

Ukraine is using long-range missiles secretly provided by the US

The United States has revealed it recently secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine for use in that country's battle to fight off Russian invaders. 

On Wednesday local time, a US official said Ukraine had now used them twice.

The missiles were contained in a $US300 million ($461 million) military aid package for Ukraine that US President Joe Biden approved on March 12, said the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official would not say how many of the missiles were sent.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, at a briefing for reporters, confirmed that a "significant number" of the missiles had been sent to Ukraine and said "we will send more."

He said Ukraine has committed to only use the weapons inside Ukraine, not in Russia.

Nikita Tszyu beats Danilo Creati at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion

Nikita Tszyu has overcome a nasty mid-fight moment to score a unanimous points win over Danilo Creati and retain his Australian super welterweight title at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion.

Tszyu (9-0, 8 KOs) caught Creati (8-2-1, 1 KO) with some powerful left hand shots in the first round in Wednesday night's clash, and the Italian-born challenger had a knockdown scored against him in the second, when his glove brushed the canvas.

Watched by his elder brother and former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim, who is reported to be likely to face American Vergil Ortiz in August, Nikita went on to earn the win by scores of 100-88, 99-90 and 100-89.

It had earlier looked like being an early night for the champion as he continued to punish the challenger through the next two rounds after the knockdown, but Creati showed his toughness.

Escaped army horses bolt through central London

The driver of a Mercedes car told LBC radio he had been waiting outside a hotel in Buckingham Palace Road when he felt something smash into his car.

He said he saw three or four horses near the vehicle, and that an army rider had been thrown off and injured.

One horse also reportedly crashed into a parked double-decker tour bus, smashing the windscreen.

Up to seven horses initially got loose, Britain's domestic Press Association news agency reported, with police working with the army to recapture them.

The army said in a statement that "a number of military working horses became loose during routine exercise this morning".

"All of the horses have now been recovered and returned to camp.

A number of personnel and horses have been injured and are receiving the appropriate medical attention," it added.

Two of the horses were recaptured by the City of London Police, which polices the Square Mile financial district.

It said officers had contained two animals and that "an army horse box had collected the horses and transported them to veterinary care".