EXCLUSIVE: Fears ‘pig plague’ from EU could DECIMATE Britain’s pork industry

A HIGHLY contagious swine flu strain dubbed the “pig plague” is sweeping across Europe and experts fear it could hit British shores and decimate our stock

The virus – which has no cure – is moving rapidly and could ruin the UK’s £350million pork export industry and push up the price of meat, campaigners have warned.

The African strain of swine flu (ASF) has now reached the EU, Express.co.uk can reveal, and industry lobbyists claim it would lead to animal culling on the scale of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis, which led to scores of UK farmers being financially ruined.

African Union says progressing to military force by end-2015

* Delays have forced African states to request French help

* Official says four of five brigades near readiness

* Rise of Islamists present new challenge to AU

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, June 25 (Reuters) – Africa is making progress towards a regional military force by the end of next year, a senior African Union official said on Wednesday, as local leaders urged less reliance on foreign intervention.

Delays in implementing the African Standby Force (ASF) forced African states to request French intervention to tackle crises last year in Mali and Central African Republic.