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In this bulletin;
- The government denies claims Australian SAS troops sent to the Middle East;
- The International Organization for Migration warns of prolonged mass displacement in Lebanon;
- And in football, Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina resigns.
The federal government has reiterated it will not be participating in any offensive action in the war in the Middle East.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has pushed back against unverified reports claiming Australia has sent Special Air Service troops to the Middle East, saying the rumored deployment is untrue.
Minister Bowen has stressed Australia's involvement remains defensive, and says the Labor government is focused on managing the economic impacts the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is having on Australians.
Earlier, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with Ministers from more than 40 countries to discuss diplomatic and international planning measures to ensure the Strait can reopen safely.
Minister Bowen says until the passage is reopened, Australians can be assured the government is working to maintain sufficient supply from elsewhere.
"Iran should stop interrupting the flow through the Straits of Hormuz. But Australian companies have been diversifying. We're seeing more suppliers on the way from other parts of the world, United States, Mexico, other places. The Asian refineries are diversifying their supply of crude oil, which is very important for Australia because most of our refined product comes from Asian refineries. So this is sensible people working across the board, diversifying where we get our fuel from."
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The director-general of International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope, says the prospects for prolonged mass displacement in Lebanon are very alarming.
More than 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon in the last month since the country was drawn into the Middle East war.
Israel has launched a ground invasion, and sweeping evacuation warnings for large parts of south Lebanon and Beirut's densely populated southern suburbs.
In the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, Nadia Arnaqouti is dealing with the aftermath, following an Israeli strike last week that damaged her home.
"I wish my home could return to how it was. (I miss) calmness and living in stability, because we are tired. We are really tired. We must live in peace, because we have the right to live in peace. It’s our right. We have grown up in wars and will die in wars. We are tired, we are really, really tired."
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A warning the following story contains references to and the name of an Indigenous person who has died.
An external police review into the use of force by officers who restrained Aboriginal man Kuminjayi White has been completed, nearly a year after Mr White's death.
The 24-year-old disabled Warlpiri man died in an Alice Springs supermarket in May 2025 after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers, sparking outrage, and calls for an independent investigation.
Northern Territory Police refused to stand the officers down or release CCTV footage of the incident, as demanded by Mr White's family.
An undisclosed interstate police force was asked to review the use-of-force investigation ahead of prosecutors deciding whether to lay charges against the officers.
A spokesperson for NT police has confirmed the report is being assessed, and will form part of an evidentiary brief that will be supplied to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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Pope Leo the 14th has washed the feet of 12 priests, as part of a Holy Thursday tradition in the basilica of St John Lateran, where popes have performed it for decades.
The 70-year-old American pope is presiding over Holy Week celebrations for the first time since being elected pontiff in May 2025.
The week is the most sacred period of the year for Christians, but, this year, it has been overshadowed by the war in the Middle East.
During the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass, Pope Leo called for unity and peace.
"In a world torn apart by the powers that ravage it, within it arises a new people, not of victims, but of witnesses. In this dark hour of history, it has pleased God to send us to spread the fragrance of Christ where the stench of death reigns. Let us renew our 'yes' to this mission that calls for unity and brings peace."
The pontiff is due to preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum commemorating Christ’s Passion and crucifixion, and will carry the cross himself.
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Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina has resigned, after Italy's national team failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup.
Mr Gravina, who has lead the FIGC since 2018, had been urged by the government to step down after Italy's defeat on penalties in the playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this week.
The federation will hold an assembly on June 22 to elect a new chief.
Series A President Enzio Simonelli says whoever takes on the position has a challenging job ahead of them.
''We are fans too, and we are just as disappointed. We will need to work very hard on reforms, to work on youth development, to work on governance as well, and to strengthen the financial foundations of clubs, so that Italy can once again achieve the successes it has had in the past, a success we hope it can have again in the future. Thank you all.”
