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2 F`BI agents killed: FBI Agents Killed during Training Accident in Virginia. 2 FBI agents have been killed during a training accident in Virginia. on Friday afternoon. News hit the internet on May 19 after a spokesperson released details to the media. According to ABC News, the accident occurred off the Virginia Beach coast. The spokesperson gave very few details about what happened but did confirm that 2 agents were killed during a drill of sorts. According to the report, the agents were part of the Hostage Rescue Team based in Quantico. It is unknown what they were doing or how they died but a cause of death and more details are expected some time this week. The 2 FBI agents killed were Christopher Lorek and Special Agent Stephen Shaw according to Fox News. The two men were likely involved in some sort of equipment malfunction or perhaps a motor vehicle accident. Since they did die while on the job, one would have to imagine that they were training for a situation that could have

Venezuela has suspended operations in its territory by the small Curacao-based airline Dutch Antilles Express (DAE) due to alleged breaches of security. _0"> A statement by Venezuela's Civil Aviation authority (INAC) said it had repeatedly sanctioned the airline for lapses over itineraries and times, as well as service quality failings. "INAC agrees to suspend, as a cautionary measure, the operations of the DAE airline in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, as a result of the presumed non-observance of aeronautical security norms," it said in the statement late on Tuesday.   The airline runs flights around the Caribbean, the United States and Venezuela. There was no mention of Venezuela's measure on its web site flydae.com and calls to its head office went unanswered. Venezuelan authorities have had a fractious relationship with some carriers over difficulties in repatriating profits due to strict currency controls here. Some local

Pamplona Capital Management said it acquired two U.S.-based companies -- Coinmach Service Corp, a provider of laundry services, and AIR-serv Group, which provides vacuum services and tyre inflation for cars -- for a combined $1.4 billion. _0"> The two companies will be combined to form CSC ServiceWorks Inc, London-based private equity fund Pamplona said in a statement on Wednesday.   The transaction was financed by a $795 million first-lien term loan, as well as a $325 million second-lien term loan that was fully underwritten by Pamplona. Morgan Stanley was the financial adviser and Kirkland & Ellis the legal adviser to Pamplona. Evercore Partners and Deutsche Bank were the financial advisers to CSC ServiceWorks and White & Case was the legal adviser.

Air Berlin said it would be able to secure its survival without further help from partner Etihad Airways, even after it posted a larger-than-expected loss in the first quarter.   "Our goal is very clear. We have to secure our survival from our own internal strength," Chief Executive Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told reporters on Wednesday. Germany's second-biggest carrier, almost 30 percent-owned by Etihad, suffered a first-quarter loss before interest and tax (EBIT) of 188.4 million euros ($244.5 million), causing its shareholders' equity to turn negative - meaning its liabilities exceeded its assets. Air Berlin's finances have been deteriorating for several years as it struggled to halt losses and manage its debts following a period of aggressive growth. Some analysts have had a close eye on the size of its equity compared with its debt as a key indicator of financial health. The group's shareholders' equity was minus 53.1 million euros at the end of Ma

German auto parts and tyre maker Continental said it was kept in the dark about the decision of debt-laden top investor Schaeffler to quit a five-year-old investment accord and does not know how their future relationship will evolve. Family-owned Schaeffler, which makes industrial bearings and transmission parts, said on Monday it would end a 2008 agreement designed to temporarily limit its stake in Continental to 49.99 percent to resolve a past row over control of Europe's second-largest car-parts maker. Hanover-based Continental expects its "well-functioning and goal-oriented cooperation" with Schaeffler to continue even without the agreement but was not briefed about the move, Chief Executive Elmar Degenhart said on Wednesday.   "A joint termination (of the accord) was not discussed," the CEO said at the annual general meeting which was attended by Schaeffler owners Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and Georg F.W. Schaeffler who remained silent during the four

Wal-Mart Stores Inc stepped up Bangladesh factory inspections while U.S. and European retailers pursued separate accords to try to prevent another disaster in a garment industry where more than 1,200 workers have died in the past six months. Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, said it does not plan to sign a fire-and-building safety agreement backed by some of Europe's biggest apparel brands because it believes its own safety inspection plans will get faster results.   Wednesday is the deadline for retailers to decide whether to join the consortium, led by labor groups such as Europe's IndustriALL, which said at least 24 garment and retail brands sourcing from Bangladesh had signed up so far. Other U.S. retailers including Gap Inc said they would not join the European pact without changes to the way conflicts are resolved in the courts. U.S. companies have been reluctant to join any industry accord that creates legally binding objectives. "Walmart believes it

Banks are withdrawing from Europe's troubled steel sector, putting the survival of even some of the most established industry players at risk and forcing companies to seek alternative funding sources. Austerity measures to reduce debt in the EU has crimped construction and manufacturing in the region, battering steel demand. Now, the financial sector's reluctance to lend to the steel industry is threatening billions of euros of existing loans, as well as future funding, sources said this week. Stemcor, the world's largest independent steel trader, has given way to the darkening outlook, as expectations for pickup in 2013 have so far failed to materialize.   Having failed to refinance an $850 million loan the company is now seeking a standstill agreement with banks under which banks agree not to ask for repayment and work with the company to restructure the debt or extend its maturity. ID:nL6N0DQ37V] This follows the collapse of smaller steel players such as traders

U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday, as both the Dow and S&P 500 held near their most recent record highs after a flurry of economic data did little to upset investor expectations for central bank policies.   Data showed activity in New York state's manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted to its lowest level in four months, falling to minus 1.43 from 3.05 in April, and below expectations for an increase to 4. In addition, industrial production fell 0.5 percent in April, more than the expected 0.2 percent decline for the month. But a separate report showed producer prices recorded their largest drop in three years in April, falling by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent, the biggest decline since February 2010, which should enable the Federal Reserve to maintain its accommodative monetary policy. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 had rallied to fresh record highs in the prior session as investor expectations central bank stimulus measures will conti

Delta Air Lines Inc on Wednesday said it expects improved profit in the second quarter, aided by lower fuel prices. Stable revenues and declining fuel prices "should couple to make for some very nice margin expansion in the quarter," Delta President Edward Bastian told a Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference that was broadcast over the Internet.   He said unit revenue, an important measure also known as passenger revenue per available seat mile, was stabilizing in May after weakening in April. For May, he said that metric was expected to be flat or to improve modestly. "Our summer bookings look solid," Bastian told the conference. "While corporate demand across the industry appears to be flat in terms of overall corporate spend, our corporate revenues this year to date are up 4 percent as we continue to grow share." Declining oil prices can help airlines, whose biggest costs are fuel and labor. On Wednesday, U.S. oil was down 1.7 percent to $92.57

Oil exports from Libya's eastern port of Zueitina have been halted by protesters who stormed the terminal, forcing workers to leave their positions, three industry sources on Wednesday. _0"> Oil exports from the port have previously been disrupted by protests and, last month, flows were halted by a pipeline explosion. The terminal can export 60,000-70,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). (Reporting by Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati; Editing by Anthony Barker)  

JANA Partners, a leading activist hedge fund firm run by Barry Rosenstein, has taken a liking to two of the most beaten-up technology stocks. JANA, which oversees more than $4 billion in U.S. stock holdings, disclosed stakes of 24.6 million Zynga Inc class A shares and 21.9 million Groupon Inc class A shares in regulatory filings on Wednesday.   The positions represent just over 3 percent of the companies' outstanding shares. The Groupon stake was worth $134 million as of the end of March, while the Zynga holding was valued at $86 million, according to the filings. Zynga shares rose 1.6 percent to $3.39 in afternoon trading, after gaining more than 7 percent earlier in the day. Groupon edged up 1.2 percent to $6.97, after achieving a nine-month high of $7.38 earlier on Wednesday. Groupon, the world's largest daily deal company, and Zynga, a leading social game developer, went public in 2011 at lofty valuations, but their share prices have slumped since then amid concern

A second U.S. House of Representatives committee announced on Wednesday it will hold a hearing on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny. _0"> The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on May 22, an aide to Representative Darrell Issa, the Republican committee chairman, said.   U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Neil Wolin; former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman; Lois Lerner, chief of the IRS tax exempt unit; and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George are being asked to testify. On Friday, a separate House committee will hold the first hearing on the matter since it erupted last week. George and acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller will testify there. (Reporting by Kim Dixon; Editing by Vicki Allen; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh)

Oil exports from Libya's eastern port of Zueitina have been halted for the second time this year after protesters stormed the terminal and forced workers from their positions, three industry sources on Wednesday. Protests halted shipments at the start of January for around six weeks and flows were hit last month by a pipeline explosion. The terminal can export 60,000-70,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). "Some people in the area are asking for employment and the resolution agreed with the company has not yet been implemented," one of the industry sources said. "They say the management is not really interested in taking the necessary action." The company could not immediately be reached for comment. Investigators are unsure whether April's explosion was caused by sabotage or a technical failure. (Reporting by Jessica Donati and Ghaith Shennib; Editing by Anthony Barker and David Cowell)

Moon explosion: NASA says Huge explosion on the Moon visible to Earth. Meteoroid has smashed into the Moon, causing the biggest explosion ever seen on the lunar surface which was visible from Earth with the naked-eye, NASA said. "On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before," said Cooke. Anyone looking at the Moon at the moment of impact could have seen the explosion - no telescope was required. For about one second, the impact site was glowing like a 4th magnitude star, researchers said. Ron Suggs, an analyst at the Marshall Space Flight Center, was the first to notice the impact in a digital video recorded by one of the monitoring program's 14-inch telescopes, said NASA. "It jumped right out at me, it was so bright," he said.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose for a fourth straight day on Wednesday as tech shares gained and offset some weak economic data.   Equities have rallied in recent weeks, with both the Dow and S&P 500 hitting all-time highs as investors expect central bank stimulus measures will keep supporting market gains. Such policies have helped spur advances of about 15 percent in major indexes this year despite data showing signs of slowing growth. Activity in New York state's manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in May, falling to minus 1.43 from 3.05, below expectations for an increase to 4. Another report showed that U.S. industrial production fell 0.5 percent in April, more than expected. "It's disconcerting that the data was so much lower than what we were looking for, but there's no reason for investors to sell," said Michael Binger, senior portfolio manager at Gradient Investments in Minneapolis. "The main things driving the market - the Fed

Southwest Airlines Co on Wednesday announced a boost in its dividend and its share repurchase program and said it is changing some plane orders and deliveries. _0"> The discounter said its board boosted the quarterly dividend to 4 cents a share from 1 cent a share, to begin with the payment on June 26 to shareholders of record on June 5. The company said its share buyback authorization was increased to $1.5 billion from $1 billion.   Southwest also said it plans to buy 10 pre-owned 737-700s airplanes to be delivered in 2014 and 2015, and it made changes to some existing aircraft orders. The carrier said it would be the first customer to take the 7 series of Boeing's upcoming 737 MAX plane in 2019. Southwest has an all-Boeing fleet.

Canadian home sales rose in April, the second straight monthly gain, as spring homebuying breathed life back into the slowing real estate sector and bolstered hopes Canada will manage a soft landing rather than a U.S.-style housing crash.   Sales of existing homes climbed 0.6 percent in April from March, but year-over-year sales were down 3.1 percent, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Wednesday in a report that showed a spring bounce in a housing sector that had been slowing since the middle of 2012. "Realizing that it may be a tad premature for victory laps, but evidence continues to mount that the Canadian housing market seems to have pulled off the fabled soft landing," Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a research note. CREA's home price index rose 2.2 percent in April from a year earlier, its smallest gain in more than two years. That echoed the 2.0 percent April gain in the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index

Angola's hopes of becoming this year's only major new liquefied natural gas supplier suffered another setback in April after fire occurred at its plant just hours before production was to begin.   This could further delay the troubled project, which is seen as key to relieving a global shortage of the fuel and could help push global LNG prices back towards record highs. A small electrical fire broke out when a high voltage cable overloaded as operations were about to begin, according to a private report by energy consultants Poten & Partners, seen by Reuters and corroborated by industry sources. In June 2012, a fire ignited at the site, delaying its opening, which is now 18 months behind schedule. "Operators were just hours away from making LNG when the incident occurred," the Poten report said of the April 15 fire, adding the overloaded cable was connected to a helper motor linked to a compressor. Helper motors are used to get the plant's turbines and

Moon explosion: Massive explosion on Moon as Meteorite crash. Massive explosion as meteoroid struck the surface of the moon recently, causing an explosion that was visible on Earth without the aid of a telescope, NASA reported Friday . But don't be alarmed if you didn't see it; it only lasted about a second. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before," said Bill Cooke, of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. NASA astronomers have been monitoring the moon for the past eight years, looking for explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. It's part of a program to find new fields of space debris that could hit Earth. NASA says it sees hundreds of detectable lunar meteoroid impacts a year. None however can match the size of the explosion they say they saw March 17. NASA says the meteoroid was about 40 kilograms and less than a meter wide, and it hit the moon's surface at 56,000 mph. It glowed like a

Google Inc faces another grilling over its tax affairs from a committee of British lawmakers on Thursday who have called the company back after questions were raised about testimony given in an earlier hearing. Corporate tax avoidance has become a major issue in Britain, where there are concerns over rising government debt and accusations from lawmakers that the UK tax authority has adopted a light touch approach to taxing big businesses.   Google's Northern Europe boss, Matt Brittin, was called to testify to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in November about Google's low UK tax bill. From 2006 to 2011, Google generated $18 billion in revenues from the UK, according to statutory filings, and paid just $16 million in taxes. Brittin told the PAC Google was not taxed on the profits of its core advertising business in Britain, because all UK sales were conducted from Ireland . Reuters revealed that the Internet search giant had described its London offices on its website

U.S. stocks climbed on Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new all-time highs as the market's recent upward momentum persisted and offset some weak economic data.   The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have risen for four straight sessions, extending their gains for the year. Equities have rallied in recent weeks as investors bet that central bank stimulus measures will keep supporting market gains. Such policies have helped spur advances of about 15 percent in major indexes this year despite data showing some signs of lackluster growth. In the latest reads on the economy, activity in New York state's manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in May, falling to minus 1.43 from 3.05, below expectations for an increase to 4. Another report showed that U.S. industrial production fell 0.5 percent in April, more than expected. "It's disconcerting that the data was so much lower than what we were looking for, but there's no reason for investors to sell,&q

Severn Trent rejected a takeover offer on Wednesday that sources with direct knowledge of the bid valued at just under 20 pounds per share, setting the scene for an extended battle for control of the British water company.   The board of the company, which supplies 7.7 million people in Britain with drinking water, gave no details of the offer by a consortium including Borealis Infrastructure and the Kuwait Investment Office but dismissed it as paying only a modest premium. Two people with direct knowledge of the deal later told Reuters the consortium had offered 10 percent above Monday's close of 18.25, valuing it at around 4.7 billion pounds ($7.2 bln). That would represent a premium of 21 percent to the six month average share price and one of around 30 percent to the water company's regulated asset base (RAB), in line with past deals in the sector in the region of 25 to 30 percent above RAB. But it was lower than the 23 pounds suggested by one earlier media report and

Actavis Inc received and rejected a takeover offer from Mylan Inc last week that valued the generic drugmaker at more than $15 billion, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday. Mylan's cash and stock bid for its larger rival, which came in early last week, valued Actavis at $120 per share, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is not public.   The Mylan offer came shortly after Actavis halted discussions with Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc about selling itself for more than $13 billion, the person said. Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based Mylan is no longer actively pursuing a deal after shares of Actavis rose significantly over the past week, to above its $120 per share offer, the person added. Actavis shares ended Tuesday at $121.68 on the New York Stock Exchange, valuing the company at more than $15.5 billion. Mylan shares rose 3 percent to $30.10, making the company worth about $11.5 billion. An Act

Dolphins find torpedo: 19th-century Torpedo was discovered by Navy dolphins. A 19th-century Torpedo found, In the late 19th century, the Howell torpedo was an incredibly advanced piece of military equipment, a breakthrough device in the United States' quest to achieve naval dominance. But only one surviving Howell torpedo was known to exist—until Navy dolphins nosed up another. The US Navy employs bottlenose dolphins to locate underwater military equipment that can't yet be detected by machines. Using their sonar, the dolphins search for objects—usually mines—on the ocean floor. If they detect an object, they are trained to tap their noses to the front of the boat where the Navy specialists are waiting. If they find nothing in the area, they tap the back of the boat instead. The Huffingposts reports that, when the dolphins started indicating positive results in an unexpected area, the specialist ordered one of the dolphins to take a marker to the object. Sure enough, Navy div

The following corporate finance -related stories were reported by media on Wednesday: _0"> * Actavis Inc received and rejected a takeover offer from Mylan Inc last week that valued the generic drugmaker at more than $15 billion, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday. * State-owned China Galaxy Securities Co Ltd priced its initial public offering at the lower end of the indicative price range, raising $1.1 billion, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. * State-rescued German bank Hypo Real Estate Holding AG is preparing to sell its public finance specialist Depfa, with Citigroup Inc appointed to organise the sale, two people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. * The parent of Dongfeng Motor Group Co, China's second-largest automaker, will take an over-40 percent stake in Fujian Motor Industry Group, a local newspaper said on Wednesday, the latest consolidation in the country's fragmented auto market.

Moon explosion: Biggest Meteorite Explosion visible. The meteorite strike creates a crater up to 20m wide and triggers a bright flash that could be seen from Earth. A meteorite has slammed into the surface of the Moon, creating a flash of light so bright it could be seen without a telescope. Scientists say the space rock was travelling at around 56,000mph when it crashed into the Moon's Mare Imbrium region. It is believed to have measured no more than 40cm across but experts say the force of the impact - equivalent to setting off four tons (4,500kg) of TNT - would have made a crater up to 20m wide. The explosion could be seen clearly from Earth. The explosion is the biggest ever recorded by Nasa's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) and triggered a flash of light 10 times brighter than any previous lunar impact. "It jumped right out of me," said Ron Suggs, an analyst at the Marshall Space Flight Centre, who was one of the first to detect the meteorite strike. "

The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. _0"> * Hedge fund billionaire Daniel Loeb's campaign to pressure Sony Corp into spinning off its entertainment arm is the latest tremor to ripple through Japan's electronics industry, already reeling from unprecedented losses stemming from its lost standing in the technology world. () * Some of the hedge funds that made fortunes in the housing-market crash are now betting on the recovery of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage giants.   Paulson & Co and Perry Capital LLC are among a handful of hedge fund firms that have bought preferred shares in Fannie and Freddie, which collapsed in value in 2008 after the companies were taken over by the federal government. () * Standard & Poor's Ratings Services president Douglas Peterson said that a proposal to upend the credit rating firms' b

Swiss drugmaker Roche hopes data published this week will show it has a viable follow-on product to help fend off cheaper competition for its best-selling cancer drug, which loses patent protection in Europe later this year.   Roche is set to present full results early on Thursday of a late-stage study for its GA101 drug in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago from May 31 to June 4. Niko Andre, Roche's head of medical affairs for oncology, said the data would make clear GA101's true potential as a new treatment option in CLL. "The data will speak for themselves," he said. Roche is the world's largest maker of cancer drugs and GA101 is a key test of its ability to defend its business against cheaper copies, known as "biosimilars" because they are not identical matches of branded medicines. GA101 is a follow-on to Roche's top-seller MabThera, also known as Rituxan. The

French drugmaker Sanofi SA said it and U.S. firm Regeneron Pharmaceuticals have started recruiting patients for two new trials of their arthritis treatment sarilumab. _0"> The drug is seen as one of several promising treatments in the pipeline for Regeneron, a biotech company based in the New York suburb of Tarrytown that is being backed by the deeper pockets of Sanofi. The sarilumab Phase III trial aims to recruit 2,600 patients suffering from moderate-to-severe rheumatoid polyarthritis. (Reporting by Lionel Laurent; editing by Miral Fahmy)  

Ablynx NV : * Q1 net loss EUR 6.7 million * Net cash at end Q1 82.2 million EUR _0">

MTA crash left over 60 people injured after two trains in Connecticut collided on Friday, May 17. According to Fox News , the accident occurred around rush hour so both trains were filled with passengers. A total of seventy-two people were sent to the hospital after the accident but no one died which some say is an absolute miracle. Everyone is expected to be okay following the accident. "The damage is absolutely staggering. I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The MTA crash left over 60 injured but many say that there could have been a lot more injuries and things could have been much worse. The trains collided with such force that glass shattered, train cars crushed, and even the actual track was mangled. The focus of the incident has shifted to the investigation as many want to find out exactly what happened and, perhaps more importantly, why. "Our mi

Swiss stocks are expected to open a touch firmer on Wednesday, with improving macroeconomic conditions in the United States improving sentiment. _0"> The Swiss blue-chip index was predicted to open up 0.1 percent at 8,196 points according to premarket indications from bank Julius Baer. The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks: JULIUS BAER Swiss private bank Julius Baer said net new client money could skim the lower end of its 2013 target of 4 to 6 percent growth, as European crackdowns on undeclared funds held in Switzerland spur withdrawals.   For more, click on ROCHE U.S. health regulators on Tuesday approved a test developed by Roche for a specific gene mutation present in about 10 percent of non-small cell lung cancers, and said the company's drug Tarceva could be used as an initial treatment in patients with the mutation whose cancer has spread beyond the lungs. For more, click on UBS Robert W. Baird & Co said it hi

Holding group RHJ International will sell a 39 percent stake in Japanese household products company Shaklee International for 38.2 million euros ($49.58 million), the group said on Wednesday. _0"> After the transaction the group said it would still have a stake of 1.6 percent in Shaklee. The divestment is one of the final disposals RHJ is making in its transformation from a industrial holding to a financial group with private bank Kleinwort Benson as its main asset.   ($1 = 0.7705 euros) (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek, editing by Foo Yun Chee)