Beyond the Burg
Compiled by Cara Passaro

EU threatens to leave WTO talks
This week in Doha, Qatar, delegates from 142 nations produced an agenda for a new phase of World Trade Organization talks. The agenda, which was approved Wednesday, signifies the next stage of free trade negotiations.

Their first aim is to eliminate restrictions on global trade to help the world economy. The agreement was a victory for the WTO after violent protests broke out two years ago in Seattle, Wash., during its last attempt to adopt an agenda.

Over the course of the agenda-negotiating session, India was temporarily opposed to clauses within the agreement, which it viewed as a threat to its textile industry. Indian delegates agreed to the agenda once it was clear that those issues would be dealt with in a separate forum.

The European Union also threatened to break down the agreement because France, which is strongly influenced by farm lobbies, opposed clauses providing for the elimination of farm subsidies. France and the EU eventually conceded to a compromise and the plan for new free trade talks passed.

The agenda will not go into effect for two years, when negotiations begin. The meetings themselves will take years to complete. Yet, the approval of the agenda is a large step forward for free trade.

"Today the members of the World Trade Organization have sent a powerful signal to the world," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellock said to the delegates. "We have removed the stain of Seattle."

Crash inspectors probe New York sites
Investigators at the crash site of American Airlines Flight 587 raised questions Wednesday as to why the plane's tail section appears to have detached itself before other sections. The plane went down Monday morning, killing all 260 onboard when it slammed into Rockway, a community in Queens, N.Y. Five residents are reported missing and presumed dead.

The plane had taken off less than three minutes earlier, at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and was headed to the Dominican Republic. Authorities reported there was no sign that the crash had causes other than mechanical, but would not rule out sabotage.

Investigation was slowed because of technical problems that prevented investigators from accessing information on the flight data recorder. The recorder was shipped to its manufacturer for assistance.

National Transportation Safety Board member George Black said valuable information is secured on the recorder, and that it is just a matter of accessing it.

"The memory is there," Black said. "We just can't get to it."

Evidence indicates the plane's tail may have separated from the plane first, rendering it uncontrollable. The tail section was extracted nearly intact from Jamaica Bay, half a mile from the crash site, casting doubts on the idea of an explosion as the cause of the crash.

"The pieces of the tail were first in the debris trail, which generally indicates they came off very early," Black said.

He also said that rattling noises could be heard from the cockpit voice recorder. These were followed by reports of turbulence, a second rattling and a summons for maximum power from the copilot.

The pilot's conversation suggested a loss of control. There are also suggestions that a "wake effect" of turbulence from a plane that took off shortly before could have been a contributing factor.

"[Wake effects] can be significant. They can give an airplane a good bang. But these airplanes are also very strong," former National Transportation Safety Vice Chairman Bob Francis said.

Howard mailroom found contaminated
The main mailroom of Howard University in Washington, D.C., tested positive for traces of anthrax last weekend. This is the first case at a location in Washington not affiliated with government. As a result, mail sorting facilities were closed, tested and cleaned.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the campus remains accessible. Government officials said there is no danger to the community. The 300 mail employees who may have come in contact with the contamination have been on antibiotics since Oct. 21 and are believed to be safe.

All of Howard's mail facilities receive mail from the city's main processing center on Brentwood Road, where four employees were contaminated, two of whom died.

At least one letter, sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office on Capitol Hill, initiated the contamination. Officials previously stated that spores were concentrated in the government mail section of the facility and other customers were not likely in danger.

Washington Health Commissioner Dr. Ivan Walks praised the university Tuesday for taking the correct measures in containing the contamination.