Terror returned to London Bridge in the form of a lone wolf stabbing spree that left two people dead, three others nursing wounds and question marks swirling 2qa`1over the UK's strategy for dealing with its 'home-grown' terrorists. Usman Khan was convicted on terrorism charges in 2012 but released last year after serving only half his sentence. The 28-year-old from Staffordshire was in London to attend a rehabilitation program for ex-convicts at the Fishmongers' Hall, where the carnage would begin with Khan returning for the post-lunch session and almost immediately stabbing to death Jack Merritt (25) and Saskia Jones (23).

The early release has been seized upon by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to try and add a tough-on-crime, zero tolerance plank to the Tory election platform. Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party meanwhile located it against the backdrop of a decade of Tory austerity.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi handed in his resignation to the country's parliament in the face of an uprising that was met with a shockingly hardline response from the government. At least 400 people have been killed in Iraq since anti-government protests began in October. The security forces repeatedly opened fire using live ammunition on crowds of mostly peaceful protesters.

Abdul-Mahdi's resignation was hastened by the appalling chain of events that unfolded on November 29, mostly across southern Iraq. In what became recognised relatively quickly as the deadliest day of violence thus far for the protesters, forty of them were killed in firing by the security agencies at times working in cooperation with Iran-backed Shiite militias. It prompted the country's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, at that point to condemn the use of force against protesters and called for lawmakers to withdraw their support for the government.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world's efforts to stop climate change have been "utterly inadequate" so far and there is a danger global warming could pass the "point of no return." Speaking on the eve of the UN's annual two-week international climate conference - COP25 - being held in Madrid this year, the UN chief said the impact of rising temperatures - including more extreme weather - is already being felt around the world, with dramatic consequences for humans and other species. He noted that the world has the scientific knowledge and the technical means to limit global warming, but "what is lacking is political will."

"The point of no return is no longer over the horizon," Guterres told reporters in the Spanish capital. "It is in sight and hurtling toward us." Delegates from almost 200 countries will try to put the finishing touches on the rules governing the 2015 Paris climate accord at the Dec. 2-13 meeting, including how to create functioning international emissions trading systems and compensate poor countries for losses they suffer from rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.

Malta's embattled prime minister Joseph Muscat resigned, driven from office by the constitutional and political crisis triggered by the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. In a televised address, Muscat announced that he would stay on until a new leader of his ruling Labour party was elected in January. The prime minister expressed "deep regret" for Caruana Galizia's murder and spoke of the need for a "fresh page".

As the nation awaited Muscat's address, thousands gathered on the streets of Valletta, holding candles, waving Malta's red and white flag, and singing the national anthem. Caruana Galizia was killed in October 2017 when a bomb planted under the driver's seat of her rental car was detonated as she was travelling away from her home in the village of Bidnija. She had exposed corruption at the highest level in Muscat's government.