A planned state-of-the-art joint training college for Northern Ireland's police, fire and prison services has been radically redrawn.

Article: He was "ranting about Europe".
"Do you know the Vale of Glamorgan is the most Eurosceptic place in Wales?" asks the Welsh Tory leader.
If so, Mr Davies should feel at home. He's announced he'll vote to leave the EU.
He's always been a Eurosceptic, he says, so he didn't need to agonise over whether to make that announcement.
"Anyone who knows me knows I agonise over very little. That's why I look so young."
But before going on an anti-EU charm offensive, he has another objective: becoming first minister.
Campaigning for the EU referendum on June 23 is on hold until after the assembly election on May 5 - an election he hopes will usher in a Welsh Tory government.
That'll be difficult. It's likely some form of coalition would be needed to put the Tories in charge.
And while Mr Davies says he doesn't rule anything in or out, Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood, leader of the assembly's third biggest party, has no appetite to work with him.
Nevertheless, Mr Davies is convinced there are enough Tory supporters out there.
Just look at last year's general election, he says. More people voted Conservative then than voted for Carwyn Jones's Labour Party at the last assembly election in 2011.
That may be true, but turnout at assembly elections has been much lower than in general elections.
"So what we've got to do is energise people to say the assembly is important," Mr Davies says.
"The assembly election is vital to our future wellbeing - and we need change. After 17 years here of Labour running services into the ground we need to secure real change in Wales."
Being a member of the national assembly is a privilege, he tells me.
The other three party leaders in the institution were campaigning for its creation 20 years ago. What was Mr Davies attitude towards devolution back then?
"I suppose quiet indifference would have been the word I would have used. Ultimately, I was securing my family's future - my business's future - by getting my head down and working here on the family farm.
"Really, politics was most probably not that...

Summary: On his farm in the Vale of Glamorgan - one of five owned by his family - Andrew RT Davies says a neighbour paid him a visit recently.
###
Article: His assurance came as he answered questions about the possible takeover of General Motors' European operations, including Vauxhall, by the French PSA.
PSA owns both Peugeot and Citroen and its interest in buying the GM businesses was announced last week.
Mr Clark met the PSA board and French industry minister last Friday.
Speaking in the Commons, the business secretary said his French counterpart, Christophe Sirugue, had told him it was important that all Opel's factories across Europe were treated fairly.
"We have a very strong domestic market and Vauxhall has a large share of that - something PSA recognises," said Mr Clark.
"One of the points the PSA executives made to me was that since the new management of PSA has been in place, they have taken some pride in having part of their strategy not to close plants," he added.
Meanwhile, Germany's deputy economy minister, Matthias Machnig, said that GM and PSA were yet to give any binding guarantees on German jobs, but that there had been some encouraging signs.
Vauxhall employs abut 4,500 workers in the UK, making cars in Ellesmere Port and vans in Luton.
Mr Clark sidestepped a question about whether any sweeteners were on offer to ensure that the PSA Group - if it takes over the loss-making GM businesses in Europe - will maintain manufacturing in the UK.
However, he said the UK car industry was very competitive, had a flexible workforce, and was investing in technology.
"The UK is a beacon of success in this, and other, industries," Mr Clark said.
"From my initial conversations [with PSA and General Motors] I think it is understood that Vauxhall's plants are very efficient," he added.
Asked by Labour MP Pat McFadden about the future of the UK's supply chain for the car industry, the minister hailed the UK's competitive car parts sector.
"That makes it attractive to investors," he said.
Mr Clark also told MPs that he had mentioned the importance of looking after current and former employees who are members of the Vauxhall pension scheme, which has a deficit of...

Summary: The business secretary, Greg Clark, has told MPs that Vauxhall workers in Luton and Ellesmere Port have no reason to fear for their jobs.
###
Article: The new plan is for training to be split across three different sites.
There would be some joint training, but the three services would each have their own facilities.
The big winner would be the fire and rescue service - it would get a £44m purpose-built complex at Desertcreat, near Cookstown in County Tyrone.
Timeline: Ten years of stop and start for NI's public services college
The BBC revealed in March that a programme board in charge of the Desertcreat project had concluded it was no longer economically viable.
It said the joint college as originally planned was no longer needed because of reduction in the number of training days required by each of the three services.
The Office of First and deputy First Minister then asked for a revised business case, setting out preferred options for future training needs.
That review has now been completed and the BBC has obtained a copy of a draft report setting out the board's recommendations.
It says the preferred option is for the fire service to have a training facility at Desertcreat at an estimated cost of £44m.
If the plan is approved by the Northern Ireland Executive, it is understood the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) would also be allocated about £20m to refurbish its existing training facilities at Garnerville police station in east Belfast.
The Northern Ireland Prison Service would be given funding for training at Maghaberry and Magilligan prisons as its training centre in Millisle, County Down, has been closed.
The proposed new complex for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) would be built on the site bought 10 years ago for a new policing college at Desertcreat.
That plan was later changed to include the fire and prison services, but has now been revised.
It would include what is called a 'hot house'.
This is a building that can be set on fire in a controlled fashion, or heated to extremely high temperatures, to give firefighters realistic training.
Northern Ireland does not currently have such a facility.
The NIFRS would...

Summary:


Almost a fifth of homeless applications now come from the private rented sector, according to Shelter Scotland.

Article: Photographer Richard Nicholson took a look inside that box, capturing those who have helped bring the silver screen to life.
"When I first stepped into a projection box, I was struck by the claustrophobic atmosphere," says Nicholson.
"It was a dark, cramped space, and, as the projector whirred into motion, it became increasingly hot and noisy.
"As I watched the projectionist wrestle with a giant spool of film, the scene reminded me of a railwayman shovelling coal into a locomotive."
Working with The Projection Project, Nicholson's pictures are accompanied by the thoughts of the projectionists, many of whom are experts on the history of cinema.
Nicholson usually works on a large-format film camera - but, paradoxically, for this project, he shot the images on a digital camera.
Following a test shoot, he realised he would require a vast amount of lighting to work on film, whereas a digital approach allowed him to use smaller flashguns to light the projection boxes.
With cinemas across the country still under threat from redevelopment and closure, it is perhaps the perfect time for this project.
"I think it's a wasted opportunity if you go to a cinema and it's just a blank screen, and no curtains, with some feeble lighting, and it just sort of starts," said projectionist Peter Howden.
"I remember going to the cinema and the lights would change colour and the organist would come up out of the floor. It's simple and it's effective and it would be a pity to lose that.
"I think it's part of the magic of going to the cinema. Putting on a show rather than just showing a film."
The projectionist is the final step between the film and the public. And, for many, that flickering light that pierces the darkness of the cinema is still magical.
"When I used to go to the cinema with my mother, I was never looking at the film, I was always looking to see where it came from," said projectionist Rachel Dukes.
"In those days everybody used to smoke. And so when the beam of light was coming down, you'd have these pretty patterns of...

Summary: At the start of the decade, many of Britain's cinemas made the switch from analogue projection to digital, changing forever the role of those inside the projection box, with many films now projected by a computer.
###
Article: David Cameron told a committee of MPs there had been an "attitudinal change" which he wanted to see continue.
He cited the example of the Somerset Levels, where dredging of rivers has resumed in a bid to avoid a repeat of flooding seen in 2013-14.
He also defended the response to floods in northern England and Scotland.
In an appearance before the Commons Liaison Committee, Mr Cameron said: "You've seen quite an attitudinal change in the Environment Agency that in years gone past, I think, were trying to balance up the effects on nature on the one hand and protecting property on the other hand.
"We've said to them: 'The time for that is over. This is about protecting human lives. This is about protecting our homes.'
"I want to see that continued shift. You saw that very directly in Somerset, where there is a man-made environment and it was ridiculous those rivers weren't being dredged.
I threatened to go and drive the dredger myself. Those rivers have now been dredged.
"Do we need an attitudinal change in the way we approach flooding? Yes, we absolutely do."
The Environment Agency, which covers England, is responsible for managing the risk of flooding from main rivers, and issues flood alerts and warnings.
But that was not the reason it was set up or the main part of its remit.
"We work to create better places for people and wildlife, and support sustainable development," the agency says on the "what we do" section of its website.
Several storms wreaked havoc across the UK in December, with Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire among the worst affected by the floods.
Parts of Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland also saw flooding and damage from a series of storms, including Desmond, Eva and Frank.
The environment agency's chairman, Sir Philip Dilley, resigned on Monday after coming under pressure for holidaying in Barbados during the recent floods.
Last month the agency's deputy chief executive said a "complete rethink" of the UK's flood defences was required, saying better waterproofing of...

Summary: The Environment Agency has been ordered to prioritise protecting people's homes ahead of nature when tackling flooding, the prime minister says.
###
Article: The charity said this was disproportionate to the sector's size, which is 13% of housing in Scotland.
Homeless applications have decreased by a third in the past five years but the Shelter said the statistics did not tell the full story.
It said it was important that vulnerable households were supported before they were pushed into crisis.
According to the latest Scottish government figures, the proportion of  homeless applications that come from the private rental tenants rose from 13% 2008-09 to 18% in 2013-14.
However overall homelessness in Scotland fell by 34% during the same period, official statistics showed.
Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said: "Whilst the headline figures show that homelessness applications are down by one third in the last five years, which is welcome, our analysis shows it is not all good news for homeless people in Scotland.
"The 36,457 households making homeless applications, a youth homelessness rate at 13.7 per 1,000 and a rising proportion of homeless applications from the private rented sector signal that, although there are movements in the right direction, there is still a long way to go."
"With the significant weakening of the welfare state in recent years, it is more important than ever to ensure that vulnerable households are offered support before they are pushed into crisis."
The report, 'Homelessness in Scotland 2014: Getting Behind the Statistics', has been released ahead of Shelter Scotland's annual conference later this month.
Housing minister Margaret Burgess said: "Homelessness in Scotland is falling and the number of homeless applications from the private rented sector has actually fallen by 21% since 2008/09.
"The Scottish government is working closely with local authorities and their partners, and with Shelter, to prevent homelessness, increase the number of affordable homes and address the issue of empty homes. Where people do become homeless, our focus is on finding the best outcomes."

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A new game is being developed that will allow players to explore the world around them.
The game will be available for download on the web at www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y9XQQ

Summary: A new game is being developed that will allow players to explore the world around

Dementia researchers have developed a video game that could lead to the development of early diagnostic tests for the disease.

Article: Alex Smith, from Oldham, said it was an "injustice" victims were receiving far less than those who contracted HIV through NHS blood products in the 1970s and 80s.
His solicitors have asked the Department of Health (DoH) for comparable help.
The DoH said it was "more than doubling" its annual spending.
Mr Smith said he may start a judicial review of the government's cash help for those affected.
He said: "Why are they not treating us the same, why is my life worth less than someone with HIV?
"It is an injustice."
In 2015, the then Prime Minster David Cameron apologised to thousands of victims of the contaminated blood scandal.
The government announced in July that those with stage 1 Hepatitis C would receive Â£3,500 a year, with the provision to appeal for a higher payment close to the Â£15,000 received by HIV patients who received toxic blood.
Mr Smith's solicitor, Leigh Day, said the government's wording was "unclear" and needed clarifying, adding: "It continues the existing unlawful discrimination against stage 1 HCV claimants."
The payments ran counter to a government decision which said people with Hepatitis C should receive financial support which is "broadly comparable" for those who contracted HIV, the letter added.
The Department of Health said it was "more than doubling its annual spend on the scheme for people affected by this tragedy over the next five years, and was therefore able to provide an annual payment to all infected individuals for the first time."
It added: "This is significantly more than any previous government has been able to provide for those affected by this tragedy."

Summary: A man who developed Hepatitis C from contaminated blood is demanding more financial support from the government.
###
Article: Newport council is considering the plan ahead of a new shopping centre opening.
Councillor Matthew Evans said the committee also backed a ban on drinking alcohol in public but decided that leafleting should not be stopped.
The final decision now lies with the cabinet member for regulatory functions, Councillor Bob Poole.
Human rights organisation Liberty previously said a ban on begging and rough sleeping would "criminalise the most vulnerable in the city" and that the proposals "make a mockery of Newport's Chartist legacy".
However, Mr Evans said he and the other committee members backed the recommendation for the ban after 90% of people who responded to a public consultation were in favour.
"We want to make sure the message is sent out that the majority of people don't want to be approached by beggars or to see people rough sleeping," he said.
"This will make it easier for police to deal with the problem.
"We want to ensure the public and businesses are protected because they're the ones affected by anti-social behaviour."
Councillor Roger Jeavons, chairman of the committee, said they had listened to evidence from the police.
"We have looked at pages and pages of reports from police regarding, in particular, aggressive begging - that was the biggest issue," he said.
"People are feeling very intimidated by these sort of people who are sitting outside ATMs and car park paying machines."
The council wants to introduce a new Public Spaces Protection Order to tackle anti-social behaviour ahead of the opening of the new Friar's Walk shopping centre next month.
It consulted with members of the public about what they would like to see included, such as a ban on begging, rough sleeping, dogs who are not on leads and leafleting in the city centre.
Mr Evans added that the scrutiny committee did not back a recommendation to ban leafleting in the city centre because members did not want to damage small businesses.

Summary: A ban on begging and rough sleeping in Newport city centre has moved a step closer after a council scrutiny committee backed the idea.
###
Article: 4 May 2016 Last updated at 17:39 BST
The way players navigate the 3D levels in Sea Hero Quest will be anonymously tracked and sent to the researchers.
Understanding how people navigate 3D environments is important because the skill is often one of the first lost by people who have dementia.
Researchers say the game could generate an unprecedented amount of data.
Read the full story: Mobile game 'helps dementia research'

Summary:


The IBCC is planning to build a new centre in Lincolnshire, which will be the centre for the next five years.
The centre will be a part of the IBCC's mission to help the local community.
The centre will be a part of the IBCC's mission to help the local

Every living veteran who served in Bomber Command during World War Two is being sought for the unveiling of a new memorial.

Article: The EA's action plan for 2017-18 sets out a strategy for changes to the number and nature of schools.
It identifies and names about 40 schools where "sustainability is an issue" across the 11 council areas.
One school has described the plan as being punished "for having the temerity to be small and successful".
However, any decision to close or merge schools would be subject to consultation.
The EA's director of education, John Collings, said Northern Ireland had too many schools, particularly primary schools.
"We must maximise the use of the schools' estate through sharing and co-operation to ensure that the educational experiences of our young people are the best they can be," he said.
"This will also help reduce duplication and ensure efficient use of resources."
However, some schools are opposed to any plans to merge or close them, such as Mercy Primary School in north Belfast, which could merge with Holy Cross Boys and Holy Cross Girls primary schools under the EA plan.
The financial position of a school and how many pupils it has can be used to decide if a school is sustainable or not.
Other factors are quality of educational experience, strong leadership, accessibility and strong links with the community.
Over a third (36%) of primary schools have fewer than 105 pupils, while almost half of post-primary schools have fewer than 500 pupils.
Those are the minimum numbers of pupils recommended in the Department of Education's sustainable schools policy.
In 2013, an independent panel recommended that some small schools were closed or merged.
In October 2016, the EA's draft area plan signalled that there would be an increasing number of closures and mergers.
However the action plan makes proposals for the future of a number of individual schools.
In a statement, the principal of St Patrick's College in Dungiven, Michael Gormley, said: "Governors, staff and indeed a lot of pupils and their parents are surprised that we have been selected to be included in this action plan.
"We are more than meeting the needs...

Summary: About 40 schools across Northern Ireland could be set to close or merge, according to Education Authority (EA) plans.
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Article: Media playback is unsupported on your device
17 December 2014 Last updated at 08:39 GMT
Dyfi osprey project manager Emyr Evans, from the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, has written a book describing how they went from "two guys with a torch" showing people the first birds to re-colonise Wales, to an observatory and conservation project attracting over 30,000 visitors per year.
He told BBC Radio Wales' Mai Davies two lots of birds had arrived simultaneously, at the Glaslyn valley and Welshpool.
"It was like buses - nothing for hundreds of years and then two turned up at the same time," he said.
There are now four or five pairs in Wales and this year for the first time the number of chicks went into double figures, with 10 born.
"Hundreds of years ago, ospreys were part of everyday life for Welsh people and hopefully it will be the same again," he added.

Summary: The story of a 10-year project to help ospreys breed in mid Wales when they returned to the country after a centuries-long absence has been documented by one of the people involved.
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Article: The International Bomber Command Centre is being built in Lincolnshire, which became known as Bomber County in the war because it had so many RAF bases.
The centre is due to open in 2016 but a memorial spire has already been erected at the site in Lincoln.
Organisers want to invite every veteran to the unveiling on 2 October.
They already have names of 900 veterans but believe there are more still to be identified.
Nicky Barr from the International Bomber Command Centre says they have made some new contacts.
"A lot of the veterans that we've now been able to invite weren't on any comprehensive database or squadron lists," she said.
"We've picked up thus far about 50 that come under that category. We suspect that there's probably, at an estimate, another 100 out there."
The spire stands higher than the Angel of North and will be surrounded by a "wall of names" recording the 55,573 men who lost their lives serving in Bomber Command.
Other elements of the centre will include an exhibition and education space called the Chadwick Centre, an amphitheatre and acres of landscaped gardens.
Anyone knowing of any Bomber Command veteran is urged to register their names by emailing events@internationalbcc.co.uk or writing to The IBCC, 13 Cherry Holt Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9LA.

Summary:


The government has been trying to get the government to do its job, but the government has been trying to get the government to do its job.
The government has been trying to get the government to do its job, but the government has been trying to get the government to do its job.
The government has been

A Halfords customer's dashboard camera caught a mechanic speeding in his car while it was booked in for an MOT.

Article: The city was reduced to rubble during what became known as the "Swansea Blitz".
About 35,000 incendiaries and 800 high explosive bombs were dropped during the raids which started on 19 February, 1941, killing 230 people.
The raging fires could be seen from the other side of the Bristol Channel in Devon.
Swansea was targeted because of its nearby docks and part of the Germans' bombing campaign was to cripple exports as well as demoralise civilians and emergency services.
It resulted in whole areas being completely cleared and rebuilding starting from scratch.
"Pre-Second World War Swansea had begun to look and feel like a city," said Bangor University's Dr Dinah Evans, whose research includes the impact of warfare on, and reconstruction of, Swansea.
"Hotels, restaurants and cafes abounded, together with theatres, art galleries, concert halls and shopping arcades.
Wednesday 19 February - Friday 21 February, 1941
"In the commercial centres of Wind Street, Castle Street and High Street the pavements were wide and the shops fronting onto them stylish, selling merchandise of all kinds.
"The department stores were imposing and many of a calibre usually found in London.
"However, when in 1941 Swansea came under enemy attack from the air, the face of the town was changed for ever.
"Although the town's Guildhall, art gallery and library were still standing when the bombing stopped, its social and entertainment heart had all but disappeared.
"The town centre was destroyed and Swansea people had to contend with a bleak landscape where once prosperous shops and stores had stood."
Dr Evans said the council was under pressure to produce a plan that would not only restore those areas damaged in the blitz but also ensure the future prosperity of Swansea.
She added: "Meanwhile rumours began to circulate in the press that Swansea town's reconstruction progress compared unfavourably with other bombed cities, especially that of Plymouth.
"However, when it came to the question of rebuilding a blitzed town or city centre, there...

Summary: Seventy-five years after German bombs rained on a thriving Swansea for three successive nights during World War Two, efforts are still being made to regenerate its centre.
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Article: The prospect of an embarrassing parliamentary defeat will have focused the minds of ministers on a compromise.
But what do the unimpressed Tory MPs dislike about the academy plans? And what will be the sticking points in negotiations with ministers?
Very well-placed Tory backbenchers have highlighted some of the main areas of concern:
Compulsion: These MPs are supporters of the achievements of academies and the principle of autonomy. But if there is a high-achieving school that doesn't want to become an academy, where is the justification in forcing such an unwanted change? This carries the risk of damaging rather than improving schools and it goes against the grain of school choice and parental involvement.
There is already legislation to turn struggling schools into academies and successful schools can already choose to convert. So why would the government want to force good and outstanding schools, against the wishes of heads and parents, to change status? The MPs would prefer more carrot than stick.
And compulsion, above all else, would be the line in the sand - as many of the other concerns would be diminished if one-size-fits-all academy status became something that was encouraged rather than compulsorily required.
The suggestion that local authorities could become chains is not seen as a positive step, but something that reverses autonomy, giving them more power with less electoral accountability.
The timetable: If thousands of schools, many of them primary schools, are put under a deadline to become academies, there will need to be hundreds more academy trusts to accommodate them. Where are these going to come from? What will be quality of these rapidly-assembled trusts? Will they have to be unmanageably large to take in the number of new academies? Will they be strung across the country in a way that doesn't take into account local needs.
If the pace is forced, is there a danger that excellent schools will have to be stuck into not-so-excellent academy chains?
Accountability: If all schools were put...

Summary: If the government is going to push through its plans to force all schools in England to become academies, it will need to persuade its own Conservative backbenchers, many of whom seem deeply unenthusiastic about the proposals.
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Article: Shaun Ingram from Saltash booked his Ford Focus ST in for a major service at Halfords Autocentre in Plymouth in March.
On its return he discovered the dashboard camera recorded footage of his car being driven 57 mph in a 30 mph zone.
Halfords said the mechanic was a temporary employee who had been let go.
After the complaint the company has apologised and offered to refund the Â£255 for the MOT and service.
Mr Ingram said the camera was in plain sight on the windscreen and was not left on to "catch anybody out" during the service.
The camera recorded almost seven hours of footage including the mechanic swearing and talking about test-driving the car.
Mr Ingram said: "When I saw the footage I was left open-mouthed. The mechanic was abusing my car and my trust.
"As a nationwide company I thought I had nothing to worry about. I feel very let down."
The regional manager for Halfords Autocentres, Daren Stone, told Mr Ingram that the mechanic's behaviour was unacceptable.
He said: "He drove your car in what I can only describe as an appalling manner.
"I do not and will never condone that level of pure neglect which is why the mechanic in question has been removed from working within the Halfords Autocentre Group."
Mr Ingram said: "From now on I will always wait by the car whilst it is being serviced."
A spokesperson for Halfords head office said: "We are looking into the full details of the incident and will deal with this issue internally as a matter of urgency to ensure this type of incident does not occur again in the future."

Summary:


The molluscs were found in the late 2000s in Morocco, North Africa.
Two of the fossils were in such good condition that the team were able to make this amazingly detailed reconstruction.
You can clearly see its small mouth filled with hundreds of teeth and the prickly spines which cover its body.

This is Calvapilosa, a prehistoric relative of modern sea slugs.

Article: The cap, which applies to posts earning above £20,800, is a measure introduced under the coalition government in 2011.
The Home Office has confirmed that the monthly allocation of so-called "Tier 2" visas has been filled for June.
There were 1,650 allocations for June, but the Home Office will not confirm how many applications it received.
The BBC understands that as well as nurses, doctors and teachers other visas refused were applications to bring in accountants, solicitors and management consultants.
Under the Tier 2 scheme, there are 20,700 posts available a year to employers who want to recruit a non-EU skilled worker.
Applicants have more chance of success if the company is trying to fill a post on a national list of shortage occupations. The BBC understands that none of the visas refused this month under the cap relates to a job on that list.
On Thursday, Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to make it harder to bring in skilled staff from outside the EU, saying, it was too easy for some businesses to employ these workers, rather than train British employees.
Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said there were no plans to change the current Tier 2 limit - and the independent Migration Advisory Committee would be advising on further reducing economic migration from outside the EU.
"Our reforms will ensure that businesses are able to attract the skilled migrants they need," he said. "But we also want them to get far better at recruiting and training UK workers first."
But some business representatives predicted that enforcing the cap would be damaging.
Mark Hilton, head of immigration policy at London First, said: "Every skilled migrant we turn away as a result of this cap will hit jobs and growth.
"Of course business wants to hire locally, but you can't just magic people up with highly specific skills because they take years to develop."
Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, said: "The cap has been hit at a time when many companies are hiring recent...

Summary: The government's immigration cap for non-EU skilled workers has been hit for the first time, blocking the arrival of some nurses, doctors and teachers.
###
Article: The shadow culture minister was among 47 MPs to ignore the party's three-line whip to back the European Union Bill.
Leader Jeremy Corbyn previously suggested shadow ministers could be sacked if they went against the whip.
MPs overwhelmingly backed the measure in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
There were 498 votes in favour to 114 and the move will allow Prime Minister Theresa May to get Brexit negotiations under way.
The bill now faces further scrutiny in the Commons and the House of Lords before it can become law.
The prime minister has set a deadline of 31 March for invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, getting official talks with the EU started.
Cardiff West MP Mr Brennan was one of seven Welsh Labour MPs to oppose the move as most MPs from Wales backed it.
Bridgend MP Madeline Moon and Rhondda MP Chris Bryant, Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley), Owen Smith (Pontypridd) and Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) were the others voted against the move.
Mr Brennan was the second Labour front-bencher in Wales to announce he would vote against Jeremy Corbyn's wishes, following Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens who quit as shadow Welsh secretary on Friday over the order.
In a blog post ahead of the vote Mr Brennan wrote his constituents had given him a "clear message" and it was his "duty to oppose" the Bill.
Cardiff was one of five areas in Wales to vote remain at the referendum in June.
Mr Brennan wrote that Prime Minister Theresa May's recent speech on the process of leaving the EU had "helped to clarify that the path she is leading the UK down is likely to make Britain little more than an annex of Trumpland".
"That is a future I cannot vote for. It is also a future which a clear majority of my constituents do not support," he wrote.
He added: "I believe it is now quite clear that triggering article 50 will lead Britain on a road to the kind of economy and society I have never believed in.
"That is also the view of the majority of my constituents. Taken together, those two things mean that I cannot vote to...

Summary: Brexit rebel MP Kevin Brennan could be sacked from Labour's frontbench for defying the party to vote against triggering Article 50 and leaving the European Union.
###
Article: Researchers discovered it after looking back at some fossils found in the late 2000s in Morocco, North Africa.
Two of the fossils were in such good condition that the team were able to make this amazingly detailed reconstruction.
You can clearly see its small mouth filled with hundreds of teeth and the prickly spines which cover its body.
This slug like creature also had a built in, helmet like, shell to keep it safe from predators.
It might look a little terrifying but it was only four inches long and scientists think it survived by eating algae off rocks.
Molluscs first appeared on earth around 520 million years ago, Calvapilosa is an ancient relative of modern molluscs.
A mollusc is a type of animal that doesn't have a spine, there are lots of different kinds including slugs, snails, oysters and squid.
Jakob Vinther who was the lead researcher on the project said "This discovery brings a neat solution to how the ancestor of all molluscs may have looked."

Summary:


The company has been working on a plan to demolish Aston's Ettington Road fire station, which was built in 1923, and is expensive to run and maintain.
The authority says that Coventry's Radford Road station, which was built in 1976, is expensive to run and maintain.
The authority says

Plans to demolish and replace two West Midlands fire stations - one of which is Grade II listed - have been backed by fire service bosses.

Article: Researchers say treatments could be developed based on antimicrobial peptides that occur naturally in the immune systems of humans and animals.
The Edinburgh Napier University team observed how they increase the body's natural response to rhinovirus infection.
Rhinovirus is the main virus responsible for the common cold.
The team synthesised antimicrobial peptides found in pigs and sheep, and assessed their impact on lung cells infected with rhinovirus.
The peptides successfully attacked the virus, and could provide clues for developing novel treatments based on peptides found in nature.
Dr Peter Barlow, associate professor of immunology and infection at the university, said: "This is an exciting discovery and our next steps will be to modify the peptide to make it even better at killing this virus.
"This research is still in the early stages, but we will ultimately be looking to develop drug treatments that have the potential to cure the common cold."
An effective treatment for the cold could help sufferers of more serious lung conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), for whom viral infections can pose a serious health risk.
Dr Barlow added: "There is no cure and no vaccine so the development of effective therapies for human rhinovirus, the main causal agent of the common cold and one of the most common causes of viral respiratory tract infections, is an urgent requirement.
"This study represents a major step towards finding a treatment."
Earlier research by Dr Barlow had underlined the potential of antimicrobial peptides in tackling the influenza A virus.
The latest study, was funded by the Chief Scientist Office and medical research charity Tenovus Scotland.

Summary: Scientists believe they may have made a breakthrough in the search for a cure for the common cold.
###
Article: More recently we've seen the rise of the touchscreen. But other attempts at re-imagining controls have proved vexing.
"It's one of the hardest problems in modern computer science," Michael Buckwald, chief executive and co-founder of Leap Motion, told the BBC.
But after years of development and $45m (Â£29m) in venture funding, his San Francisco-based start-up has come up with what it claims is the "most natural user interface possible."
It's a 3D-gesture sensing controller that allows touch-free computer interaction.
Israeli firm Primesense has been making headlines in recent days thanks to a report that it is in talks to be bought by Apple - something the 3D sensor firm says is an unfounded rumour.
Rather than trying to make consumer products of its own, the company licenses its depth-sensing tech to others.
Its sensors are used in Microsoft's original Kinect, a 3D scanner by Matterbot and iRobot's Ava - a device that guides itself through hospitals allowing doctors to use it to "visit" patients without leaving their office.
Primesense recently showed off Capri - a second-generation sensor that is 10 times smaller than the previous version and needs less power.
It has fitted the component to one of Google's Nexus tablets to stir up interest and also suggests it could be built into smartphones.
But rather than fitting the sensor to the front of devices to recognise owners' gestures, the firm suggests the best use would be on their backs to look out into the surrounding environments.
"Object recognition is something that is very easily do-able," chief executive Inon Beracha tells the BBC.
"Imagine you scan something - you would get an identification and then you could get the price for an object."
Although the sensor won't feature in the Xbox One games console's new Kinect - which is using Microsoft's own tech - Mr Beracha says to expect news of a tie-up with another big player "in the next months".
Using only subtle movements of fingers and hands within a short distance of the device, virtual pointing,...

Summary: The keyboard and mouse have long been the main bridge between humans and their computers.
###
Article: The futures of Aston and Coventry stations were discussed by West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority.
The authority, which said it needed buildings for a "modern-day" fire service, approved its budget earlier.
Plans to demolish Aston's Ettington Road fire station, which was built in 1923, will go before planners.
Phil Hales, deputy chief officer of West Midlands Fire Service, said Aston residents would be consulted as part of the planning process.
The authority says that Coventry's Radford Road station, which was built in 1976, is expensive to run and maintain.
A new station at Aston could cost around Â£7.5m, while the Coventry scheme could cost an estimated Â£6.7m.
English Heritage has said it expected to be consulted on the proposal to demolish Aston fire station if the plan was put forward.
"Aston fire station was listed at Grade II in 2010 and recognised as a carefully-designed building which works well with its surroundings and is a powerful symbol of civic pride," a spokesperson said.

Summary:


The US government has been accused of "unfair and unjust" conduct by the US government.
The US government has been accused of "unfair and unjust" conduct by the US government.
The US government has been accused of "unfair and unjust" conduct by the US government.
The US government has

Russia has said bomb attacks which killed at least 140 people in Syria were aimed at "subverting attempts" to reach a political settlement.

Article: The Financial Conduct Authority said it was the largest fine that it or the former Financial Services Authority had imposed for retail conduct failings.
The bonus scheme pressurised staff to hit sales targets or risk being demoted and have their pay cut, the FCA said.
Lloyds Bank has accepted the regulator's findings and apologised to its customers.
"The findings do not make pleasant reading," said FCA director Tracey McDermott.
By Simon GompertzPersonal finance correspondent, BBC News
There was a grim atmosphere in some Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland branches, as staff tried to avoid being demoted and having their pay cut for failing to meet sales targets.
"I left just before I was likely to have had a breakdown," one staff member told the BBC.
Another reported that "The only thing that matters is hitting sales numbers, not the customer."
And one who lost his job said: "I can only describe my nine months in a branch as a disgrace."
Lloyds has embarked on a trawl of sales to 692,000 customers to see how many may have lost out.
About 11,000 cases are being prioritised - cases where the behaviour of advisers seemed to be most questionable.
There are suggestions that Lloyds may have set aside as much as £100m to cover compensation for failings including the ones highlighted today.
The fine could have been £35m had Lloyds not agreed to settle early, the FCA said.
Lloyds has already set aside £8bn for mis-selling loan insurance and £400m for mis-selling interest rate swaps. And in 2003 it was fined £1.9m and handed a £100m compensation bill by the Financial Services Authority for mis-selling so-called "precipice bonds".
Richard Lloyd, executive director of consumer organisation Which?, said: "This should send a clear message to the banking industry that mis-selling won't be tolerated and that customers, not sales, must come first."
He called for the FCA to deliver "a big change in banking culture across the industry".
"In one instance, an adviser sold protection products to himself, his wife and a colleague...

Summary: Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £28m for "serious failings" in relation to bonus schemes for sales staff.
###
Article: That pledge was made as the league launched a new scheme to boost player safety at all levels of the game.
It comes after a $1bn settlement to compensate former players for brain injuries was agreed earlier this year.
"When it comes to addressing head injuries in our game, I'm not satisfied - we can and will do better," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.
The settlement figure with former players was agreed in April following a lawsuit by 5,000 former players who successfully claimed the NFL hid the dangers of repeated head trauma.
The Play Smart, Play Safe initiative will fund further medical research into such injuries as well as engineering research - looking into more protective helmets, for example.
It will also look to develop schemes that raise awareness of head injuries and concussion among players, and examine how the game can improve the way it deals with such injuries.
Goodell said: "While we can never completely eliminate the risk of injury, we are always striving to make the game safer.
"The NFL has been a leader on health and safety in many ways, and we've made some real strides in recent years. But when it comes to addressing head injuries in our game, I'm not satisfied, and neither are the owners of the NFL's 32 clubs."
This season, the NFL has come under scrutiny after Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton suffered four 'helmet-to-helmet' clashes in an opening-game defeat by the Denver Broncos. Denver safety Darian Stewart and linebacker Brandon Marshall subsequently received fines for the hits.
Only one of the hits was penalised by the game's officials, and Newton was at no point checked for concussion.
But Goodell said the new scheme would be "an initiative to drive progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of head injuries, enhance medical protocols and further improve the way the game is taught and played by all who love it".
An independent, scientific advisory board will also be created to lead the way on how the league implements the latest research and advice on head...

Summary: The NFL is to spend $100m (£75m) on medical and engineering research to increase protection for players.
###
Article: Russia's foreign ministry condemned the "atrocious crimes of extremists".
Sunday's attacks hit the Shia shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, south of Syria's capital Damascus, and the city of Homs.
So-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out the attacks. Both targeted areas dominated by Islamic minorities reviled by IS.
Four blasts in Sayyida Zeinab killed at least 83 people, according to state media. A monitoring group reported that 57 people, mainly civilians, were killed in a double car bombing in Homs.
The UK-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) put the toll from the Damascus attacks at 120 and said they were among the deadliest to occur during the whole of Syria's civil war.
SOHR also reported on Monday that heavy fighting had cut off the government's only supply route to the northern city of Aleppo.
IS and other Islamist militia had cut the road between Aleppo and the town of Khanasser to the south-east, it said.
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict.
Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes, of whom four million have fled abroad - including growing numbers who are making the dangerous journey to Europe.
History of the conflict - how the civil war has spread
Maps of the conflict - the shifting territorial gains
The Sayyida Zeinab district is the location of Syria's holiest Shia Muslim shrine, said to contain the grave of the Prophet Muhammad's granddaughter.
The district was hit by suicide attacks last month that left 71 people dead and which IS fighters also said they had carried out.
On Sunday US Secretary of State John Kerry said a "provisional agreement" had been reached with Russia on a partial truce.
However he admitted issues remained to be resolved and said he did not expect any immediate change on the ground.
Earlier this month, world powers involved in the crisis in Syria agreed to seek a "cessation of hostilities", but the Friday deadline came and went.
In Homs, the blasts happened in a predominantly Alawite district, the sect to which...

Summary:


A woman was found guilty of killing a man at Nottingham Crown Court in June after a man was found guilty of killing a woman at Nottingham Crown Court.
The woman was found guilty of killing a man at Nottingham Crown Court in June after a man was found guilty of killing a woman at Nottingham Crown Court.
The woman

A breast surgeon accused of carrying out unnecessary operations has told a court that witness statements against him have been "coached".

Article: The service was stopped after concerns were raised over the number of organs rejected by Leicester General Hospital.
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust called for an external review which found problems with its procedures.
It has suspended the service while changes are made affecting about seven patients.
Experts were called in January after it was revealed the hospital appeared to refuse a higher than average number of kidneys offered to Leicester's Renal Transplant Service.
By Rob SissonsHealth Correspondent, BBC East Midlands Today
Kidney transplants are one of the miracles of modern medicine, something that truly transforms people's lives.
Without it, they face months, years, on dialysis, wired up to a machine every few days and with restrictions on food and drink.
The news that Leicester's unit may have turned down kidneys that might have been used locally, will not sit well with people waiting for that phone call.
People die waiting for a kidney.
The decision on whether or not to accept an organ for transplant can be a tricky one for surgeons and sometimes they might think it's worth waiting for a better match.
The review team visited last week to speak to staff, examine paperwork and patients' outcomes.
It found no patients had been harmed, the trust said, but it raised questions about the "policies, processes and guidelines" and also the way the team worked together.
Andrew Furlong, the trust's deputy medical director, said it was "incredibly disappointing".
He added: "We have decided to pause the surgery because for this, or any other kind of complex surgical procedure, we have to have cast iron processes, policies and procedures underpinning the surgery itself and good team working between the clinicians, until it can be independently verified that these are in place we would prefer to err on the side of caution."
The review team will return in two weeks and will make further recommendations including whether kidney transplants should resume.
Three patients were due to have live...

Summary: Kidney transplants in Leicester have been suspended for at least two weeks while an urgent review is carried out.
###
Article: Charles Bloch, 22, was with his girlfriend and dog Carlo on Friday when he was told by a taxi driver he could not take the dog for religious reasons.
It is the second time this year Mr Bloch has been refused a taxi because of his dog but this time his girlfriend shared a video of it on social media.
ADT Taxis admitted its driver broke the law and he has since been sacked.
Commenting on the case, Leicester City Council said religion was "not a sensible excuse" and drivers are told about the law on their licence and during exams.
"It's extremely frustrating," said Mr Bloch, a student at De Montfort University in Leicester. "But, it's a very common thing and happens a lot."
Mr Bloch has deteriorating eyesight due to glaucoma and in April was refused a ride by an Uber driver who also cited religious reasons.
"I have no hatred towards the driver and his religion, and I would respect that if the law wasn't there, but the law is there to help people be more integrated into the community," he said.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act, it is illegal for a private hire vehicle to refuse to take a disabled person because they have an assistance dog, nor can they charge more.
Anyone found guilty of an offence under the act is liable to a fine.
Assistance dogs are defined as dogs trained to guide someone who is blind, deaf, epileptic or suffers a condition which affects mobility.
Drivers can apply to a licensing authority for exemption from carrying assistance dogs, but only on medical grounds.
Source: UK Government
ADT Taxis posted a statement on its Facebook page, saying it was "deeply ashamed" by the driver's conduct.
A city council spokesman said: "Drivers are legally required to accept bookings from passengers with assistance dogs unless the driver has a medical exemption certificate.
"We're not aware of any taxi drivers in Leicester to which this applies."
He said they were considering whether to revoke the driver's licence and had contacted Mr Bloch with regards to legal action being taken.

Summary: A blind man was barred from using a taxi by a driver who took religious exception to his guide dog.
###
Article: Dr Ian Paterson denies 20 counts of wounding with intent against nine women and one man at Nottingham Crown Court.
He said he had never told alleged victims they had "a ticking bomb" of cancer inside them.
He said the phrase appears in three witness statements which was "clear evidence" statements have been coached.
"It's a scary thing, why would I intentionally scare a patient, that you've got a time bomb?" he said.
More updates on this and other stories in Birmingham and the Black Country
The 59-year-old also said one patient, John Ingram, who had a double mastectomy after tests showed only potentially abnormal cells, was a "quivering mass of anxiety", convinced he would get cancer.
Nothing he told him would have changed his mind, Mr Paterson said.
Mr Ingram gave evidence saying Mr Paterson, who worked at hospitals run by the Heart of England NHS Trust and Spire Healthcare, told him in 2006 he was "on the road to developing breast cancer".
But Mr Paterson, of Ashley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, said on Wednesday that Mr Ingram's memory had become "confused" over time.
He described his patient as a "troubled gentleman with multiple phobias - one of them breast cancer, because his mother had died of breast cancer, aged 42".
"So the minute he had an abnormality in his chest wall, in his head he was on the way to getting breast cancer," he said.
"Very little I told him thereafter would disavow him of that view."
Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC asked whether it was "quite wrong" to say he would "travel in time towards cancer".
Mr Paterson said: "I doubt I said that, simply because nobody has a crystal ball."
The trial continues.

Summary:


The government has announced that it will be issuing a new law on the use of the term "hippy crack" in the UK.
The new law would apply to all substances that are capable of producing a psychoactive effect, including mephedrone, which is used for food processing, medicinal and industrial purposes.

A new "blanket ban" on so-called legal highs will carry prison sentences of up to seven years, the government says.

Article: The change will eventually mean swapping the home routers of millions of customers as older devices cannot work with the new system.
About 1.5 million BT customers already use IPv6-ready hardware.
Rival Sky has converted about one million customers to IPv6, and many mobile operators use it widely.
The net is steadily moving to adopt IPv6 because stocks of the older addresses have run out.
In a presentation to an industry conference, BT said it planned to "enable" IPv6 on half of its network by April 2016 and complete the transition by the end of the same year.
BT currently has about 7.8 million customers, and 6.3 million of those use its Homehub 4, which cannot currently work with IPv6.
BT said it was "looking at options" for how to upgrade that hardware to use v6 addressing.
As hardware is changed, BT intends to support both old and new addressing systems on its network to avoid disruption.
Sky said it was running extensive trials that had, so far, converted more than one million customers and staff to IPv6. The BBC understands that the majority of Sky customers should be switched over by early 2016.
TalkTalk and Virgin are currently running smaller scale trials.
Adrian Kennard, who runs the A&A ISP and has been offering IPv6 for 13 years, welcomed news of BT's plans and wished it luck with the project.
"Our experience deploying IPv6 was that we did not find any serious problems and that it all 'just works'," he said. "Hopefully, other major providers will follow soon."
Mobile networks have been among the most aggressive adopters of IPv6, because the addressing system is widely supported on modern handsets.
"It's easier for the mobile operators to do this due to the nature of the smartphone devices they sell, and the rate at which consumers refresh them," said Dr Tim Chown, co-chairman of the UK's IPv6 Council and a computer science lecturer at the University of Southampton.
Already, he said, 30-50% of all the browsing that people do would be via IPv6, because widely used content networks and websites,...

Summary: BT has announced that by the end of 2016 its entire network will be able to use IPv6 - the next version of the net's core addressing system.
###
Article: Details of the cost, sign posting, and enforcement are due in a report in March.
Work on the scheme is due to begin later this year with it being completed over three financial years.
The plans were approved by members of the council's transport and environment committee.
About 25 miles of Edinburgh's roads, from Arthur's Seat to Blackford Hill, are already covered by a 20mph limit.
The scheme is designed to improve safety and encourage more people to walk or cycle.
Environmental campaigners welcomed the move but some cautioned that more needs to be done to tackle air pollution and encourage active transport.
The local authority said the new arrangements will come into effect on a phased basis from the end of the year onwards, provided the necessary speed limit orders are secured.
Limits of 30mph and 40mph will be maintained on key arterial routes in the city.
Transport convener Lesley Hinds said: "I'm pleased that committee has today given the green light for our 20mph plans.
"This initiative has been under development for nearly three years and we've carried out a huge amount of public consultation.
"The most recent and most extensive consultation last autumn found that 60% of respondents were supportive or strongly supportive of our proposals."
Friends of the Earth Scotland's air pollution campaigner Emilia Hanna said: "We welcome Edinburgh Council's decision to introduce 20mph zones across the city.
"20mph zones will create safer, more attractive and more enjoyable streets for everyone. They will encourage more cycling and walking and help to fight dangerous air pollution.
"One of the biggest barriers to walking and cycling is fear of speeding traffic, so 20mph zones, if accompanied by greater investment in active travel infrastructure, could transform how people move around the city."
Figures released by the charity at the weekend showed that some streets in Edinburgh are still breaking Scottish and European standards for clean air.
It said 20mph zones can lead to traffic flowing more smoothly, cutting...

Summary: Councillors have passed plans for more than 80% of Edinburgh's roads, including the whole of the city centre, to have a 20mph (32kmph) speed limit.
###
Article: Ministers are to publish draft laws they say are a "landmark" in prohibiting the substances' production, distribution, sale and supply.
Legal highs, officially called new psychoactive substances, have been linked to a number of deaths.
Ministers said young people who took them were "taking exceptional risks with their health".
A blanket ban on legal highs, which are often sold online or on the high street, was in the Conservative Party's election manifesto and featured in the Queen's Speech.
Labour also promised to ban their sale and distribution in its manifesto.
The Psychoactive Substances Bill applied to "any substance intended for human consumption that is capable of producing a psychoactive effect", the government said.
Alcohol, tobacco and caffeine will be excluded, and there are also exemptions for food and medical products, while controlled drugs will continue to be regulated by existing laws.
The new restrictions will also extend to the sale of nitrous oxide - also known as laughing gas or "hippy crack" - for human use.
What are legal highs?
The government said the "legitimate sale" of nitrous oxide, which is also used for food processing, medicinal and industrial purposes, would not be affected.
Home Office minister Mike Penning said the measures would "fundamentally change the way we tackle new psychoactive substances".
They would end the "game of cat and mouse" whereby new drugs appeared on the market more quickly than the government could identify and ban them, he said.
He added: "The blanket ban will give police and other law enforcement agencies greater powers to tackle the reckless trade in psychoactive substances, instead of having to take a substance-by-substance approach."
Legal highs are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act, although individual substances, such as mephedrone, have been outlawed.
The government's proposals would apply throughout the United Kingdom, and would include powers to seize and destroy legal highs and to search people, premises and vehicles.
Civil measures -...

Summary:


The US is the biggest market in the world, with a total of 1.5 trillion yen ($1.1bn; Â£1.1bn) in the year.
The US is the biggest market in the world, with a total of 1.5 trillion yen ($1.1bn;

Toyota says its full-year profits will be better than expected thanks to a pick-up in sales and a boost from currency fluctuations.

Article: Tim Farron said the Labour leader was "blinkered" to the risk of an exit in the 23 June referendum.
Mr Corbyn was forced to defend himself after criticism he was not making a more "passionate" case to Remain.
Mr Farron urged unhappy Labour members to switch to his "united force".
At the Lib Dems' spring conference in York, he said: "Jeremy Corbyn, please do not let your own internal party chaos get in the way of winning this campaign.
"I know you may have wanted to leave in the past, but we treat your conversion as genuine and so I ask you to show the zeal of the convert and get on board."
He added: "If your party leadership remains blinkered to the risk, then your party is sleepwalking to the exit. So, come with us, share a platform, and let's make the positive, unified case that we all believe in."
Mr Corbyn, a longstanding critic of the EU, has defended Labour's campaigning on the referendum, saying his party is pushing for "a social Europe".
Speaking on a visit to Dagenham on Tuesday, the Labour leader said there were issues on which the EU should be challenged, but "at the moment we're campaigning because we want this sense of unity across Europe".
His spokesman added he would be making a "big" speech on the EU "in due course".
Mr Farron also attacked Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith for "appalling" claims last month that staying in the EU would leave the country vulnerable to a Paris-style terrorism attack.
"Some of the rhetoric in the campaign recently has been unpleasant, to put it mildly," Mr Farron told a rally of party activists.
"People on both sides have tried to scaremonger about borders, refugees and migrants. Using desperate people fleeing war and terror as pawns to score points is appalling and it is weak.
"This campaign needs the opposite. This campaign needs strength and compassion."

Summary: Jeremy Corbyn should not allow "internal party chaos" to jeopardise the campaign to keep Britain in the European Union, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has said.
###
Article: He initially planned to speak at the event in June but pulled out following advice from Palestinian academics.
Pro-Palestinian campaigners said the 71-year-old wrote to the organisers on 3 May saying that he had planned to criticise the Israeli government.
The conference chairman criticised the move as "improper".
Previous speakers at the Israeli Presidential Conference include former UK prime minister Tony Blair, former US president George W Bush and former US Secretary of State and Nobel Peace laureate Dr Henry Kissinger.
A statement published on Tuesday by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, with Prof Hawking's approval, said: "This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there."
A spokesman for the University of Cambridge - where Prof Hawking is a director of research - said the scientist had written to the Israeli president's office regarding his decision.
"We had understood previously that his decision was based purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly," the spokesman added.
The withdrawal follows representations Prof Hawking received from Palestinian academics and pro-Palestinian groups.
But he was sharply criticised by conference organisers.
"The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty lies at the basis of his human and academic mission," conference chairman Israel Maimon said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Fair Play group, which campaigns against boycotts of Israel, described the scientist's withdrawal as "bizarre".
"Prof Hawking could have joined the conference and explained his views on the conflict in the region, just as many other participants have done.
"By boycotting the conference, he has thrown away this opportunity and will help nobody."
The Israeli Ambassador in London said it was a shame Prof Hawking would not be attending.
"Rather than caving into...

Summary: UK cosmologist Prof Stephen Hawking has withdrawn from a high-profile Israeli conference, in support of an academic boycott of the country.
###
Article: The Japanese firm expects net profit in the year to March of 1.7 trillion yen ($15.1bn; Â£12.1bn), compared with a previous forecast of 1.55 trillion yen.
That is despite losing its top-selling carmaker status to Volkswagen in 2016,
Meanwhile, Toyota said it had begun formal talks to work with Suzuki on projects including safety technology.
Analysts said the partnership - which could also involve collaboration on vehicles that were less damaging to the environment - would give Suzuki access to Toyota's technology. Benefits for Toyota are likely to include tapping in to Suzuki's strong market position in India.
The forecast for 2016-17 profits is still below the 2.1 trillion yen profit it recorded a year earlier.
But with Japan's yen weakening against the dollar, it will benefit from sales overseas which are worth more when converted back into the local currency.
Like other Japanese carmakers, Toyota is watching closely for any trade tariffs introduced by the new US administration.
At the moment, only about half of the cars it sells in the country are manufactured locally. Last month, US President Donald Trump criticised it for making vehicles in Mexico to sell over the border.
The US is its biggest market, and it is struggling to meet demand for bigger vehicles such as sport utility vehicles. Lower petrol prices have made such models more affordable to drive.

Summary:


Stronger than expected jobs figures helped to lift US stocks on Friday, leading the Dow to another record.

Article: Colin Evans, 39, was found dead at home in Broomfield Road, Chelmsford, Essex, in September 2014.
He had been stabbed multiple times by Jose Correia Agrela, of no fixed address, who fled wearing his victim's clothes and taking his pet dog.
Agrela, 30, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years and three months at Chelmsford Crown Court.
On sentencing, Judge Christopher Ball QC told him he had abused the help of a man who "had befriended you, offered you food and friendship".
Agrela denied murder - trying to claim someone else killed Mr Evans while he had been out walking the dog, Sweep - but was convicted in court last month.
Det Ch Insp Martin Passmore, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said Mr Evans had invited Agrela into his home "as an act of charity after he became homeless".
"It beggars belief that Agrela could launch such an attack on a man who had given him a roof over his head," he said.
He added the sentence length reflected the "savage nature of the attack".

Summary: A homeless man who brutally murdered a cafe worker who had "befriended" him has been jailed for more than 20 years.
###
Article: -6%
Overall use since 2006
-12% Bus passengers
-7% Ferry passengers
+29%  ScotRail passengers
The National Transport Strategy also said that in the same period, traffic on the country's roads went up by 2%.
Transport Minister Derek Mackay said the Scottish government had "invested heavily" in transport since the first strategy was published in 2006.
He added that progress in key areas had been made, "despite the recession".
The updated strategy looked at trends and statistics over the last nine years and said;
The report also detailed the "significant" fall in road deaths.
It said the number of people killed was down from 314 in 2006 to 200 in 2014, a reduction of 36%.
Director of lobby group Transform Scotland, Colin Howden, said it was "tragic" that there had been "absolutely no progress" in moving people from cars to public transport.
He added: "As the new strategy sets out, the past decade has seen a 2% increase in traffic levels, while public transport use has declined by 6%.
"Whether one wants to tackle congestion, improve connectivity, or cut emissions, the evidence in this new strategy highlights a wasted decade in improving Scotland's transport."
However, Mr Mackay believed the review had produced "good news" on a range of issues including;
He said: "Rail has performed particularly strongly with more passengers than ever before now choosing to travel on Scotland's railways, with the newly opened Borders Railway leading the line in this success.
"The Scottish government has committed Â£5bn to transforming Scotland's rail network, including Â£475mn for the largest-ever train improvement programme seen in Scotland.
"This will see 10% more trains for the ScotRail fleet, providing 23% extra seats for passengers, and mean that 90% of all Scotland's trains will either be new or fully refurbished by 2019."
And Transport Scotland said that despite the economic squeeze investment in the infrastructure had continued since 2006.
A spokesman pointed to the growth in rail passengers which had recorded a 30%...

Summary: The number of people using public transport in Scotland over the last nine years has fallen by 6%, a new report has revealed.
###
Article: Official data showed the US economy added 209,000 jobs last month, beating analysts' expectations, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%.
The Dow Jones closed at a record for the eighth consecutive day, rising 0.3% to 22,092.81.
The wider S&P 500 index closed up 0.19% at 2,476.83, while the Nasdaq rose 0.18% to 6,351.56.
Analysts said the latest jobs report meant the Federal Reserve was still on track to raise interest rates later this year, which would be the third increase in 2017.
Shares of banks, which benefit from higher rates, saw some of the most significant gains on Friday. Goldman Sachs was among the biggest winners on the Dow, rising 2.6%.
Among individual stocks, Viacom shares sank nearly 14% after it forecast a drop in sales to US pay-TV companies and streaming services in the current quarter.
Consumer review website operator Yelp saw its shares jump by more than a quarter after it announced the sale of its Eat24 business to Grubhub for $287.5m.
Yelp also reported revenues of $209m for the second quarter of the year, which beat analysts' expectations.
US stocks are in record territory this year. The Nasdaq is up almost 17% since January. The Dow has risen 11% and the S&P 500 is climbed almost 10%.

Summary:


The two men were arrested on suspicion of murder in the early hours of the morning.
The two men were arrested on suspicion of murder in the early hours of the morning.
The two men were arrested on suspicion of murder in the early hours of the morning.
The two men were arrested on suspicion of murder in

Two men arrested in connection with the suspected murder of a missing man have been released on bail.

Article: It is the terminus where the heroine of Leo Tolstoy's 19th Century novel Anna Karenina watches a man being cut in two by a train - a warning of the tragedy to come.
Today the station is still a busy place, with long-distance trains setting off for St Petersburg and the Arctic.
This month, on a Tuesday night, well after midnight, an elderly woman made her way through the crowds and bustle to board the "Arktika" express to Murmansk. It was the start of a long journey in a two-bed sleeper compartment.
Marina Khodorkovskaya was not heading for Murmansk. She was planning to alight a few stops earlier at Segezha - a scruffy town close to the Arctic Circle, known for its pulp and paper factory and for the gulag of the Stalin era.
These days there is still a prison in Segezha - Penal Colony No 7.
That is where Mrs Khodorkovskaya was heading to visit her son Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, and now seen by many as its longest serving political prisoner.
She makes the journey every three months, and this month she agreed that we could travel with her.
She told me she had lost count of the number of times over the last 10 years that she had made the journey either to Segezha or to Eastern Siberia where her son use to be held.
"I used to collect tickets," she recalled. "But then I threw them all away."
When she described the visiting room, it sounded more suited to violent criminals than those convicted of economic crimes.
"It is a long room divided into two with prisoners on one side and relatives on the other," she explained. "Then there are partitions - each with a little desk and a phone set on either of the thick glass. If somebody talks loudly next to you, you can hardly hear anything."
The journey to Segezha takes 20 hours in each direction. The three-monthly visits last four hours.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky is also allowed a 15-minute weekly phone call from a booth outside.
"It's very cold there in winter," Mrs Khodorkovskaya said. "Once we thought he was ill, because he was speaking very strangely....

Summary: Moscow's Leningradsky Vokzal is the best known railway station in Russia.
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Article: About 86% were ranked in these top two categories of school effectiveness by Ofsted, up from 84% in August.
Primary schools performed better, with 87% judged good or outstanding, compared with 76% of secondaries.
There are still big regional variations, with fewer good schools in large parts of northern England and the Midlands.
In these areas, there are 17 local authority areas where fewer than 60% of secondary schools are judged good or outstanding.
In the south and east of England, there are seven local authorities in this situation.
At the lower end, Ofsted said: "Primary schools continue to perform more strongly than secondary schools, and at the end of March 75% of primary schools that required improvement had improved at their next inspection.
"However, the proportion of secondary schools that improved from 'requires improvement' has increased from 45% in August 2015 to 52% as at March 2016."
The Department for Education said: "In this academic year alone 100,000 more pupils are now benefiting from attending good or outstanding schools."
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: "We are determined to spread educational excellence everywhere and today's figures reveal that we have come a long way in doing just this.
"Since 2010 over 1.4 million more children attend the best schools in our country - a triumph for hard-working teachers and pupils everywhere."
Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "This continued progress has come despite severe funding pressures and teacher shortages.
"These issues must be tackled urgently in order to maintain and raise standards further.
"Young people only get one chance to go through their school and college career and a successful education system is essential for the future economic and social wellbeing of our country."

Summary: There has been a slight increase in the proportion of schools and academies in England judged good or outstanding.
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Article: Chris May, 28, was last seen by family at his home in Kelvedon on 25 May 2015. His abandoned Volkswagen Golf was found 10 miles (16km) away in Fairstead.
His case was formally declared a murder by Essex Police investigation exactly a year later.
A 35-year-old Braintree man and a 25-year-man from Kelvedon have been released pending further inquiries.
The two men will have to report back to police in late July.

Summary:


The UN has been criticised for not being able to provide women with a voice in the world of women's empowerment.
The UN has been criticised for not being able to provide women with a voice in the world of women's empowerment.
The UN has been criticised for not being able to provide women with a voice in

The UN has ended its campaign with comic book heroine Wonder Woman, a spokesman says, less than two months after her appointment sparked outrage.

Article: Norman Davies, 56, took the Patterdale terrier for a walk in May to a secluded area before holding her collar and cutting her with a kitchen knife.
Misty managed to escape and was found the next day before being taken to the vets, who were able to save her.
Davies, of Grafton Road, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, admitted causing unnecessary suffering at an earlier hearing before magistrates in Chester.
He admitted in an interview to slitting the three-year-old dog's throat because she was "urinating inside", the RSPCA said.
Davies has also been banned from keeping animals for life.
RSPCA inspector Lisa Lupson said: "Misty would have been absolutely terrified and it would have been excruciatingly painful for her.
"Davies cut clean through her skin but missed her main arteries. If Misty had not managed to get free when she did then she may not be here today - she had an incredibly lucky escape."
Misty has since been rehomed and is "making progress", she added.

Summary: A man who slit his pet dog's throat has been jailed for 18 weeks.
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Article: Dumfries and Galloway Council has terminated the lease for the fixed nets near Annan.
It followed warnings that the nets may be intercepting salmon destined for the River Eden in Cumbria.
The Salmon and Trout Association (Scotland) said the council could be breaching the EU's Habitats Directive.
It threatened a judicial review if the local authority did not agree to halt stake net fishing immediately.
A spokesman for the council said it ended the lease "with much regret".
"However, we take our environmental responsibilities seriously and understood that to continue at this point in time without having conducted a proper scientific assessment with conclusive results would be in breach of the Habitats Directive," he added.
"Our council maintained the stake nets licences for as long as possible in the face of challenge until the legal advice indicated that this position was untenable."
He said the matter will be kept under review and the decision will not affect traditional haaf and poke netting on the River Annan.
Andrew Graham-Stewart, the director of the Salmon and Trout Association (Scotland), welcomed the move by the council.
He said: "Against a background of declining wild salmon stocks across almost all of the North Atlantic, the Solway rivers have been particularly badly affected with precipitous declines.
"The evidence from rod catches is compelling."
The River Annan's rod catch of 317 in 2014 compared to a five-year average of 1,557.
In the Nith in the same year, the rod catch was 520 - significantly lower than the 1,658 average.
Mr Graham-Stewart said the River Eden's rod catch in 2014 was 40% of the five-year average.
He added: "In the circumstances there can now be no justification for any commercial salmon netting in the Solway."
Nick Chisholm, director of the Royal Annan District Salmon Fisheries Board, said: "I think it's a brave and right decision by Dumfries and Galloway Council. It wasn't an easy one for them to make."
Stake nets are fixed into the ground on parts of the Solway coast.  At...

Summary: Fishermen have been banned from using stake nets in the Solway Firth in an effort to boost salmon numbers in nearby rivers.
###
Article: The superhero had been declared an honorary ambassador to promote messages about women's empowerment and gender-based violence.
The character's "sexualised" appearance was one element critics seized on to deem the choice inappropriate.
A petition against the selection gathered nearly 45,000 signatures.
The UN did not explain why the project with Wonder Woman, announced in October, would end on Friday.
But spokesman Jeffrey Brez said campaigns using fictional characters often lasted no longer than a few months, Reuters news agency reported.
DC Entertainment, which publishes DC Comics, said it was pleased with the exposure Wonder Woman had brought to the cause.
Warner Bros and DC Entertainment are supporting a year-long campaign by the UN and its children's agency, Unicef, for gender equality and women's empowerment.
In the petition against the character's appointment, opponents said the image she projected was "not culturally encompassing or sensitive".
"It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualised image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls," it said.
Wonder Woman - an Amazonian from the all-female paradise of Themyscira - masquerades as Diana Prince, whose occupations include an army nurse, until her services are called on by a society in peril.
She first came to the public's attention in October 1941, and was most famously played by actress Lynda Carter in the hit US TV series that ran from 1975-79.
The announcement came as the UN itself was under criticism for having a lack of gender parity in senior roles.
Despite campaigns there has never been a female secretary general and one analysis found that in 2015 nine of 10 senior leadership jobs went to men.

Summary:


The Harlow 70 council is a historic landmark in the town.
The town is home to the largest number of residents, with a population of over 1,000.
The town is home to the largest number of residents, with a population of over 1,000.
The town is home to the largest number

Harlow is celebrating the 70th anniversary of being designated a new town.

Article: The fund, which pays for drugs not routinely available on the NHS, has cut the number of treatments offered in order to balance the books.
Four appeals were subsequently rejected, but Regorafenib will now continue to be offered on the scheme.
Charities had criticised the decision to remove the other drugs.
All the drugs on the Cancer Drugs Fund have been rejected by the NHS as a whole for not being cost-effective.
Meanwhile NHS England announced that this fund was due to go Â£100m over budget in 2014-15.
In a large review of how the fund operated, NHS England decided to continue paying for only 59 of the 84 treatments it had previously offered as recently as January.
At the same time, three new drugs were added to the scheme.
Many of the companies who had drugs removed from the list appealed against the decisions, and five drugs were reappraised.
As a result just one, Regorafenib which is developed by Bayer, will now continue to be offered.
Prof Peter Clark, the chairman of the fund, said: "We have been through a robust, evidence-based process to ensure the drugs available through the Cancer Drugs Fund continue to offer the best clinical benefit, getting the most for patients from every pound that we have.
"These are difficult decisions, but if we don't continue to prioritise the drugs that offer the best value, many people could miss out on promising, more effective treatments that are in the pipeline."
Olaparib, an ovarian cancer therapy, will not be funded on the scheme.
Katherine Taylor, from Ovarian Cancer Action, said: "Women living with ovarian cancer deserve the right to have access to effective, proven treatments.
"We strongly urge NHS England to make this ground-breaking treatment available to the patients who so desperately need it."
Paul Catchpole, from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said: "The ABPI believes that the CDF re-evaluation process is fundamentally flawed and the CDF remains a sticking plaster covering a seeping wound.
"A sustainable solution is urgently required."

Summary: The Cancer Drugs Fund in England will continue to pay for a stomach cancer drug after an appeal by the manufacturer.
###
Article: The accord, signed with the left-wing rebel group last month, was narrowly rejected in a national referendum.
Mr Santos has spent the past few days meeting those who campaigned for a "No" vote.
He will take new proposals to a meeting with Farc leaders in the Cuban capital, Havana.
The original ceasefire ended with the referendum and has already been extended until 31 October.
In a televised address, Mr Santos said he had made the decision to extend the ceasefire further after meeting student leaders who had organised marches through Bogota in support of the peace deal.
"One of the students reminded me that in the army and in the guerrilla ranks, there are young people waiting to see what happens, hoping that they don't need to fire another shot," he said.
"For that reason, and at the request of the students, I have taken the decision to extend the ceasefire until 31 December."
Mr Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for reaching the peace agreement, which took more than four years to negotiate.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Ivan Marquez, the Farc's lead negotiator at the peace talks in Havana, denied that the original agreement was moribund.
"This final accord is the key, is the formula, is the roadmap to peace - a peace with dignity, which is what we want, and with democracy," he said.
Mr Marquez acknowledged the "no" campaign's victory in the referendum, but said: "It was a technical draw between the 'no' and the 'yes'. The 'no' didn't obtain an absolute majority. But they have an Achilles heel: the 'no' campaign was constructed on a base of lies."
Former president, Alvaro Uribe, who led the "no" campaign, has called for the Farc's top leadership to serve prison sentences, but that concession is unlikely to come from the guerrillas.
"If Alvaro Uribe couldn't win the war [in the eight years he was president]," Mr Marquez said, "then he should move aside and let Colombians make peace."
But Mr Marquez insisted a process of consultation between all sides, including the millions who abstained in...

Summary: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has extended a ceasefire with Farc rebels until the end of the year to give more time to save a peace deal.
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Article: It became one of the UK's first post-war settlements in 1947 following the previous year's New Towns Act.
It is credited as having the first modern high-rise residential tower block, The Lawn, which opened in 1951.
Designed for 60,000 by English architect, Frederick Gibberd, the town also included the first all-pedestrian shopping precinct.
In April 1964, councillor Reginald Ward, chairman of the Harlow Urban District Council, showed off Harlow to visiting Italian prime minister Aldo Moro, from the roof gallery of the Town Hall.
Today, Harlow is a thriving town with a population of 85,500, which includes residents from a wide range of countries.
A mural featuring Harlow citizens, including its MP Conservative Robert Halfon, was created by Polish artist Jola Kudela for the book festival this month.
The artwork, called "We're all the same boat", was created after a Polish man was killed in the town.
The artist Ms Kudela said: "The message is just relax guys and let's live together peacefully and quietly."
A large number of events are being planned to celebrate the town's 70th birthday and more information is available on the Harlow 70 council website.

Summary:


A 30-year-old man has been released on bail after being arrested by police investigating phone hacking at the News of the World.

Article: Belfast City Council pulled funding of about Â£1,000, some of which was to be used for a children's fun day at Sandy Row on Tuesday.
One of the organisers said local people had been told the council had expressed concerns about the height of the nearby bonfire.
The council said discussions were ongoing in relation to the funding.
Sandy Row's children's fun day and bonfire celebrations have been taking place on the eve of the annual Twelfth of July commemorations, which mark the victory of William III at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The bonfire, that contains hundreds of wooden pallets, is in a car park near a hotel.
One of the organisers of the street party, John Cameron, said he believed the bonfire builders had complied with the council's policies.
He added that there was a lot of disappointment in the area that the council had pulled its support for a children's party at such short notice - but that the event had gone ahead with the support of local businesses.
"Children don't understand that, so the community has got together, along with local businesses, and they have managed to pull together a fun day," he said.
"It's a real tribute to the people of Sandy Row to make sure that it goes ahead."
An MLA for the area, Christopher Stalford, was among those who criticised the council's move and is seeking an explanation.
In a letter to council officials, the DUP MP said Sandy Row residents were "absolutely aghast at the decision that has been taken and feel very saddened and offended".
Mr Stalford asked: "If the issue is related to the bonfire in Sandy Row, why is the event which is held hundreds of yards away being penalised?"
Mr Cameron said the Sandy Row bonfire had been in the news for weeks and those responsible for building it had tried to abide by the advice of the council.
The police and the council are holding separate investigations into the alleged theft of hundreds of wooden pallets that had been placed in storage on council-controlled land in advance of Eleventh Night bonfires.
Mr Cameron said...

Summary: A loyalist community in Belfast has expressed anger that council funding has been withheld for a street party.
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Article: This year its near neighbour, Newcastle, is aiming to come hot on its heels, and also finish finish its three counts before midnight.
Previously, its results came in at about 04:00 BST, described as "not great for a core city".
It is hoped a new, larger venue, and an electronic system will aid the process.
A Newcastle City Council spokesman said: "We just want to be as effective as a core city should be.
"It's not like we're bringing ballot boxes in from remote regions, so we've streamlined our systems to bring them up to date."
The main difference is the location, with the count taking place at Northumbria University's Sport Central.
"Historically it's always been at the Civic Centre, where space has been quite constrained," the spokesman said.
"It looks big but there's not much space to move around.
"The move means we can operate three counts simultaneously instead of just one at a time, and use more staff which will be much more effective.
"Students will be running in with the 128 ballot boxes, and we have a new electronic system to count them in, because it's not just about speed but also accuracy."
The cost of hiring the Sport Central venue will be offset by not having to do two separate counts.
Sunderland began its run of first declarations in 1992, when officials decided to mark its new city status by delivering results on polling day.
The process is now down to a fine art, with schoolchildren passing ballot boxes down the line and bank tellers counting the votes.
Lighter paper with a weight of 80g per sq m, rather than 100g, is used for the ballot papers, making them easier to handle, and voters are instructed to fold them only once, from north to south.
For the past two general elections the council has declared its three result before midnight, and this year Newcastle is hoping to do the same.
However, while it might be taking a leaf out of its rival's book, Newcastle's first result is not expected until an hour after Sunderland's.
In addition, both councils have categorically dismissed any idea of...

Summary: For the past five general elections the counting team at Sunderland has been the first to declare, with a result less than an hour after polls close.
###
Article: The man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to intercept voicemail messages and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The arrest took place by appointment at a north London police station; the man is in police custody.
He has been bailed to a date in mid January 2012.
He was arrested by officers from Scotland Yard's fresh investigation into phone hacking, Operation Weeting.
On Tuesday, a 71-year-old Stuart Kuttner, an ex-News of the World managing editor, was rearrested and bailed as part of the phone-hacking probe.
Mr Kuttner was originally arrested on 2 August on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption, and bailed.
He has now been bailed to a date in September, the Metropolitan Police said.
The Met's Operation Weeting is investigating illegal hacking of the mobile phone voicemails of public figures by the now-defunct News of the World newspaper.
The latest arrest is the 15th to be made on suspicion of phone hacking since Operation Weeting was launched in January. It happened just after midday.
BBC home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds said the age of the arrested person suggested someone more junior compared to some of the more senior executives who have been arrested by the police so far.
It is a long-running investigation and there would almost certainly be further arrests, our correspondent added.
Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and ex-Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson are among those who have already been arrested as part of the inquiry.
The scandal has led Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and Assistant Commissioner John Yates to resign, and the News of the World to close down after 168 years.

Summary:


The commission has been criticised for its handling of the dispute with crofters.

The convener of Scotland's Crofting Commission has reiterated he will not stand down amid a heated public dispute over common grazings - unless he is forced to by the Scottish government.

Article: The program - Moments - was released in some countries in 2015, but withheld elsewhere because of local data privacy rules.
The company has created a different version of the software to get around these restrictions.
But it acknowledged the new edition required "a little bit of work" for users to get the most out of it.
Moment's core features are that it automatically groups together photos featuring the same friend or friends, and then makes it easy to share the pictures with them if they have installed the same app.
In the original version, the snaps are automatically tagged with people's names, because Facebook is able to match them to other photos in its wider database.
But data protection watchdogs in the EU and Canada had expressed concern their citizens would have no way to opt out of the process.
To address this, the adapted app now links together photos of similar-looking faces but requires the user to identify who they are.
Moments is not the only app to use facial recognition to sort images.
Google Photos is the most popular alternative to do so.
But the search giant has yet to extend the facility to Europe, to avoid falling foul of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner.
Facebook has not disclosed how many people have signed up to Moments since its release on the US's iOS and Android stores 11 months ago.
However, the company has said more than 600 million pictures have been shared via the app so far.
"Our primary purpose is to solve a problem that we know that people have, where they never get the photos that their friends take of them," the app's product manager Will Ruben told the BBC.
"We view that as a pretty different type of sharing than might happen on Facebook, where people share photos more broadly with a large group of friends or even publicly.
"Moments is closer to the type of sharing that might happen these days on Whatsapp or other [private] messaging apps - but it places the photos together into a collection."
Users decide which photos are shared with the people labelled in them,...

Summary: Facebook has launched its facial-recognition-powered photo-sharing app in the EU and Canada.
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Article: City Hall said as of May 2015, 14,350 of private sector landlords had signed up to the London Rental Standard.
Labour said the scheme was "failing renters" and the mayor's pledge to sign up 100,000 landlords by May 2016 would take decades.
But, the deputy mayor of housing said the scheme had been a "huge success".
The standard, launched last May, offers letting agents and landlords a badge if they meet a set of criteria, including improved property conditions and quicker repairs and maintenance.
It combines seven separate accreditation schemes under a single framework.
About 331 letting agents managing an estimated 121,000 properties have signed up, the mayor's office said.
Richard Blakeway, deputy mayor for housing, said: "Most landlords own just one property, whereas signing up a single branch of a letting agency reaches an estimated 200 homes.
"This is a huge success in one year and we look forward to working with thousands more landlords and agents to help get a better deal for renters as this scheme grows."
But, London Assembly's Labour group claims of those landlords counted as members, 13,512 were already signed up to various other accreditation schemes, meaning there were fewer than 1,000 new joiners.
Member Tom Copley said: "We need real change in the private rented sector. Londoners need the peace of mind and security of longer tenancy agreements, caps on rent increases and an end to no fault evictions.
"Instead, Boris Johnson's soft touch and self-regulatory approach is leaving private renters with little protection from bad landlords."

Summary: A voluntary scheme aimed at improving rental standards has been criticised after only 12% of London landlords signed up in a year.
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Article: Last month, the board of crofting's regulatory body apologised for its handling of the dispute with crofters.
It also asked convener Colin Kennedy to resign.
But Mr Kennedy told BBC Scotland's Sunday Politics Scotland he was staying in the post.
The dispute relates to the running of common grazings, including at Mangersta and Upper Coll on Lewis.
Mr Kennedy said: "I have no intention of resigning.
"As matters stand, I believe the commission have acted wholly within the law at all times and until such times as we have legal advice to the contrary, I will maintain my position."
Last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scottish government ministers had the power to intervene in the affairs of the troubled commission.
She said ministers would not ordinarily get involved in the internal operations of the commission.
However, during First Minister's Questions in Holyrood on Thursday, she said legislation did give them the power to intervene if required.

Summary: