Spokesperson defended new federal measures and said briefing room would now be open to ‘new media’ outlets

• US politics live – latest updates

The Trump White House’s 27-year-old press secretary staunchly defended an abrupt freeze on federal grants and proclaimed a new era of aggressive immigration enforcement on Tuesday, marking a confrontational return to Trump -era media relations in the administration ’s first official briefing.

Karoline Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary in history, insisted the controversial funding pause set to activate on Tuesday evening would not affect individual benefits like social security and Medicare , but would target what she called “illegal DEI programs” and the “green new scam” initiatives that she claimed waste taxpayer money.

After 15 months of war, many people in north Gaza know they are returning to a wasteland

For Abdulaziz the return to Sheikh Radwan in northern Gaza was bittersweet. His home was still standing, if damaged, but the life he built around it had been utterly destroyed by 15 months of Israeli attacks.

Relatives, friends, acquaintances are dead. His job as manager of a car rental business is gone because the cars, the office and all their equipment have been destroyed. He is traumatised by more than a year of war and life as a refugee.

Prediction by ex M16 counter-terror director comes as security paused around two main detention facilities

Donald Trump has thrown into doubt the security and administration of the main two detention facilities in north-east Syria that hold thousands of Islamic State fighters, the former counter-terrorism director of M16 Richard Barrett says.

The state of limbo has been caused in the short term by the US president unexpectedly suspending all USAid funding for 90 days , and by long-term uncertainty over his willingness to retain troops in Syria.

Crowds give life to the Paris museum and the painting is a silent, compelling mystery at the heart of the hubbub

What a wonderful headache for a museum to have. The Louvre in Paris gets so many visitors it is taking drastic measures to cope, which include moving its most famous treasure to a dedicated space where fans can visit without entering the main museum at all. It will no longer suck the oxygen from other art. Nearly 9 million visitors a year stream through the Louvre and it’s believed 80% of them are looking for Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, better known as La Gioconde, better still as the Mona Lisa.

I’m worried the Louvre is trying to solve a problem that is not really a problem. Ask Britain’s museums if high visitor numbers are a bad thing: they still haven’t recovered their pre-pandemic crowds. The decision, dramatically announced by Emmanuel Macron, to move the Mona Lisa to a special hygienically isolated gallery where les idiots who flock to take selfies in front of it won’t bother more cultured visitors who wish to study art in a hushed atmosphere, is a misguided act of snobbery. It may ruin the Louvre’s ecosystem as a place where high art becomes popular culture.

Residents in North Kivu report continuing clashes as large crowds of protesters take to streets in Kinshasa

• Who are the M23 rebels and why is there fighting in DRC?

Dead bodies lay on the streets and explosions and gunfire echoed across the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday, as fighting continued to rage between the army and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

Residents reported continuing gun and mortar fire in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and a regional humanitarian hub for displaced people, after M23 fighters entered the city on Sunday .

Prosecutor at Old Bailey says Katrin Ivanova was only member of Bulgarian spy ring able to pull off plot

A lab technician has been accused of being the only member of a Bulgarian spy ring able to pull off a plot to steal the mobile numbers of Ukrainian soldiers training in Germany.

Katrin Ivanova, 33, was told by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC at the Old Bailey that she had been described by the plotters’ leader as the most technically adept member of the group and that she was necessary to the planned surveillance in Stuttgart.

• Villans host Bhoys in Champions League on Wednesday
• Defender Mings was in tears after injury at West Ham

Unai Emery has allayed fears over another lengthy absence for Tyrone Mings after the Aston Villa defender’s distraught reaction to his latest knee injury against West Ham on Sunday. Emery even floated the idea of Mings facing Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday, only to be contradicted by the Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey.

Mings was in tears as he exited early in the 1-1 draw with West Ham . The 31-year-old has been troubled by persistent knee problems, including two anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Understandably, onlookers – and the England international himself – feared the worst on Sunday.

With a knack for backing losers, the former enthusiastic supporter of Liz Truss became shadow home secretary

If Chris Philp didn’t exist, would it be possible to create him? Is such a feat of imagination even possible? Consider the complexities – the absurdity, the halfwittedness. The unfailing ability to jump on the wrong bandwagon. And yet … To have succeeded to the limits of the Peter principle. To be the embodiment of the Dunning-Kruger effect. The apotheosis of mediocrity. The charisma of a muddy puddle.

The Philpster also has the uncanny knack of backing a loser. One of his businesses was wound up due to lack of funds. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Liz Truss long before anyone fully understood just how hopeless she was. If you’re looking for someone to blame for your mortgage costs, he’s your man.

• Deal done for left-back to go back to Scotland in summer
• But Rodgers keen for move to be in this transfer window

Brendan Rodgers has confirmed for the first time that Celtic have agreed a deal to re-sign Kieran Tierney from Arsenal. With a free transfer in place for the summer, Celtic hope to be able to bring Tierney back to Glasgow before this transfer window closes.

Celtic sold Tierney to Arsenal in 2019 for £25m , the left-back having come through the youth ranks at the Scottish champions. Speculation never really disappeared that Tierney would return to Celtic; those stories intensified after it became clear Arsenal would not take up the option to extend Tierney’s contract at the end of this campaign.