A FAST-SPREADING Ebola epidemic sparked states of emergency in overwhelmed west African nations yesterday as the death toll neared 1 000 and an elderly Spanish missionary was flown home for treatment. In Liberia, where the dead lay in the streets, lawmakers gathered to ratify a state of emergency while Sierra Leone sent troops to guard hospitals and clinics handling Ebola cases. Nigeria held out hope it could receive an experimental US-developed drug to halt the spread of the virus….more