News Headlines - 26 March 2018

▽U.S., EU to expel more than 100 Russian diplomats over UK nerve attack

The United States said on Monday it would expel 60 Russian diplomats, joining governments across Europe in punishing the Kremlin for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain that they have blamed on Moscow... British Prime Minister Theresa May, welcoming the show of solidarity, said 18 countries had announced plans to expel Russian officials. Those included 14 European Union countries. In total, 100 Russian diplomats were being removed, the biggest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War.

▽Syria forces close to gaining full control of Eastern Ghouta | Al Jazeera

Syrian government forces are close to taking full control of Eastern Ghouta, the last rebel-held area near the capital, Damascus.
Two out of three rebel groups that had been controlling the enclave have already surrendered, with thousands of fighters and their relatives departing for opposition-held areas in the north of the country.
The third rebel group, Jaish al-Islam, which controls the city of Douma, has so far refused to give in.

▽US Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan has been deported to Mexico - CNN

A US Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan has been deported to Mexico, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
The deportation follows an earlier decision by US authorities to deny Miguel Perez's citizenship application because of a felony drug conviction, despite his service and the PTSD he says it caused.

▽Facebook boss apologises in UK and US newspaper ads - BBC News

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has taken out full-page adverts in several UK and US Sunday newspapers to apologise for the firm's recent data privacy scandal.
He said Facebook could have done more to stop millions of users having their data exploited by political consultancy Cambridge Analytica in 2014.

▽Russia fire: Kemerovo mall blaze kills 64, many children - The Washington Post

At least 64 people, many believed to be children, perished in the Siberian city of Kemerovo as a massive fire swept through a crowded shopping center where fire exits had been blocked, officials said Monday.