Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 21 June.

Top stories

Donald Trump has backed down on his controversial family separation policy, signing an executive order to end the practice. More than 2,300 children have been forcibly removed from their parents at the US-Mexico border over the past six weeks, with babies and young children still being sent to at least three “tender age” shelters overnight in southern Texas.

The president faced significant pushback from his own party, with the senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, saying, “All of the members of the Republican conference support a plan that keeps families together,” and many urging the president to hasten the process with an executive order. Trump remained defiant, saying: “We’re keeping families together but we have to keep our borders strong. We will be overrun with crime and with people that should not be in our country.”

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More than 2,000 doctors have signed an open letter calling for a terminally ill Afghan refugee to be brought to Australia, with a public petition also receiving more than 22,000 signatures. The Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians have told the government that the 63-year-old, who has advanced lung cancer, should be moved to Australia to “be allowed dignity and respect at the end of his life”. “On any score – international obligations, conventions, respect, standards of clinical and ethical care – we must not fail to provide the requisite medical care on Australia’s watch,” said the AMA president, Tony Bartone.

The Socceroos face a crunch game against Denmark tonight as they bid to keep their World Cup hopes alive. With kick-off at 10pm (AEST) it’s not yet an absolute must-win match, but a loss will end the Socceroos hopes of progressing. Follow their fortunes with our live blog starting from 9pm, and enjoy our minute-by-minute coverage while also watching the game on SBS, with the news that Optus has handed over the rights to the group stage matches back to the public broadcaster following ongoing technical issues surrounding livestreaming.

The government’s $143bn income tax package appears set to pass into legislation after days of brinkmanship but the government still faces a looming battle to reduce the corporate tax rate amid union resistance. Having successfully stripped tax cuts for high income earners from the bill, crossbenchers are expected to pass the package today. The ACTU is also expected to table research that suggests that there is no correlation between company tax cuts and wage growth.

Italy’s far-right interior minister has threatened to “renegotiate” the country’s financial contributions to the EU unless the union does more to assist with irregular migration. Matteo Salvini has called on the body to “defend its border”, saying: “If anyone in the EU thinks Italy should keep being a landing point and refugee camp, they have misunderstood. The aim is to protect the external border, not to share the problem among European countries but to solve the problem at the source.”European leaders are meeting for an emergency “mini-summit” on migration this Sunday.

Sport

At the World Cup, 2010 champions Spain have overcome a resolute Iranian side with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Diego Costa’s ricocheted goal, denying the Asian powerhouses a memorable point. Earlier, Uruguay became the second nation behind hosts Russia to book their passage to the knockout stages, defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0 thanks to a Luis Suárez goal, while Portugal also moved to four points in Group B with a 1-0 win over Morocco, courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s fourth goal of the tournament. You can see all the results plus our best news and features at our World Cup page.



The inaugural women’s State of Origin will take place tomorrow at North Sydney Oval as NSW rugby league has enjoyed a 63% increase in year-on-year female participation. Guardian Australia speaks to the NSW vice-captain, Elianna Walton, about improving pathways for women and girls aspiring to play elite rugby league. Meanwhile, Super Netball’s radical new bonus point scoring system is under fire, with players calling for it to be scrapped. It has the Firebirds sitting above the Swifts, despite winning fewer games.



Thinking time

They’re passionately outspoken about racism and their “ultras” are punks – St Pauli really isn’t your regular football club. But as police investigate English supporters in Russia making fascist salutes, and Mexico’s own players plead with fans to rein in homophobia, is there a case for politics and sport explicitly mixing? Luke Cartledge visits St Pauli’s anti-racist football tournament and music festival to explore the remarkable subcultures that surround the Hamburg football club.

The latest data on personal incomes again documents that the biggest beneficiaries of the Coalition’s proposed tax cuts are high-income earners, with median-income earners largely missing out. But one of the examples the prime minister used to advocate the tax cuts this week was that of school principals, writes Greg Jericho: “Now the school principal is an odd occupation to pick as being somehow representative of ordinary Australians. They are not even representative of those who work in schools – making up only around 3.5% of all teachers in primary and secondary schools. And they earn a hell of a lot of money compared to the rest.”

Over three decades the photographer Harrison Funk captured remarkable images of the pop legend Michael Jackson. With his images set to be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Funk talks with Thomas Hobbs about Jackson’s gender fluidity, the rare skin disease that plagued the superstar, and the occasional “demanding moments” that arose on set.

Media roundup

It’s a case of Mary in the middle, writes the Mercury, as Australia prepares to take on Denmark in their crucial World Cup clash that’s set to split Tasmanian-born Princess Mary and her husband, Prince Frederick. There’s a $1tn debt bomb hidden within the NSW budget papers, reports the Australian, with the former treasurer Michael Egan describing rising debt levels as “very worrying”. And, staff members were told not to speak to police, the ongoing inquest into the fatal Dreamworld accident in 2016 was told, the Courier-Mail reports, with ride operators also stating that more training could have prevented the four deaths.

Coming up

A family of Tamil asylum seekers who have settled in central Queensland will today discover at the federal court in Melbourne whether they can remain in Australia.

Gary Dubois, who was jailed in 2016 for killing members of the McCulkin family in a 42-year cold case, appeals his conviction in Brisbane.

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