Emma Watson Graduates From Brown University

Emma Watson has graduated from the prestigious Brown University in Rhode Island.

Watson tweeted this pic on her graduation day

The British actress, best known as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, was among 2,000 graduates receiving degrees on Sunday.

She tweeted a photograph of herself in cap and gown, along with a single exclamation mark.

Watson graduated with a bachelor's degree in English literature from the Ivy League university.

Despite finding fame as a youngster in the Potter films, Watson was a model student at school in the UK - she scored a clean sweep of As in her GCSE and A-level exams.

The 24-year-old started at Brown in 2009, the same year she was named the highest-grossing actress of the decade by the Guinness Book of World Records.

She revealed earlier this year that there were moments when her fellow Brown students were star-struck.

"On the first day, I walked into the canteen and everyone went completely silent and turned around to look at me," she told The Sunday Times.

Watson with her Harry Potter co-stars in 2000

"I had to say to myself 'It's OK, you can do this. You just have to take a deep breath and gather your courage'."

In March 2011 she announced she was taking a break from student life to focus on her film career.

But later that year she went to Oxford University as a visiting student to read English at Worcester College.

Watson still managed to rack up film credits while hitting the books - she released both parts of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and This Is The End.

She has also starred in the recently released biblical epic Noah by Darren Aronofsky.

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Saw-Wielding Man Attacks Girl Group In Japan

Two teenage members of a Japanese girl group have been attacked by a saw-wielding man at a meet-the-fans event.

Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, suffered broken bones in their right hands and cuts on their arms and heads from the 50cm (20 inch) saw.

The attack in Iwate, in northern Japan, came after a small concert on Sunday afternoon as fans were queuing to shake hands with the members of AKB48 inside booths, according to reports.

Kawaei and Iriyama were in the same booth when a man suddenly brandished the saw, the Yomiuri daily reported.

Rina Kawaei, centre, with other members of the group. Pic: Reuters/Kyodo

Fans quoted in Japanese media said they heard a shriek, apparently from one of the women, saying "stop it!"

Staff and security guards quickly jumped on the attacker and held him until police arrived, according to reports.

A male member of staff suffered a cut to his hand.

A fan described how Kawaei was covered in blood when she was taken away to an ambulance.

A statement from the band's management said both girls are expected to be released from hospital on Tuesday.

The attack happened at a fan event. Pic: Reuters/Kyodo

Police said a 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

A detective with Iwate prefectural police told the AFP news agency: "We have started questioning the suspect this morning to know details, including his motive."

AKB48 is a hugely popular song and dance group that has a rotating cast of more than 90 members known in Japan as "idols".

Some fans have questioned why their idols were not better protected.

One wrote on an internet forum: "I pray that the three people will be in good health again soon ... and the two group members will show us soon they are in good shape.

Pedestrians walk past the AKB48 theatre in Tokyo

"I also hope for a strengthening of security checks such as by introducing a metal detector."

Speaking from the group's theatre in the Tokyo district of Akihabara, from which the group gets its name, a 17-year-old told Yomiuri: "I'm very worried about my favourite member who was hurt.

"I don't understand why anyone would do such a thing."

Violent crime is rare in Japan, where carrying a blade without a reason, including scissors, a box-cutter or a survival knife, is banned.

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Far-Right National Front Win In France

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

Voters have dramatically altered the make-up of the European Parliament by doubling the number of MEPs from the populist, eurosceptic Right and the anti-austerity Left.

Marine Le Pen's far-Right National Front scored its first victory in European Parliament elections in France.

Without waiting for the final result, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls went on television to call the result "an earthquake" for France and Europe.

The National Front (FN) won around 25% of the vote in France, according to exit polls, easily beating the centre-Right UMP on 20%.

Exit polls say far-right and hard-left parties have gained ground in many countries, including in Greece where the extreme-right Golden Dawn are thought to have won nearly 10% of the vote.

By the half way stage, the centre-right parties were expected to be the biggest group, with 212 out of 751 seats.

The Socialists were expected to gain 185 seats, the Liberals third with 71, the Greens fourth with 55 and the far-left next with 45.

Eurosceptic parties were expected to win about 143 seats.

Marine Le Pen celebrates winning France's Euro election

The winners in Greece, the anti-austerity movement Syriza, are thought to have topped the polls with more than 27% of the vote.

In Germany, the EU's biggest member state with the largest number of seats, the pro-European centre ground held firm, according to the polls.

Ms Le Pen, whose party beat President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists into third place, told supporters: "The people have spoken loud and clear ... they no longer want to be led by those outside our borders, by EU commissioners and technocrats who are unelected.

"They want to be protected from globalisation and take back the reins of their destiny."

Eurosceptic Conservative MPs in the UK were quick to point out they had predicted the rise of the Right.

Harwich and Essex MP Bernard Jenkin wrote on Twitter: "Some of us who opposed Maastricht 20 years ago predicted it would lead to the rise of the Right in the EU: and here we are."

Douglas Carswell, the Clacton MP, said: "So maybe those of us who sometimes banged on about Europe were on to something?"

Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "I think we should be concerned about some of these developments across the rest of Europe and that is why it is so important that the next European Commission, the European Council, the next European Parliament do get the message that there is rising discontent and tensions of many kinds in Europe."

In Denmark the Right wing Danish People's Party topped the polls, although its leaders have ruled out an alliance with the National Front.

Spain's two main political parties, the ruling conservative Popular Party in power since 2011 and the Socialist Party, lost major ground to smaller parties, mainly on the Left. The Catalan independence party also performed well.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) came in ahead of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) in his country's exit polls.

In Belgium, the controversial Flemish separatists secured four of  21 EU parliamentary seats available in the country, more than any other party. 

Turnout in Eastern Europe was predicted to be low, with estimates of around 20% expected. 

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Australian Ex-Detective Charged With Murder

By Jonathan Samuels, Sky News Australia Correspondent

A former Australian detective has been charged with the murder of a missing university student as a body wrapped in tarpaulin was found floating off a Sydney beach.

It is thought the body could be that of Jamie Gao, a 20-year-old Sydney university student who went missing in mysterious circumstances last Tuesday.

Former police detective Glen McNamara, 55, was charged over the alleged murder of Mr Gao as the process of identifying the body continues. McNamara was also charged with supplying illegal drugs.

Mr Gao disappeared after getting into a car with two young men

Mr Gao disappeared after reportedly getting into a car with two young men. Police said he had been excited about a "secret meeting" with the men in the days beforehand.

"It's possible Mr Gao was getting himself into some kind of trouble and indeed may have been getting himself in over his head," Detective Superintendent Luke Moore told reporters in Sydney.

"We don't know exactly who he was meeting or the exact purpose of the meeting but the nature of why he was going there - and in fact it was quite secretive - leads us to believe he may have been getting himself into some kind of trouble."

Police said they were certain the Sydney University of Technology student had been abducted and believed he was dead. It is believed Mr Gao had become involved in a drug-related incident which went wrong.

Mr Gao's Nissan Sylvia sedan was found abandoned near the spot where he was last seen. His mobile phone, keys and wallet were found nearby. The phone has since been examined for evidence.

There has been no ransom note or contact between the family and the people who abducted Mr Gao, who was an only child.

Police are also trying to contact disgraced former police detective Roger Rogerson in connection with the case.

Rogerson was once one of New South Wales' most decorated police officers, collecting more than a dozen bravery awards.

However, he became known as Australia's most notorious ex-cop in the 1980s for his alleged crimes and underworld connections.

He was dismissed by NSW Police in 1986.

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California Rampage Victims: Their Stories

US police have now named all of the six victims killed in a rampage by 22-year-old Elliot Rodger. Sky News looks at their stories.

A makeshift memorial for the victims

UK-born Rodger posted a YouTube video calmly describing how he planned to gun down young women.

He then went on his killing spree in the Californian beach community of Isla Vista on Friday night. Shortly before the shooting, he stabbed three people to death in his apartment complex.

Rodger, the son of an assistant director on popular film The Hunger Games, then shot himself inside his car after a firefight with the police.

All his victims were students at University of California, Santa Barbara. They were:

:: KATIE COOPER

Katie Cooper, 22.

Ms Cooper, 22, was just weeks away from graduating with a degree in art history.

Her friend Courtney Benjamin said Ms Cooper, a resident of Chino Hills, California, was a painter with an outgoing side.

"She was a self-proclaimed princess and I love her for that," Ms Benjamin said.

"And I know she has a crown on her head today."

Another friend, Brandon Andre, told KABC-7: "A lot of us remember her as someone that was very caring, very kind".

:: CHENG YUAN HONG

Cheng Yuan Hong, 20

Mr Hong, 20, was from San Jose, California.

One of Elliot Rodger's roommates, Mr Hong was among the first three killed.

Rodger contacted authorities to report his roommate had allegedly stolen his candles earlier this year. Mr Hong was charged with petty theft and pleaded guilty.

:: GEORGE CHEN

George |Chen, 19.

Mr Chen, 19, was among the three young men found dead with multiple stab wounds in Rodger's apartment.

Mr Chen, also from San Jose, was listed on the lease for the apartment along with Mr Hong and Rodger.

:: CHRISTOPHER MARTINEZ

Christopher Martinez, 20

Mr Martinez, 20, was an English major from Los Osos, California.

"He was a really great kid. Ask anyone who knew him," his father, Richard Martinez, said during a press conference where he had to fight back tears.

"His death has left our family lost and broken."

He pulled out a photo of his son as a small child in a Chicago Cubs baseball uniform and said they used to call him "mini-Sammy Sosa", referring to the former Cubs star.

Christopher Martinez planned to go to London next year and to law school after graduation.

:: WEIHAN WANG

Weihan Wang, 20.

Mr Wang, 20, of Fremont, California, was among the three young men Rodger killed.

He may have found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Investigators are trying to determine whether he was visiting at the time of the attack or was also a roommate.

:: VERONIKA WEISS

Veronika Weiss, 19.

Ms Weiss, 19, was first-year student from Westlake Village, California.

Her family described her as a sports-loving "tomboy".

She was also highly apt with complicated math and wanted to be a "financial wizard", her family said.

She went to Westlake High School where she was a member of the water polo team.

"She was always a happy person," said Eric Pursley, who worked with her at a Target store in Thousand Oaks last year.

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Pistorius Begins Month Of Psychiatric Tests

Pistorius' Mental Health Key To Murder Trial

Updated: 10:05pm UK, Tuesday 20 May 2014

By Emma Hurd, Sky News Correspondent

On Monday morning Oscar Pistorius will make the short journey from his uncle's house in Pretoria to register as an outpatient at the Weskoppies psychiatric hospital by 9am.

The imposing red-brick institution was built in the late 1800s when it was still referred to as a "lunatic asylum". In these more enlightened times it is termed a centre for "psychiatric treatment and assessment" but it also remains a place of incarceration for the criminally insane. 

It is a place few South Africans would choose to visit, but - on the orders of the judge in his murder trial - the athlete will spend seven hours a day at the hospital for a period of up to 30 days while his mental condition is assessed.

Those familiar with the process say the evaluation will be conducted by a team - in this case three psychiatrists and a psychologist - who will explore the "patient's" entire mental history from childhood.

They may also choose to interview friends and relatives. The focus will be on establishing whether Pistorius suffers from any disorder that may mean he cannot be held criminally responsible for his actions.

The staff at Weskoppies are used to evaluating defendants in criminal trials but the athlete's referral is far from routine and not just because of his fame.

Pistorius has, unusually, been permitted to attend the hospital as an outpatient, with Judge Thokozile Masipa explaining that she "didn't want to punish him twice" by making him stay at a psychiatric unit for a month.

More striking is the timing of the psychiatric assessment - almost at the end of the trial rather than right at the start.

It might not have happened at all if the defence had not chosen to call psychiatrist Merryl Vorster to tell the court that the athlete suffered from 'generalised anxiety disorder'.

The prosecution leapt on her diagnosis and her claim that it might have affected his actions on the night he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, demanding an independent assessment and the judge agreed.

The trial is on hold now until June 30 when the psychiatrists will report back to the court. Their verdict on the runner's mental health will determine whether the case can continue.

It seems unlikely that they will declare him mentally unfit, but there have been so many twists and turns in this trial so far that nothing can be ruled out.

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Pfizer Walks Away From £69bn AstraZeneca Deal

US firm Pfizer has confirmed it will not make another offer for British pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca as a deadline expired for it to lodge a formal bid.

Last weekend, Pfizer offered £55-a-share for AstraZeneca, valuing it at £69bn, which was rejected by its prospective merger partner.

Ian Read, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, said in a statement: "We continue to believe that our final proposal was compelling and represented full value for AstraZeneca based on the information that was available to us. 

"As we said from the start, the pursuit of this transaction was a potential enhancement to our existing strategy. 

"We will continue our focus on the execution of our plans, bringing forth new treatments to meet patients' needs and remaining responsible stewards of our shareholders' capital."

Ian Read believes Pfizer's bid represented 'full value' for AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca investors are divided about the board's handling of the £55-a-share bid, with its shares closing on Friday at £43.28.

Last week, Schroders issued a statement criticising the actions of both companies, while Sky News revealed that BlackRock, AstraZeneca's biggest shareholder, wanted it to invite Pfizer to reopen merger talks.

Those which backed the board's stance that AstraZeneca would be stronger as a standalone business include Fidelity Investments, M&G Investments and Woodford Investment Management.

Under rules supervised by the City takeover watchdog, Pfizer will be prohibited from making a further offer for AstraZeneca for six months. 

It has said it will not make a hostile bid by going directly to AstraZeneca's shareholders.

However, the British group, which will set out further details of its cancer drug pipeline at a key industry conference in the US this week, could approach Pfizer to enter talks in three months' time.

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Nigel Farage: 'My Dream Has Become Reality'

Farage Uses Victory To Call For Referendum

Updated: 6:11am UK, Monday 26 May 2014

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

When he arrived at the Southampton Guildhall for the South East region count, Nigel Farage was mobbed like a rock star by TV crews from all over Europe.

By the time their leader delivered his victory speech, UKIP had already made major gains all over the country from the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

A jubilant Mr Farage told Sky News he wanted an in/out referendum on Britain's EU membership "next week", though at least he admitted that wasn't going to happen.

With most of the results in, UKIP's share nationally is about 27.5%, with Labour just ahead of the Conservatives on 25% to the Tories' 24%.

In another humiliation for Nick Clegg after the drubbing in the local elections, the Lib Dems were pushed into fifth place by the Greens, on just 7% to the Greens' 8%.

At one point during the night it looked as if the Lib Dems might be wiped out altogether, until a Green Party official at the Southampton count graciously told me their rivals for fourth place had kept one of their MEPs in the South East.

Catherine Bearder turned out to be the Lib Dems' sole survivor in the European Parliament. When I interviewed her immediately after the South East declaration she seemed shell-shocked.

She put the Lib Dems' disastrous performance down to people not understanding how the EU works. I suggested to her that they do - and they don't like it.

Shortly before the South East result was declared, I interviewed Daniel Hannan, the leading Tory MEP in the region. He called for a pact between the Conservatives and Europe.

What does David Cameron do now? He's planning yet another Immigration Bill in the Queen's Speech next week. But will that make any difference? It looks just like a gesture.

More concessions to Eurosceptic Tory MPs? An earlier referendum than the one the Prime Minister is proposing in 2017?

The PM is expected to shuffle his Cabinet and the lower Government ranks after the Newark by-election. Will that do any good? Almost certainly not.

The Conservatives will be relieved, once again, that Labour didn't do better in the European elections.

The grumbles that Mr Miliband is another loser like Neil Kinnock and is on course to lose in 2015 will grow louder inside the shadow Cabinet and on the Labour back benches.

These results do point to Labour falling short next year, as it did in 1987 and 1992 under Mr Kinnock.

The leader facing the most immediate leadership crisis is Mr Clegg, though. It seems very few voters - and a dwindling band of his MPs and activists "agree with Nick" these days.

Mr Cameron is almost certainly safe as Tory leader until after next year's general election.

But suddenly, MPs in all three parties are bickering and indulging in leadership speculation once again.

Rock star? UKIP may not be a new entry in the charts any more. But it has shot to Number One this weekend.

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Nick Clegg Defiant After Elections Disaster

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

Nick Clegg has given an emotional interview in which he insisted it had not crossed his mind to resign after devastating local and European election results.

The Liberal Democrat leader said the results in which his party lost over 300 councillors and all but one of its 11 MEPs was "gutting, heartbreaking" and a "huge setback".

But he argued he was not going to wash his hands and walk away just because the "going gets really tough".

He said: "At the point when our big decisions, our big judgments are being vindicated, we are not going to buckle.

"We are not going to lose our nerve. And we are not going to walk away."

It came after the Lib Dem MP John Pugh admitted to Sky News he would prefer to see Business Secretary Vince Cable lead the party because he was more popular with voters.

And more than 300 Lib Dems, including councillors and candidates, called on Mr Clegg to step down for the sake of his party.

Nigel Farage's UKIP performed well in the elections

They said he deserved praise for taking the Lib Dems into Government but argued that voters simply would not give him a fair hearing.

Mr Clegg, who looked exhausted during the interview, said: "It didn't work but it was right that we stood up for the values we believe in.

"I'm immensely proud to lead the most united, resilient and toughest party in British politics.

"We made a big commitment to the British people in 2010 to step up to the plate, to form a government, to reform and repair the damaged British economy and to deliver policy after policy after policy that the Liberal Democrats have been campaigning on for generations.

"That is what we must continue to do. We must finish the job."

He said it was right to ask searching questions in the "wake of such a bad set of election results".

But the right response was to repeatedly argue that the Lib Dems were the only party that would both tackle the economic situation but do it in a fair way.

Responding to the accusation he has a bunker mentality, he replied: "No, not at all", adding: "I'm never going to put myself ahead of the Liberal Democrats."

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#YesAllWomen: Twitter Reaction To Killing Spree

Victims Of California Rampage: Their Stories

Updated: 12:43pm UK, Monday 26 May 2014

US police have now named all of the six victims killed in a rampage by 22-year-old Elliot Rodger. Sky News looks at their stories.

UK-born Rodger posted a YouTube video calmly describing how he planned to gun down young women.

He then went on his killing spree in the Californian beach community of Isla Vista on Friday night. Shortly before the shooting, he stabbed three people to death in his apartment complex.

Rodger, the son of an assistant director on popular film The Hunger Games, then shot himself inside his car after a firefight with the police.

All his victims were students at University of California, Santa Barbara. They were:

:: KATIE COOPER

Ms Cooper, 22, was just weeks away from graduating with a degree in art history.

Her friend Courtney Benjamin said Ms Cooper, a resident of Chino Hills, California, was a painter with an outgoing side.

"She was a self-proclaimed princess and I love her for that," Ms Benjamin said.

"And I know she has a crown on her head today."

Another friend, Brandon Andre, told KABC-7: "A lot of us remember her as someone that was very caring, very kind".

:: CHENG YUAN HONG

Mr Hong, 20, was from San Jose, California.

One of Elliot Rodger's roommates, Mr Hong was among the first three killed.

Rodger contacted authorities to report his roommate had allegedly stolen his candles earlier this year. Mr Hong was charged with petty theft and pleaded guilty.

:: GEORGE CHEN

Mr Chen, 19, was among the three young men found dead with multiple stab wounds in Rodger's apartment.

Mr Chen, also from San Jose, was listed on the lease for the apartment along with Mr Hong and Rodger.

:: CHRISTOPHER MARTINEZ

Mr Martinez, 20, was an English major from Los Osos, California.

"He was a really great kid. Ask anyone who knew him," his father, Richard Martinez, said during a press conference where he had to fight back tears.

"His death has left our family lost and broken."

He pulled out a photo of his son as a small child in a Chicago Cubs baseball uniform and said they used to call him "mini-Sammy Sosa", referring to the former Cubs star.

Christopher Martinez planned to go to London next year and to law school after graduation.

:: WEIHAN WANG

Mr Wang, 20, of Fremont, California, was among the three young men Rodger killed.

He may have found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Investigators are trying to determine whether he was visiting at the time of the attack or was also a roommate.

:: VERONIKA WEISS

Ms Weiss, 19, was first-year student from Westlake Village, California.

Her family described her as a sports-loving "tomboy".

She was also highly apt with complicated math and wanted to be a "financial wizard", her family said.

She went to Westlake High School where she was a member of the water polo team.

"She was always a happy person," said Eric Pursley, who worked with her at a Target store in Thousand Oaks last year.

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