Oil tanker sinks: On Tuesday, the oil tanker Prestige split in two and sank in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 133 miles off the Spanish coast following an encounter with a storm. The tanker was carrying over 77,000 tons of fuel oil and the sinking poses an environmental concern for the area’s rich fishing ground. However, there were no immediate signs that the ship had spilled its entire load. Optimists hope that “the sinking, in waters 11,800 feet deep, will avert any further pollution, arguing that the fuel should solidify and rest on the bottom.” Others are concerned that the tanks will burst on the ship’s descent to the bottom. Spanish officials are blaming Gibraltar for the spill on the grounds that the tanker was headed for that destination.
Tape suggests Osama bin Laden is alive: Last week, a recorded audiotape was broadcast on Arab television that appeared to contain the voice of Osama Bin Laden. Now, U.S. intelligence experts have analyzed the tape and found it to be genuine, ending speculation that Bin Laden is still alive. Although the poor quality of the tape made it impossible to be completely certain, officials running a voiceprint match on the tape said it was close to a 100 percent match to Bin Laden. Also, analysts running a digital analysis on the tape found that it had not been tampered with. Senate majority leader Trent Daschle said the failure to find Bin Laden “called into question the antiterror effort.” Daschle said, “...we haven’t made real progress in finding key elements of Al Qaeda.”
Iraq to give report: On Tuesday, Iraq promised to give a full report on the state of its weapons programs by Dec. 8, as well as give U.N. arms inspectors full access to all sites in the country. President Saddam Hussein’s adviser General Amir al-Saadi said, “Within 30 days, as the resolution says, a report from Iraq will be submitted on all the files -- nuclear, chemical, biological and missile files.” By Jan. 27, the arms inspectors are supposed to give their first full report to the U.N. Security Council.
Data compiled by Paige Wassel with information from the New York Times.