Police marksmen will be seen at various locations as part of the overt security measures during the Apec Leaders' Meeting.

Assistant Commissioner Paul Fitzharris says the highly trained New Zealand Police marksmen will be visible at some of the venues, including the Airport and the Domain.

"We recognise their presence will attract media and public interest but it's part of our security measures to protect visiting Leaders."

Mr Fitzharris said the staff will be closely monitoring Leaders' movements and the surrounding areas.

Police will not say how many marksmen are involved in the security operation, or detail the type of weaponry available. "We accept some of their weapons will be seen from time to time, but it's not our policy to reveal the extent of the equipment available to them.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>