GLOBAL SNAPSHOT

Fire nears heritage site

MADRID: A forest fire in southern Spain forced the evacuation of at least 1000 people and threatened a national park famous for its biodiversity and endangered species, authorities said Sunday. The fire started on Saturday night on Spain’s southern coast, then advanced east to reach the Donana Nature Reserve, one of the country’s most important wildlife sanctuaries and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994. The reserve protects over 107,000ha considered of extreme ecological value for their mix of ecosystems, including wetlands, dunes and woods.

Explosion toll rises

LAHORE: The death toll from a tanker explosion in Pakistan has climbed to at least 153. Ddozens more are in a critical condition, hospital and rescue officials said. The tragedy on Sunday was sparked by an announcement over a mosque’s loudspeaker that an overturned tanker truck had sprung a leak. Scores of villagers then raced to the scene with fuel containers to gather the oil. Then the wreck exploded, engulfing people in flames as they screamed in terror.

Pharmacy boss guilty

BOSTON: The co-founder of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy is set to be sentenced in a deadly nationwide meningitis outbreak that killed more than 60 people and sickened hundreds more. Barry Cadden was acquitted of second-degree murder charges under federal racketeering law, but convicted on conspiracy and fraud

charges. Sentencing is scheduled for Monday in federal court in Boston. Cadden was charged in connection with a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that was traced to contaminated injections of medical steroids made by the New England Compounding Centre in Framingham. Prosecutors say Cadden ran the centre in a dangerous way by skirting industry regulations on sterility in an effort to push production and make more money.

Disney map goes for $1m

LOS ANGELES: The original colour map of Disneyland, used by Walt Disney to win funding for his first theme park, has been sold for almost $AU1 million. The 1953 artefact became the most lucrative Disneyland map when it went under the hammer for $US708,000 ($A935,480) in Los Angeles on Sunday, according to the auctioneers. It had been hidden away for more than 60 years after the cartoonist gave it to a production assistant Van Eaton Galleries co-owner Mike Eaton said: “After some pretty exciting bidding the map sold for $US708,000, making it the most expensive Disneyland map ever sold.“