CHICAGO (AP) – A United Airlines plane’s wing clipped the tail of another jetliner Tuesday morning as they taxied toward takeoff at O’Hare International Airport, aviation officials said.

No injuries were reported.

One of the planes was turning left and the wing of the second plane, another United flight, hit the first plane’s tail, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro.

Both flights were canceled, United said on its Web site.

Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Wendy Abrams said the airline was inspecting both aircraft and the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were being notified.

Flight 672, a Boeing 737, to New York’s LaGuardia Airport had 110 passengers and Flight 732, an Airbus 320 en route to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, carried 96 passengers.

In a similar accident last month at Newark Liberty International Airport outside New York, one wing of a Lufthansa Boeing 747 bumped the wing of an empty Continental Airlines Boeing 757 that was awaiting a tow to a parking area, Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark said. No injuries were reported.

WTO invites Vietnam to join

GENEVA (AP) – The World Trade Organization formally invited Vietnam on Tuesday to become the commerce body’s 150th member, paving the way for the country to join within 30 days of its National Assembly ratifying the accord.

The organization’s general council approved accession terms for Vietnam with the fall of a gavel from WTO chief Pascal Lamy, completing 11 years of entry talks with the Geneva-based group.

“I see Vietnam as one of the rising stars of world trade,” Lamy said, urging the country to continue on its path of domestic reform.

Membership in the global trade body will give Vietnam increased access to foreign markets and the opportunity to take trade grievances to a neutral arbiter, strengthening its hand against nations that accuse it of illegally dumping goods on their markets. In return, the country will be required to drop its high tariffs on foreign imports and eliminate subsidies for state-owned companies.

Tire-burn begins at IP plant in N.Y.

TICONDEROGA, N.Y. (AP) – An International Paper plant on Lake Champlain began a controversial two-week test of burning old tires for fuel Tuesday.

The company was given a temporary burn permit from New York environmental officials in September despite concerns from officials in Vermont, who said the plant’s smokestacks could emit toxic heavy metals and other pollutants that would blow eastward over their state.

Vermont state officials tried unsuccessfully to block the test in federal court.

IP is performing the test to determine whether scrap tire chips could supplement fuel oil and wood scraps to power the plant’s boiler.

The burn was initially expected to begin Monday, but the company spent the day performing baseline tests and briefing environmental officials from New York, Vermont and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

IP spokeswoman Donna Wadsworth said the chips were slowly being added to the fuel mix Tuesday morning in full compliance with applicable laws and health standards.

“The system is working well and under the watchful eye of the regulators,” she said.

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