UK election drive IN FINAL ROUNDS WITH Brexit on the line US veterans join Indian-americans in protest against Pakistan Military training under scrutiny post base attack

LONDON: Britain’s general election campaign enters its frenetic final stages on Monday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn desperately seeking votes ahead of Thursday’s crucial poll.

Johnson is hoping to regain the Conservative majority lost by his predecessor Theresa May in the last election, just two years ago, while Corbyn is aiming to upset the odds and usher in the first Labour government for nine years.

Hanging over the election is the issue of Britain’s departure from the European Union, which will be thrown into doubt altogether should Johnson fail to achieve a majority.

The prime minister said on Sunday that the impact of Thursday’s vote would be “felt for decades”.

The high stakes and ideological divisions between Johnson and veteran leftist Corbyn have led to a fractious and personal campaign, with Johnson repeatedly facing questions over his trustworthiness and the Labour leader on the backfoot over anti-semitism within his party.

The pair traded barbs over Brexit in Friday’s final TV debate, but also on other key election themes such as the health service, austerity and terrorism. A Conservative majority would almost certainly confirm Britain’s departure from the European Union, but any other result could lead to a second referendum and the 2016 result being overturned.

The Labour leader is proposing to negotiate a softer form of Brexit if he becomes prime minister to put up against remaining in the bloc in the vote.

Johnson is due to visit Brexit-backing Sunderland, northeast England, on Monday in a final push to lure traditional Labour voters to his side.

WASHINGTON: Protesting against Pakistan’s support to terrorist groups, a group of US veterans joined a demonstration outside the Pakistani Embassy here on Sunday, organized by the Kashmiri Diaspora and Indian-americans.

Raising slogans like “Pakistan is Taliban”, “Pakistan a terror state,” and “Where was (Osama) Bin Laden”, the protestors demanded Pakistan be declared a State Sponsor of terrorism. “I am here to raise awareness about the role of Pakistan in America. Pakistan is killing American sons and daughters through their support of the Taliban. Most of this is done with American taxpayers’ dollars. The taxpayers do not even know it,” said veteran David Dienstag, now publisher of Jezail.org blog said.

“We all know how Pakistan has been nurturing terrorism in Kashmir. The world does not know the genocide of Kashmir,” she said.

WASHINGTON: Key US lawmakers have called for a halt to a Saudi military training program after a shooting rampage at a naval base in Florida in which a Saudi officer killed three American sailors.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday he has ordered a review of vetting procedures while defending the training program that brought Mohammed Alshamrani to Pensacola Naval Air Station.

Alshamrani, a 21-year-old second lieutenant in the Saudi Royal Air Force, opened fire in a classroom on Friday, killing the three sailors and wounding eight other people before being shot dead by police.

Alshamrani, who was armed with a lawfully purchased Glock 9mm handgun, was reported to have posted a manifesto on Twitter before the shooting denouncing America as “a nation of evil.” The FBI said Sunday they were investigating with the “presumption” it was an act of terrorism, as in most active shooter probes, but had yet to make a final determination. White House National Security Advisor Robert O’brien went further, however, saying: “To me, it appears to be a terrorist attack.” “We’ll have to see what the FBI investigation shows,” O’brien added, on CBS’S “Face the Nation.”

The FBI’S main goal, special agent-in-charge Rachel Rojas told a news conference, is to confirm whether Alshamrani “acted alone or was he a part of a larger network.” “We currently assess there was one gunman who perpetrated this attack and no arrests have been made in this case,” she said.

US lawmakers, meanwhile, called for the Saudi training program to be halted pending the investigation’s outcome.