World News Roundup: UK-U.S. treaty bans extradition of Assange; Repatriation of Mexican deportees begins and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK-U.S. treaty bans extradition of Assange, lawyer says

Lawyers for Julian Assange said on Thursday they will argue that the WikiLeaks founder cannot be sent from Britain to the United States to face spying charges because a treaty between the two countries bans extradition for political offenses. Assange, 48, faces 18 counts in the U.S. including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted.

Repatriation of Mexican deportees to interior beings with first U.S. flight

The U.S. government on Thursday began sending Mexican deportees to the interior of Mexico starting with a flight to the city of Guadalajara, the U.S. and a Mexican official said, in the latest step by both nations to restrict migration flows. The officials declined to be identified because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

French unions to stage new protests on Jan. 9 against pension reform

French hardline CGT union leader Philippe Martinez said on Thursday unions had decided to hold further strikes and demonstrations on Jan. 9 after a meeting with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on pension reform plans. Unions oppose Macron's plans to streamline France's state pension system and push people to work until 64, instead of the legal retirement age of 62.

Gunman attacks Russian security service HQ in Moscow, kills employee

A gunman opened fire on the headquarters of Russia's FSB security service in central Moscow on Thursday evening in a rare shooting incident that the FSB said had left at least one of its employees dead. The attack happened shortly after President Vladimir Putin had delivered his annual news conference and while he was speaking at a Kremlin event designed to celebrate the work of the security services.

Exclusive: U.S. probe of Saudi oil attack shows it came from north - report

The United States said new evidence and analysis of weapons debris recovered from an attack on Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14 indicates the strike likely came from the north, reinforcing its earlier assessment that Iran was behind the offensive. In an interim report of its investigation - seen by Reuters ahead of a presentation on Thursday to the United Nations Security Council - Washington assessed that before hitting its targets, one of the drones traversed a location approximately 200 km (124 miles) to the northwest of the attack site.

PM Johnson promises to wrap up Brexit for Christmas, parliament to vote

The British parliament will vote on Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on Friday, a move the prime minister described as delivering on his promise to "get the Brexit vote wrapped up for Christmas" following his landslide election victory. After suffering several heavy defeats in the previous parliament, Johnson now enjoys a large majority and should face little opposition in passing the bill to implement Britain's biggest foreign and trade policy shift in more than 40 years.

U.S. should not finalize China trade deal unless detained Canadians are released: Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that the U.S. government should not finalize a trade deal with China unless the pact also secured the release of two Canadians detained by Beijing. The two men were picked up separately in December 2018, shortly after police in Vancouver held Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. arrest warrant. The two Canadians face state security charges.

China's Xi celebrates stable Macau's anniversary with expected rewards

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to preside over a lavish ceremony in Macau on Friday marking the 20th anniversary of its hand-over to Chinese rule, and the swearing-in of another Beijing-backed city government. Xi is also due to announce policies aimed at diversifying the former Portuguese colony's casino-dependent economy, in what is being seen as a reward for its loyalty, in contrast to nearby Hong Kong and its months of anti-government turmoil.

Two Australian firefighters die as flames circle Sydney; prime minister cuts short holiday

Two volunteer Australian firefighters died while battling blazes around Sydney, authorities said on Friday, forcing Prime Minister Scott Morrison to cut short a vacation in Hawaii as temperatures were again set to soar. Australia has been fighting wildfires across much of its east coast for weeks, leaving 8 people dead, more than 700 homes destroyed and nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of bushland burnt.

New clean shipping fuel rules, but who polices the polluters?

Sweeping new fuel rules aiming to cut pollution belching from ships and save lives are now just a couple of weeks away but with no central policing agency and several countries still not signed up to them, compliance is a major concern. From January 2020, ships must use fuel with a sulfur content of 0.5%, down from 3.5%, or install devices that strip out the toxic pollutant - known as scrubbers.