BBC Scotland has written to the leaders of the main Holyrood political parties inviting them to discuss setting up general election debates.

The proposed TV debates would involve the leaders of the four major parties.
There is also a proposal by broadcasters for three UK prime ministerial debates.
The SNP has attacked its exclusion from the UK-wide debates, while the Scottish Greens said they should take part in the Scottish programmes.
Both parties, which campaigned for Scottish independence, have reported a big increase in membership in the wake of the referendum last month.
And UKIP, whose leader Nigel Farage is to be included in a UK-wide election debate, said its Scottish MEP, David Coburn, should take part in the debate in Scotland.
The proposed debates would be screened on BBC One Scotland and also made available across the UK.
A BBC Scotland spokesman said: "In Scotland, the BBC is proposing a debate, in peak time on BBC One, involving the leaders of the SNP, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservative and Scottish Liberal Democrat parties.
"We have written to the parties today to begin discussions about our proposals and we will ensure impartiality during the election in Scotland.
"Full details of our content will be released over the coming months once they are finalised."
The BBC, ITV, BSkyB and Channel 4 are also planning three UK-wide prime ministerial debates.
One would involve a head-to-head debate between the Conservative leader David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband, and another would include Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.
The third debate would involve the three leaders plus UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
Responding to the plans for UK debates, SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said they would be "utterly unacceptable to any democrat".
He added: "What the London-based broadcasters are proposing fails in their duty to their viewers in Scotland, and simply doesn't reflect the reality of politics across the UK today.
"The broadcasters have the cheek to say that their proposed format factors in 'changes in the political landscape' to justify including UKIP - entirely ignoring the fact that the SNP are now by far the third largest political party in the UK.
"Current Westminster voting intentions put the SNP in the lead in Scotland, and it is clearly wrong that the leader of the third biggest political party in the UK should be shut out of these network debates."
Labour leader Ed Miliband described the plans for UK debates as a "positive set of proposals".
He added: "They are a good basis for moving forward. But the most important thing is to give the public what they're entitled to, which is these TV debates.
"They happened in the last general election. We must make sure they happen in this general election too."
Reacting to the plans for a BBC Scotland debate, Scottish Green party co-convenor Patrick Harvie said: "These debates fail to reflect the truly unique situation Scotland now finds itself in, and we will be making representations to the broadcasters.
"People who voted 'Yes' and 'No' voted for change, with record numbers joining the Scottish Greens following the referendum.
"Greens across the UK are level pegging on polling with the Lib Dems so should not be excluded from high-profile TV debates featuring the coalition's austerity cheerleaders.
"Greens have also regularly been ahead of Lib Dems in polls for the Scottish Parliament, and our membership is now more than twice theirs."
UKIP Scottish chairman Arthur Misty Thackeray said: "We have had to fight tooth and nail to get ourselves accepted on to absolutely everything we have managed to get on, so I say to Angus: welcome to our world, mate."
He added: "We would have no fear of the SNP or Greens being included in these debates."
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said the debates were for the general election, and would be broadcast "to all corners" of the UK.
He added: "With the best will in the world, the SNP is not fielding candidates in the vast majority of the country, and Nicola Sturgeon has no designs on being prime minister.
"It is likely there will be Scottish-focused general election debates broadcast here, at which point the SNP will have more than enough opportunity to take part."
BBC Scotland and STV both screened live debates between First Minister Alex Salmond and Better Together leader Alistair Darling during the referendum campaign.
Mr Clegg and Mr Farage also went head-to head in two debates in March and April this year on whether the UK should remain in the European Union.


Business confidence in Europe's biggest economy, Germany, has fallen unexpectedly after the UK Brexit vote, according to a closely watched survey.

The Ifo business confidence index, based on about 7,000 company responses, fell to 106.2 points for August from 108.3 in July.
It was the steepest monthly fall in more than four years and took the index to its lowest since December 2014.
Despite the gloom, the euro was up slightly against the pound and dollar.
The latest drop follows a much smaller decline in confidence in July immediately after the UK voted to leave the EU.
Economist Carsten Brzeski at ING-DiBa said the ongoing decline "suggests that German businesses have suddenly woken up to Brexit reality".
"It is not the first time that the Ifo reacts with a delay of one or two months to global events,'' he said, adding that at present, the German economy remained in a "virtuous circle".
Across the sectors it examines, the Ifo found confidence had fallen in all but construction and services.
"The German economy has fallen into a summer slump," Ifo president Clemens Fuest said.
Other official figures released earlier this month showed the German economy grew 0.4% in the second quarter compared with the previous three-month period.
That was a slower pace than the 0.7% growth in the first quarter, but double what economists had expected.


An "innovative, life-prolonging" breast cancer treatment is set to be routinely available on the Welsh NHS.

Kadcyla, a combination of two drugs, is used on people with HER2-positive tumours that have spread and cannot be surgically removed.
Manufacturer Roche reached a deal to provide the drug - that gives an average six months extra life - in England earlier this month.
The same commercial access deal has now been agreed with NHS Wales.
The drug has a £90,000 price tag per patient, which was deemed too expensive to provide on the NHS, but a confidential agreement was reached in England to provide it at a discounted cost.
Campaigners hailed the move as "monumental", saying it would help about 1,200 women a year.
A similar deal has now been extended to NHS Wales.
"We are committed to improving the introduction of innovative, evidence-based, treatments, which is why we've introduced an £80m treatment fund in Wales," said Health Secretary Vaughan Gething.
"The fund will be used to ensure patients get fast-access to this innovative, life-prolonging drug."
While it is not clear how much of a discount on the £90,000 price tag has been offered, the deals in Wales and England could also lead to it being made available in Northern Ireland.
Scotland decided in April to pay for the drug.


Dundee did a first-half demolition job on a dreadful Motherwell outfit as the home side's miserable recent run continued in the Premiership.

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An early Zak Jules own goal got Dee started but Louis Moult soon levelled.
The Well defence then went missing, with a Marcus Haber double and goals from Mark O'Hara and Craig Wighton making it 5-1 at half time.
The home side went close through Craig Clay and Chris Cadden but were unable to reduce the deficit.
In their three previous games, Well lost 3-0 to Hearts, 7-2 at Aberdeen and 2-0 at Celtic, while Dundee's victory was their second in succession following the 2-1 triumph over Rangers.
The result was the biggest away win of the season in the Premiership and means Dundee remain in sixth spot, with Well now just two points clear of second-bottom Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
On-loan Reading defender Jules was in for the injured Stephen McManus and he made an early impact, although not one he would have wanted. It was a simple high ball into the box but Jules got his footing all wrong and looped a header over the advancing Craig Samson and into the net.
Moult's equaliser came midway through the half as he reacted quickest in the box to shoot low past Scott Bain from close range.
The visitors were moving the ball around efficiently and they were back in front when Haber fired a right-foot shot across Samson into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
Mark O'Hara finished the third after excellent build-up play before former Well favourite Henrik Ojamaa set up Wighton to blast in number four.
Paul McGowan then curled an effort inches wide of Samson's left hand post as confidence flowed through Paul Hartley's Dundee dominant outfit.
With seconds remaining in the first half, a Wighton free-kick from the left found Haber totally unmarked at the back post and he duly nodded in the fifth for Dundee.
As the half time whistle blew the home fans' boos rung out around the stadium.
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Dundee had not recorded an away win since the end of October, but Lanarkshire is clearly lucky for the Dens Park men as that triumph in October came at Hamilton.
Despite the four-goal deficit Motherwell returned for the second half with the same personnel and made a better impression, albeit against a Dundee side who had taken their foot off the gas.
Well's Craig Clay had two good efforts but Bain was up to the task, while Ojamaa had a couple of pot shots at the other end with no joy.
The home fans were furious at the end of the match as Motherwell face up to a relegation battle.
Dundee boss Paul Hartley: "The first half we won the game with some outstanding play and goals, and carried it on from last week.
"We told them at half time to make sure we don't concede any goals. In the second half we didn't pass it as well and sometimes that happens when you have such a commanding lead, but overall the players were outstanding.
"We worked a little bit in the week about getting balls to the back to (Mark) O'Hara and (Marcus) Haber and that managed to pay off today, but the overall team performance was excellent."
Match ends, Motherwell 1, Dundee 5.
Second Half ends, Motherwell 1, Dundee 5.
Chris Cadden (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Danny Williams (Dundee).
Corner,  Motherwell. Conceded by Julen Etxabeguren Leanizbarrutia.
Attempt blocked. Faissal El Bakhtaoui (Dundee) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner,  Dundee. Conceded by Zak Jules.
Foul by Craig Clay (Motherwell).
Cameron Kerr (Dundee) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Dundee. Faissal El Bakhtaoui replaces Craig Wighton.
Chris Cadden (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kevin Holt (Dundee).
Scott McDonald (Motherwell) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Scott McDonald (Motherwell).
Danny Williams (Dundee) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Dundee. Tom Hateley replaces Henrik Ojamaa.
Foul by Scott McDonald (Motherwell).
Cameron Kerr (Dundee) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Scott McDonald (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Julen Etxabeguren Leanizbarrutia (Dundee).
Foul by Craig Clay (Motherwell).
Darren O'Dea (Dundee) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner,  Motherwell. Conceded by Darren O'Dea.
Attempt saved. Henrik Ojamaa (Dundee) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
James Vincent (Dundee) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Louis Moult (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Vincent (Dundee).
Foul by Carl McHugh (Motherwell).
Craig Wighton (Dundee) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Stephen Pearson (Motherwell).
Craig Wighton (Dundee) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Louis Moult (Motherwell) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Louis Moult (Motherwell).
Julen Etxabeguren Leanizbarrutia (Dundee) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Zak Jules (Motherwell).
James Vincent (Dundee) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Craig Clay (Motherwell) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Elliott Frear (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Danny Williams (Dundee).
Substitution, Dundee. Danny Williams replaces Mark O'Hara.


Irish jockey JT McNamara has told of his determination to forge a new way of life after a fall at the Cheltenham Festival which left him paralysed.

Father-of-three McNamara, 39, was seriously injured at the 2013 meeting.
"I said this to myself, this isn't going to get me beat. I'll show 'em," he told the Racing Post in his first interview since the accident.
His wife Caroline said: "Our lives have changed enormously but I can look beyond his disabilities."
John Thomas McNamara fractured two vertebrae in his neck after being thrown from his horse Galaxy Rock in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup on 14 March, 2013.
He is at home in Limerick after he was discharged from the North West Regional Spinal Injuries Centre in Southport, Merseyside, last year.
"Of course there have been low days and the worst were when I was in hospital in Dublin because they gave me no hope. That just made me more determined and I said to myself this is not going to get me beat. I'll show 'em," he said.
"The sheer number of visitors and the support from the public helped me keep going. All those people making the time to come to see me - it showed a few people liked me anyway.
"Not being able to play with the kids is the hardest thing. And it always will be."
McNamara, who is immobile from the neck down, can spend up to four hours at a time - although often less - off a ventilator and is helped by two carers around the clock.
He moves around the family's stables in a wheelchair and retains his love for horses.
"He has amazed me the way he has dealt with his total surrender of privacy and dignity," added Caroline.
"John has accepted that this is the way it is. As long as he gets to the yard every morning and can immerse himself in his horses -- he leaves on the van at ten to eight in the morning on the dot - then he'll be all right."
The 19-time champion jump jockey AP McCoy said he planned to visit his friend more often following his own retirement at the end of the season.
"When you go to see him now he makes it easy for you, but I admit I find it's still so hard," said McCoy.
"I can recall every detail of that day at Cheltenham and one image in particular sticks with me. I can still see his clothes hanging on his peg with his shirt on top, and realising he would never be coming back into the weighing room. That memory will never leave me.
"And the next day at Cheltenham? Do you know, I just didn't want to be there. When I remember lads from the weighing room who have been killed, God rest them, and look at JT, of course it makes you think.
"But he has three young kids, which makes a huge difference to your life, and Caroline is an amazing girl who just gets on with it. She is beyond words."


Apple has announced a new app that combines a streaming song and music video library, an internet radio station and a way for artists to share unreleased tracks and other material.

It includes a recommendation system that uses both human curators and computer algorithms to suggest songs.
The service is set to challenge Spotify, Tidal and other music apps.
Apple also revealed that the UK will be the first country to get its Apple Pay service outside of the US.
"A lot of people in the industry see the launch of the music service as a big deal, and their hope is that this will help take subscription-based streaming mainstream," commented Chris Cooke, from the news site Complete Music Update.
"But Spotify has an ad-supported free level to help sell its premium packages, which Apple doesn't, so it still has a unique selling point."
Apple's service introduces the Beats 1 radio station, which will be hosted by ex-BBC DJ Zane Lowe among others.
The app also works with Apple's voice-controlled virtual assistant Siri, allowing subscribers to ask it to play a song from a movie soundtrack or year without needing to know the track's name.
Recommended playlists will be crafted by "music experts" to ensure the songs fit together, but algorithms will be used to direct users to different ones based on their listening histories and favourite artists.
"Apple is arriving late to the music streaming business, due in part to Steve Jobs' refusal to believe that music subscription services would ever work," said James McQuivey from the Forrester consultancy.
But, he added, that he believed it would catch up with market leader Spotify's 15 million paying subscribers in less than a year.
Another analyst suggested Apple might face a challenge explaining all the features on offer.
"Apple Music is a complex mix of services including music streaming, live radio, music discovery and social interaction with artists," said Geoff Blaber from CCS Insight.
"It's too early to tell whether this is what users are waiting for but Apple's installed base, the three month free subscription and family bundle are huge levers that Apple's competitors will be wary of."
Apple said the service would launch in more than 100 countries on 30 June, and would cost $9.99 (Â£6.50) per month in the US for one person - the same as Spotify - or $14.99 for families containing up to six people.
Users do not need to pay to listen to Beats 1.
The Music app will initially be restricted to iOS, Windows PCs and Mac computers, but will extend to Android phones and Apple TVs later in the year.
Apple is also seeking to expand its digital wallet scheme.
In the US, Apple Pay will add support for retailers' own payment and loyalty cards.
And in the UK, people will be able to make payments by waving their iPhones or Apple Watches at contactless payment terminals from next month.
The firm said the service would be offered at about 250,000 locations across the UK and would cover 70% of issued credit and debit cards.
Take-up of Apple Pay has been limited since it launched in the US in October.
A survey by the Reuters news agency recently indicated that less than a quarter of the US's leading retailers accepted the facility.
That is partly because Wal-Mart and 18 other stores have teamed up to launch a rival scheme, and they have agreed not to support Apple's facility until 2016 at the earliest.
One expert said that the tech firm should find it easier to attract support in the UK, where stores already used machines for their tap-and-go payment card transactions that would become compatible.
"The equipment is already out there and Visa Europe has made the necessary infrastructure changes that pave the way for an Apple Pay rollout - it just hasn't flipped the switch yet," explained Chris Green from the Davies Murphy Group consultancy.
"In the US there have been instances where retailers have been committed to specific payment handling service contracts that have prohibited them from being involved in Apple Pay as it would represent a breach of contract for them.
"In contrast in the UK there aren't those types of roadblocks."
Apple said that the pharmacy Boots, the coffee chain Costa, the supermarket Waitrose and the London transport network were among British organisations that would support Apple Pay.
Barclays Bank was a notable omission from the list of lenders committed to the service.
But Barclays has told the BBC it is in "constructive talks" with the US firm.
Read more about how Apple Pay will work in the UK
Earlier during its developers conference, Apple's software chief Craig Federighi revealed that the next version of the iOS mobile operating system would give a Siri a new look and make it more "proactive".
This will include:
"We do it in a way that does not compromise your privacy - we don't mine your email, your photos or your contacts in the cloud to learn things about you," said Mr Federighi, contrasting Apple's approach with Google's Android.
"We honestly just don't want to know."
He also announced iPads would gain "multitasking" in iOS9, allowing two apps to be run side-by-side.
In addition, users will be able to watch streamed video in a resizable box that can be positioned above another program.
The firm also confirmed that the next version of its Maps app would provide information about public transport in London and several other cities - something Google Maps has offered for years.
It showed off a News app that brings together a personalised selection of content from different sources to provide an experience similar to Flipboard.
And Mr Federighi raised one of the biggest applauses of the event when he revealed that Apple's Swift programming language was going open source - meaning its underlying code becomes accessible to everyone - as well as making it available to Linux-powered PCs.
Apple also announced a new version of its Watch operating system that will allow third-party apps to run on its smartwatch natively.
That should make the software launch and run more quickly, addressing a common complaint from early adopters of the wearable tech and developers alike.
"Latency is a critical success factor for any new technology, including the Apple Watch, and vital to adoption rates," commented Stephanie Uhlig from Opodo, a travel booking service that offers a Watch app.
"If service is slow, consumers will likely be inclined to rely on their existing devices. The delivery of enhancements required from Apple to improve speed and user experience will be crucial."
Third-party apps will also gain access to the Watch's motion sensors, wrist tap facility and microphone.
Mr Federighi also announced several new features that will appear in the next version of its Mac operating system, called OS X El Capitan.
They include:


Bolton's wait for their first win of the season continued as substitute Daniel Powell gave MK Dons victory.

Wanderers forward Zach Clough's well-struck half-volley was pushed wide in the best chance of the first half.
After Dorian Dervite and Gary Madine wasted openings for the visitors, Powell slotted home after an excellent ball by Samir Carruthers.
Neil Lennon's side pressed but Clough and former England striker Emile Heskey both had efforts well saved.
Bolton have not won for nine games in a run that stretches from last season, and remain the only side yet to score in the Championship this season.
The Dons, who were promoted from League One last season, have won two of their opening three matches in their first season in the second tier.
Having failed to score in their opening three games, Bolton started brightly and full-back Dean Moxey, Dervite and Madine all went close.
The hosts improved after half-time and, after Ben Amos saved well from Carruthers's curling effort, midfielder Powell's goal secured the win.
MK Dons boss Karl Robinson:
"We started okay and we didn't concede many chances but territorially they had a lot of the play with set pieces and corners and they got into our box a lot.
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"I said to them at half-time that they've got to believe in themselves because we looked like we don't belong here and they were wondering 'are we meant to be here?'
"I told them we've earned the right to be here, they've earned the right to come up against some wonderfully gifted players and they've earned the right to show everyone how talented they are.
Bolton manager Neil Lennon:
"It's been the story of our season so far - we're playing well and I feel that's a game that got away from us because we were in control for long periods and we've missed big chances.
"It's frustrating and disappointing but it's encouraging because to a degree we're playing really well but we need someone who putts, to use a golf analogy.
"We look a decent side but we're just lacking that composure in front of goal whether it be the finish or whether it's the final pass and that's the most important facet of the game."


Unsettled loan striker Chris Martin scored one goal and set up another on his Fulham return to help overcome fellow play-off hopefuls Barnsley.

Adam Hammill went closest for Barnsley, hitting the post after a fine solo run.
On-loan Derby man Martin, featuring for the first time in 2017 after a dispute about his future, then put Fulham ahead from the penalty spot, following Angus MacDonald's foul on Kevin McDonald.
After the break, Scott Malone met a Martin cross to volley home powerfully.
Victory lifts the west London side above Barnsley in the Championship table, moving them to eighth where they remain six points adrift of the play-off spots. The Tykes' first defeat in six games sees them slip two places to 10th.
Martin, who scored his seventh goal in 17 games for Fulham in his last appearance on Boxing Day, went close to making an immediate impact on his recall, testing Adam Davies just a minute after the goalkeeper was called into action by Tom Cairney.
Hammill then twice threatened for the Tykes - his run from the half-way line before crashing a shot off the post was the pick of the visitors' first-half efforts.
Barnsley, who sold top scorer Sam Winnall to Sheffield Wednesday during the week, continued to press, but Fulham were the ones to go ahead from the spot, thanks to Martin's cool finish.
Martin then helped created Malone's goal at the start of another eventful half, in which both sides went close a number of times.
Match ends, Fulham 2, Barnsley 0.
Second Half ends, Fulham 2, Barnsley 0.
Tom Cairney (Fulham) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Marley Watkins (Barnsley).
Substitution, Fulham. Denis Odoi replaces Sone Aluko.
Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ryan Kent (Barnsley).
Substitution, Fulham. Ryan Sessegnon replaces Lucas Piazon.
Offside, Barnsley. Aidan White tries a through ball, but Marley Watkins is caught offside.
Substitution, Fulham. Scott Parker replaces Stefan Johansen.
Offside, Barnsley. Angus MacDonald tries a through ball, but Marley Watkins is caught offside.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) because of an injury.
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Marc Roberts.
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Conor Hourihane.
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Adam Davies.
Attempt saved. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Piazon.
Attempt missed. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Kevin McDonald (Fulham) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Marley Watkins (Barnsley).
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Angus MacDonald.
Attempt blocked. Sone Aluko (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Tom Cairney.
Marley Watkins (Barnsley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Stefan Johansen (Fulham) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Marley Watkins (Barnsley).
Attempt saved. Lucas Piazon (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Attempt saved. Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ryan Kent.
Attempt saved. Chris Martin (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Stefan Johansen.
Attempt saved. Chris Martin (Fulham) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Tom Cairney.
Attempt missed. Lucas Piazon (Fulham) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Sone Aluko with a cross.
Substitution, Barnsley. Adam Armstrong replaces Tom Bradshaw.
Substitution, Barnsley. Ryan Kent replaces Adam Hammill.
Substitution, Barnsley. George Moncur replaces Ryan Williams.
Attempt missed. Stefan Johansen (Fulham) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Chris Martin.
Kevin McDonald (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Tom Bradshaw (Barnsley).
Attempt missed. Stefan Johansen (Fulham) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Lucas Piazon.
Attempt blocked. Sone Aluko (Fulham) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Piazon.
Attempt missed. Chris Martin (Fulham) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Ryan Fredericks with a cross.
Goal!  Fulham 2, Barnsley 0. Scott Malone (Fulham) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Chris Martin.


Australian authorities have cast doubt on the theory that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may have had a fire on board before it went missing.

Earlier this month, pieces of debris appearing to show burn marks were recovered in Madagascar.
However, authorities say there is no evidence yet that the debris came from MH370 - and the dark marks were caused by resin on the debris, not fire.
MH370 had 239 people on board when it vanished in March 2014.
The flight, which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, is presumed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean after veering off course.
The five fragments had been found by debris hunter Blaine Gibson, who has previously found other parts of the plane.
The pieces were recovered near Sainte Luce, in south-eastern Madagascar.
Two of the pieces appeared to show burn marks, which, experts said, could provide more information on what happened to flight MH370 if confirmed.
However, Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said on Thursday that an initial investigation showed that "contrary to speculation there is no evidence the item was exposed to heat or fire".
The dark markings on the two pieces of debris "related exclusively to a translucent resin that had been applied to those surfaces", a report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said.
There were three small marks on one fragment that smelt burnt - but the heat damage appeared to be recent and a result of "localised heating", the ATSB added.
A number of other pieces of debris, some confirmed to have come from MH370, have been found in countries near Madagascar.
They include a section of the wing called a flaperon, found on Reunion Island, and a horizontal stabilizer from the tail section and a stabilizer panel with a "No Step" stencil discovered in Mozambique.
Mr Gibson, a lawyer from Seattle, has funded his own search for debris in east Africa.
Australia has been leading the search for the missing aircraft, using underwater drones and sonar equipment deployed from specialist ships.
The search, also involving Malaysia and China, has led to more than 105,000 sq km (40,500 sq miles) of the 120,000 sq km search zone being scoured so far.
But countries have agreed that in the absence of "credible new information" the search is expected to end later this year.


Praise has poured in for cyclist Bradley Wiggins and rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning after they scooped Britain's first gold medals of 2012.

Tour de France winner Wiggins became the most decorated Olympian in British history, with a total of seven medals.
He won the cycling time trial after Glover and Stanning rowed to victory in the women's pairs; all three were hailed by PM David Cameron.
GB's Michael Jamieson later took the silver in the men's 200m breaststroke.
Team GB kept the nation waiting until day five of the Games for the first home gold medals; however, there are high hopes for further podium finishes in Thursday's cycling.
After his victory, Wiggins, 32, cycled through cheering crowds gathered at Hampton Court, where he hugged his wife Catherine and his children Ben and Isabella.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday evening, Wiggins said that despite his success, he did not consider himself to be Britain's greatest ever Olympian.
He also said that, fresh from his victory in the Tour de France, he had been "greedy" and also intended to win Olympic gold. "I felt I could do both," he said, adding that the crowd support on his Olympic time trial ride was "incredible".
David Cameron described the successes in rowing and cycling as a "golden moment for Britain".
Mr Cameron said: "I think it's already a great Olympics, already a great start but this is really going to put rocket boosters on it for the whole country. I'm very, very excited."
Meanwhile, a BBC investigation has found illegal websites still offering tickets - which they have no right to sell - and which buyers may never receive.
Police have warned that such sites do not have access to tickets.
Det Supt Nick Downing, the head of the Olympic crime squad, said: "If they're an authorised site selling tickets, you've got to ask the question - where did they get their tickets from? How can they guarantee a supply? They can't."
In other developments:
Briton Chris Froome took the bronze medal in the time trial, which was watched along the route by an estimated 300,000 people.
Wiggins's grandmother Maureen Cousins was also at the side of the road as he crossed the finish line.
"I screamed when he won.  It is a combination of delight and relief... We all think he is the greatest," she said.
Earlier, Glover and Stanning made history by becoming the first British women to win an Olympic gold medal for rowing.
Mr Johnson said an "historic triumph will be celebrated throughout the country today".
"It's an outstanding achievement and I'm sure it will spur on all our athletes in the medal stakes. It's fantastic - Go Team GB," he added.
Glover, 26, a former PE teacher from Penzance, Cornwall, had been rowing for only four years before securing gold with Stanning, 27, a Royal Artillery captain, from Lossiemouth, Moray.
They stormed home in front of cheering crowds at Eton Dorney after leading from the start of the women's pair race.
After crossing the line they hugged each other and saluted the crowd, which included Princes William and Harry and the Princess Royal.
Speaking at the finish line, Glover's mother Rachel said her family was "absolutely delighted".
Stanning is likely to be deployed to Afghanistan next year.
Her commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Craig Palmer, said: "Soldiers from 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery were thrilled to watch the race from their bases in Afghanistan, while their friends and families watched it here in the UK.
"I am sure that they have been inspired by her performance and we look forward to welcoming her back to the regiment later this year."
Lt Col Palmer spoke to Stanning on the BBC News Channel, telling her she had "done a very special thing".
"We're looking forward to a very big party when you do come back to the regiment," he told Stanning.
Labour leader Ed Miliband praised the athletes as "fantastic" and said the games were going "beyond" expectations.


The Home Office's £1bn e-borders scheme - seen by many as a costly disaster - has in fact delivered most of its aims, the woman who ran it told MPs.

Lin Homer said it had provided "12 years of continuous improvements" to border security even if progress had been "slower" than she had wanted.
She denied claims by MPs that 80% of the money spent on it was wasted.
Ms Homer, who is now boss of HM Revenue and Customs, was giving evidence to the public accounts committee.
The National Audit Office this week published a highly critical report into e-borders, which was meant to collect and analyse data on everyone travelling to and from the UK before they arrive at ports and airports.
The spending watchdog said checks at Britain's borders remained "highly manual and inefficient", and relied on outdated IT systems.
The NAO said a database known as the Warning Index - designed to flag up known criminals or terrorists - was still being used eight years after it should have been retired.
The e-borders system was meant to replace it and another "unstable" old checking system, Semaphore, in March 2014 - but it was scrapped by the government last year. A new system incorporating some of its functions is due to go live in 2019.
Ms Homer, who was chief executive of the UK Border Agency until 2011, insisted a "significant amount" of what e-borders was meant to do "has been delivered," adding: "It would not be my view that 80% of the money we spent in those 12 years was wasted."
She denied the programme had been "over ambitious", telling MPs: "When you set contracts, sometimes they don't work. We tried something big and bold and I think a lot of it worked."
She said Semaphore, an IBM pilot system launched in 2004 to test the e-borders concept, was proving effective at analysing passenger lists.
Semaphore was beefed up into a frontline service when the coalition government sacked Raytheon, the US contractor hired by the previous Labour government to deliver e-borders, in 2010 after delays.
Raytheon threatened to sue the Home Office for £500m, blaming the UK Border Agency for failings. In March 2015, the government agreed to pay £150m to the company to settle the dispute.
Ms Homer told MPs: "I would accept that a significant amount of the money we paid to Raytheon did not give us value for money but that is not the whole £700m."
She told the MPs she had not been the "architect" of e-borders but it had been her "vision".
Tony Blair launched the e-borders programme in 2003 to help combat the terror threat and tighten immigration controls
It was originally meant to come on stream in 2007 to work alongside "biometric" identity cards and facial recognition technology
The system was meant to collect details from passenger lists of all people entering and leaving the UK so that they can be checked against security watch lists
The US firm handed a £750m contract by Labour to deliver e-borders, Raytheon, was fired by the coalition government in 2010 for "extremely disappointing" performance
Two old systems  were upgraded at a cost of £89m - they are now collecting advance passport data on 86% of passengers travelling to the UK and nearly 100% of passengers leaving the UK
From 2003 to 2015, the Home Office spent "at least £830m" on e-borders and planned to spend a further £275m on the successor programme, according to the NAO.
But the spending watchdog said it could not be more precise because spending records between 2003 and 2006 had apparently been destroyed.
Committee chairman, Labour MP Meg Hillier, said she found it "hard to believe" the records no longer existed, but if that was the case "we would like to know when it was destroyed and who authorised it".
Mark Sedwill, the permanent secretary at the Home Office, said the missing records were due to a change in accounting procedures, but he said he would investigate whether they could be retrieved.
Labour MP Caroline Flint, a former Home Office minister, and Conservative MP Stephen Phillips, suggested it might have worked out cheaper to relaunch the Raytheon contract, as Ms Homer had wanted, rather than sacking the firm.
But Mr Sedwill said it had not just been about the money, telling the MPs: "It was fundamentally about confidence in delivery, particularly with the Olympics coming."
Raytheon's main complaint about the contract was that the Home Office kept changing what it wanted from e-borders.
Asked what lessons could be learned to prevent taxpayers money being wasted in the future, Richard Daniel, chief executive of Raytheon UK, said: "Maybe we could have spent more time understanding the Home Office and how they worked."
He added: "From early on, there was a difference in expectations in terms of how the contract would run."


A court in Sri Lanka has acquitted five men accused of involvement in the murder in 2006 of a prominent Tamil member of parliament.

Nadarajah Raviraj was shot dead in his car in the capital, Colombo, during Sri Lanka's bitter civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels.
Raviraj was an advocate of self-rule for the minority Tamils and his death sparked international condemnation.
The men who have been cleared include three Sri Lankan navy personnel.
In a highly unusual move, the jury's verdict was delivered at midnight following a unanimous decision in the month-long trial.
Earlier this year, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who has previously ruled out allowing any political leader to be prosecuted for alleged war crimes, said he was concerned that naval and military commanders had been summoned before the courts.
Raviraj's death was seen as a setback for moderates in Sri Lanka and led to thousands of people marching in Colombo in protest at the murder.
Raviraj, who was fluent in Tamil, Sinhala and English, acted as a bridge between communities and spoke out against extreme nationalists.
He was shot as he left his house in Colombo for work.
Sri Lanka's army defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 after 26 years of civil war.
The death toll as a result of the conflict is estimated to be more than 70,000.
The government has since insisted that it is on the path of reconciliation and rebuilding Sri Lanka's north.


A former Guatemalan soldier suspected of helping carry out a massacre in 1982 during the country's civil war has been deported from the US.

Santos Lopez Alonzo, 64, arrived on a flight in Guatemala City handcuffed and flanked by security guards.
Prosecutors say he served in an elite army unit that massacred more than 160 villagers. He denies the charges.
Two other members of the unit are serving sentences in US prisons for immigration crimes.
Another was deported to Guatemala and is serving a 6,000-year sentence.
Speaking last week at a California immigration detention centre, Mr Lopez said he had guarded women and children during the massacre but had not taken part and had killed no one.
In an interview with the Associated Press, he said he feared he would be tortured in Guatemala in revenge for helping the US government prosecute one of his former comrades.
Mr Lopez, who was arrested in the US in 2010, had fought deportation but a federal appeals court last month refused to block his return.
After he arrived in Guatemala City on board a charter flight on Wednesday, lawyers for victims' families said they hoped he would be held accountable.
"We are very happy they deported him and that he must now face Guatemalan justice, above all, for the victims," said Francisco Vivar, an advocate for victims.
The massacre took place during Guatemala's 36-year-long civil war, which was ended in 1996 by a UN-sponsored peace agreement.
In December 1982, a squad of elite soldiers was sent to search for missing weapons in the village of Las Dos Erres. Instead they rounded up villagers and bludgeoned them to death before throwing their bodies into a well.
Mr Lopez insists he was assigned to stand guard while others carried out the killings.
An estimated 250,000 civilians were killed or disappeared in the bloody civil war.
A UN truth commission in 1999 established that the army and state security agents were responsible for more than 90% of the deaths.


The chair of the assembly's finance committee has defended the allocation of almost £2m of social investment funding to Charter NI.

Some of the organisation's key personnel have links to the UDA.
Speaking on Sunday Politics, Emma Little Pengelly, an architect of the fund, said she was satisfied a robust process of checks was carried out.
BBC NI's Spotlight programme last week examined the control the UDA exerted in some loyalist communities.
It also looked at how funding from Stormont was going to organisations linked to the UDA.
Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister has also questioned the allocation of social investment funding to groups with loyalist and republican links.
However, Ms Little Pengelly said: "There is a system of checks and balances and there were concerns about how quickly this scheme delivered.
"One of the reasons why it wasn't quick was because of the number of checks and balances included in terms of getting this money out.
"They have gone through a full business case, economists, the governance has been scrutinised.
"If we weren't satisfied by that, then this money would not be going out to this organisation."
Chris Lyttle of the Alliance Party, said the social investment fund had been "beset by a lack of openness".
"There have been difficulties from day one in relation to the programme," he said.


Police investigating a rape in Newcastle have released an image of a man they would like to speak to.

A woman was attacked between 02:00 BST and 03:30 on 23 August at the junction of Pink Lane and Waterloo Street, Northumbria Police said.
The victim had been at the O2 Academy on Westgate Road.
Police said they believe the pictured man was in the area at the time and may be able to help them with their inquiries.


League One side Northampton Town have signed young Manchester United defender Regan Poole on a season-long loan.

Poole, 19, moved to Old Trafford in 2015 from Newport County, where he played under current Cobblers boss Justin Edinburgh.
But his only United appearance to date was as a late substitute in the Europa League in February 2016.
The Wales Under-21 international comes in as competition for centre-backs Ash Taylor and Leon Barnett.
Edinburgh said: "He is a central defender who is comfortable on the ball. He is strong, he leaps well and he has all the attributes to be a top, top player.
"He is mobile and he will complement the other defenders we have at the club well."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Installation artist Laure Prouvost has won this year's Turner Prize, beating humorous artist David Shrigley, painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and performance artist Tino Sehgal to take the £25,000 prize.

The French artist, who lives and works in London, won for her piece Wantee, which takes the audience in search of her fictional grandfather.
It was announced by actress Saoirse Ronan at a ceremony in Londonderry, the UK City of Culture 2013.
Here's my report.


A huge colony of an elusive and brightly coloured shellfish species has been discovered in coastal waters in the west of Scotland.

The extensive bed of at least 100 million flame shells was found during a survey of Loch Alsh, a sea inlet between Skye and the Scottish mainland.
The Scottish environment secretary said it could be the largest grouping of flame shells anywhere in the world.
The colony was uncovered during a survey commissioned by Marine Scotland.
It was conducted as part of work to identify new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
The small, scallop-like species has numerous neon orange tentacles that emerge between the creatures' two shells.
Flame shells group together on the sea bed and their nests create a living reef that supports hundreds of other species.
The Loch Alsh flame shell reef is much larger than expected, covering an area of 75 hectares.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead described the seas around Scotland as a "hotbed of biodiversity".
"With Scottish waters covering an area around five-times bigger than our landmass, it's a huge challenge to try and understand more about our diverse and precious sea life," he said.
"The flame shell must be considered among the most remarkable species in our waters, with a dazzling array of orange tentacles.
"Many would place such an exotic species in far-flung tropical reefs - not realising they dwell under the waves just off the coast of Skye."
He added: "This important discovery may be the largest grouping of flame shells anywhere in the world.
"And not only are flame shells beautiful to look at, these enigmatic shellfish form a reef that offers a safe and productive environment for many other species."
The Loch Alsh survey was carried out by Heriot-Watt University on behalf of Marine Scotland.
Dan Harries, of Heriot-Watt University's School of Life Sciences, said: "Too often, when we go out to check earlier records of a particular species or habitat we find them damaged, struggling or even gone.
"We are delighted that in this instance we found not just occasional patches but a huge and thriving flame shell community extending right the way along the entrance narrows of Loch Alsh.
"This is a wonderful discovery for all concerned."


Residents in Suffolk's "Constable Country" have won a judicial review to block the building of 10 homes.

They claimed the homes would be a blot on the landscape in the village where John Constable lived and worked.
Mr Justice Mitting, at the High Court, ruled in favour of East Bergholt Parish Council's claim that Babergh Council was wrong to approve the development.
Babergh said it would "consider the judgment of the High Court carefully before making any further comment".
Parish council chairman Paul Ireland said: "The victory is not one we would celebrate because public money has been wasted.
"Babergh did not listen to concerns of local people."
East Bergholt council not against more housing, especially affordable homes, and has been talking to a developer on a project for a not-for-profit project, he said.
"Residents have spent Â£35,000 on a 140,000-word plan document which embraces localism, a government policy we support," Mr Ireland said.
Babergh planners are now to consider the consequences of the High Court's decision, "or the future consideration of this planning application," a spokesman said.
David Bowman, of Royds Withy King, who acted for the parish council, said: "The judge decided that Babergh District Council had made a number of material legal errors, including misrepresenting to local councillors what local housing needs means in the context of the local plan".
A separate decision to permit a 144-home development and another application for 75 homes could also be affected by the High Court decision, campaigners now believe.
The Suffolk village is within walking distance of Flatford Mill and the Dedham Vale, which provided the inspiration for several of Constable's most famous paintings, including The Haywain.


There has been  a significant increase in the number of children used as human bombs by Boko Haram militants in north-east Nigeria, the United Nations says.

Unicef reports there have been 83 cases so far this year - four times as many as in the whole of last year.
55 were girls under the age of 15 and in one case the bomb was strapped to a baby being carried by a young girl.
Unicef says this tactic is an atrocity causing fear and suspicion of children released by the militants.
Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories
Who are Boko Haram?
'How I almost became a Boko Haram suicide bomber'
Chibok abduction: The Nigerian town that lost its girls
According to the UN children's agency, 127 children have been used as bombers in north-east Nigeria since 2014.
The Islamist militants Boko Haram have regularly used children in its insurgency, abducting hundreds of schoolgirls, and forcibly recruiting boys as child soldiers.


A member of the public who dialled 999 demanding a refund from a hotel because his room was cold has been criticised by police.

Dyfed-Powys Police said the call was made by a man in the Ceredigion area on Tuesday morning.
The force stressed the number is for emergencies only and warned misuse could block genuine calls.
"Before dialling 999, ask yourself if what you are ringing for is a life and death situation," a spokeswoman added.


Sexist attitudes are "rife" in school textbooks used in developing countries, according to Unesco.

The United Nations agency, marking International Women's Day, says negative stereotyping undermines the education of girls.
It says too often female figures are represented in textbooks as "nurturing drudges" in domestic roles.
This is a "hidden obstacle" to gender equality, says Unesco's Manos Antoninis.
Unesco has campaigned to provide education for tens of millions of children without access to school - and in many poorer countries girls are the most likely to miss out.
This report highlights how female characters frequently appear in a secondary role in the books they use at school - and warns that it limits girls' career expectations.
"Ensuring all boys and girls go to school is only part of the battle," says Manos Antoninis, from Unesco's global education monitoring report.
"What they are being taught is equally, if not more, important. Persistent gender bias in textbooks is sapping girls' motivation, self-esteem and participation in school."
With examples from countries in Asia and Africa, the report says that men in textbooks are more likely to be depicted as business leaders, shopkeepers, engineers, scientists and politicians, while women remain likely to be seen in roles such as cooking or childcare.
Apart from gender stereotyping, the study says that text books are much more likely to depict men than women - and that is even more pronounced in science or maths text books.
It says that in some cases only about one in 20 characters in science textbooks is female.
But the report says that there has been only slow progress in trying to get more equal representation.
It says there has been a lack of political will to pursue this and in some cases resistance from those responsible for school curricula or for producing textbooks.
Also marking International Women's Day is a report, Poverty is Sexist, from the development campaign group, One.
It says that gender inequality and poverty are interlinked, with women in poor countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, likely to be worse off than their male counterparts.
The report says there are half a billion women around the world who cannot read - two thirds of the global total. As an example, in Mali, 93% of girls will never attend school.
The campaign has drawn up a list of countries where it is "toughest to be born a girl", based on criteria such as access to health and education, economic opportunities, access to a bank account and political representation.
The top 10 in this ranking are: Niger, Somalia, Mali, Central African Republic, Yemen, DR Congo, Afghanistan, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Comoros.


Customer data stolen from Ashley Madison, a dating website for married people who wish to cheat on their spouse, has reportedly been published.

The data has reportedly been leaked on the so called dark web, meaning it is accessible only via encrypted browsers.
The BBC did not access the data and has not verified its authenticity.
Hackers stole the data last month and threatened to reveal it unless the match making site for married people was taken down.
Technology website Wired said 9.7 gigabytes of data was posted, and the material appeared to include members accounts and credit card details.
The hackers, who called themselves the Impact Team, said they had managed to steal the real names and addresses of the site's users, including those who had previously paid to "delete" their accounts.
Small pieces of the data had already been leaked in July.
In a statement, Canada-based Avid Life Media, the company behind Ashley Madison said it had "now learned that the individual or individuals responsible for this attack claim to have released more of the stolen data".
Describing the hack as "an act of criminality", the company said it was fully cooperating with law enforcement to find the hackers.
"The criminal, or criminals, involved in this act have appointed themselves as the moral judge, juror, and executioner, seeing fit to impose a personal notion of virtue on all of society. We will not sit idly by and allow these thieves to force their personal ideology on citizens around the world," the statement said.
Security blogger Brian Krebs said that the leak appeared to be real.
"I've now spoken with three vouched sources who all have reported finding their information and last four digits of their credit card numbers in the leaked database," he wrote.
"Also, it occurs to me that it's been almost exactly 30 days since the original hack."
Another security consultant noted that Avid Life Media had used the bcrypt encryption standard to scramble users' passwords.
"Bcrypt is one of the more modern ways to make it harder for people to reverse engineer passwords - it's not impossible but it would take a hacker much longer to work out what they are," Alan Woodward told the BBC.
Even so, the release of the unencrypted email addresses means users may be targeted by spammers and scammers.
Ashley Madison says it operates in more than 50 countries and has 37 million users, more than a million of whom live in the UK.
It promotes its service with the tagline, "Life is short, have an affair".


Premiership side Northampton Saints have signed South Africa scrum-half Cobus Reinach.

The 27-year-old will join from the Durban-based Super Rugby franchise The Sharks from next season.
Reinach has won 10 caps for South Africa and scored in the Springboks' 31-28 win at Twickenham in 2014.
"We have been watching Cobus for some time and he has proven what a quality player he is," said Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder.
"We need quality players in each position to be able to compete at the highest level and Cobus further enhances a position where we are already strong with Nic Groom, Tom Kessell and Alex Mitchell."
With four scrum-halves now signed for next season, stalwart Lee Dickson, 31, who has played 248 times for Saints and featured in eight cup finals, seems set to leave the club. He is out of contract at the end of the season.
Northampton will hope to welcome Reinach with European Champions Cup rugby next season. They moved back into the top six in the Premiership with a 24-14 win over Worcester on Saturday.
"Northampton is a club with a long tradition and strong values," said Reinach.
"Saints have some outstanding players in their squad and I knew after speaking with the coaches that it was a club that I wanted to play for."
Last week, Northampton announced that 11 players had re-signed for the club, including senior players Luther Burrell, Christian Day and Ken Pisi.


Stevie May admits he would probably not have signed for Aberdeen if Derek McInnes was not still their manager.

McInnes has tied the 24-year-old striker to a four-year deal from English Championship side Preston.
Nicky Maynard, Gary Mackay-Steven, Kari Arnason, Greg Tansey, Ryan Christie and Greg Stewart have also joined the Dons.
"I don't think they'd be bringing in the players they are if he wasn't here," said May, who was given his debut at St Johnstone by McInnes.
"It was a big part. There's no two ways about it, if he wasn't still here I probably wouldn't be here, and I think the same can be said for a lot of his signings.
"From the outside I was keeping an eye on the coming and goings, and I've played with a number of them at Scotland Under-21s so I know the quality that he brought in."
After starting his career with Saints, with whom he won the Scottish Cup in 2014, and prolific loan spells at Alloa and Hamilton, May joined Sheffield Wednesday in August 2014, winning his sole Scotland cap that year, before an injury-hit time at Preston North End curtailed his progress.
McInnes, who spurned an offer from Sunderland to stay at Aberdeen this summer, believes May's arrival helps make his side a lot harder to predict.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha last season appeared at a press conference clutching what he believed would be the Aberdeen team ahead of an encounter at Pittodrie.
"In the past few years most people could second guess my team," said McInnes. "No harm in that, but I do feel now we've got the luxury of being able to re-jig it and freshen it up, and try different styles at certain times.
"He (May) is a boy who I've got a high regard for and someone who I think will do extremely well here. He's only 24, he's been involved in the national team, and I think his best years are still ahead of him. He certainly knows where the back of the net is.
"I know what he is as a player and for us to get him on a four-year deal at 24 years of age is a fantastic bit of business.
"I think it's important for a club like us to have a number of different options. I'm really pleased with the options we have."
As May arrived, fellow striker Miles Storey was allowed to exit Pittodrie, with the 23-year-old signing a two-year deal with Partick Thistle.
McInnes explained: "I had an agreement with Miles that it was probably best that he moved on to get regular football.
"I think he was a bit frustrated at not getting more game time last year, and what he didn't want and what I didn't want was another year like that."


Ireland have been dealt a double injury blow ahead of their opening Desert T20 Challenge game with Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Andrew Balbirnie and Stuart Thompson have been ruled out of the tournament.
Batsman Balbirnie failed a late fitness test having sustained a glute strain, while all-rounder Thompson suffered an ankle injury during training on Friday.
The event technical committee has approved Stuart Poynter and Lorcan Tucker as replacements for the duo.
"It's unfortunate for both players who were keen to re-establish themselves in the squad having missed most of the 2016 season," said a Cricket Ireland spokesperson.
"Stuart Poynter and Lorcan Tucker are both excellent replacements who I'm sure will acquit themselves well given the opportunity."
Tucker, 20, made his debut last season against Hong Kong, while 26 year-old Poynter has played 10 T20 internationals for Ireland.
Ireland have been drawn in Group A of the eight-team tournament, against hosts UAE, Afghanistan and Namibia.
Ireland's opening match with Afghanistan at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium gets under way at 15:00 GMT.


South Sydney Rabbitohs, co-owned by Hollywood actor Russell Crowe, secured a record World Club Challenge victory over Super League champions St Helens.

Glenn Stewart crossed for the National Rugby League side inside two minutes, with Dylan Walker, Greg Inglis and Joel Reddy also scoring before the break.
Luke Keary and Chris McQueen touched down too, with Reddy adding a second.
Media playback is not supported on this device
A late Adam Reynolds drop-goal ensured the record and a clean sweep of the World Club Series by Australian sides.
The previous biggest winning margin in one of rugby league's showpiece fixtures was 38 points when Saints were beaten 44-6 by Melbourne Storm in 2000 and 38-0 by Sydney Roosters in 2003.
The first two games of the series were closely contested as St George Illawarra edged out Warrington on Friday, while Brisbane Broncos needed a golden-point extra-time penalty from Corey Parker to overcome Wigan on Saturday.
But Souths, watched at Langtree Park by Crowe who chose to miss the Oscars, set the tone early on a cold and blustery night, when Reynolds' clever kick was pounced on by forward Stewart.
After Saints centre Mark Percival had an effort ruled out for being held up over the line, Souths half-back Reynolds then showed some magical feet to round the defence and set up Walker for an easy score.
Rabbitohs captain Inglis then rounded off a flowing move and winger Reddy took advantage of a fortunate bounce from a kick into the Saints' in-goal area as the Australian team led 24-0 at the break.
Another Reynolds kick caused confusion allowing stand-off Keary to touch down, before McQueen finished off a slick passing move out wide.
Saints struggled to break down a committed Souths defence throughout the evening and Reddy grabbed his second try in the corner after more good handling.
And, with a minute left, Reynolds secured a personal haul of 11 points with a drop-goal, which also set the new unwanted record for Saints.
-----------------------------------
St Helens head coach Keiron Cunningham: "I really am disappointed. We just got schooled by the best side in the world.
"It's going to be a good education for my players, especially the young ones. It is difficult. I'm confident in my team's ability and that wasn't my team tonight. I know they're a lot better than that."
South Sydney Rabittohs head coach Michael Maguire: "I'm really proud of the way we played. We set out to come out over here and be really professional. It was a great performance.
"It's a team of guys who just want to improve and there's a lot more in front of us now.
"I spent two years over here and I worked with some great players in Wigan. The last two results were very close, so the top teams over here can definitely mix it with the NRL."
Asked about the last-minute drop-goal to secure the record margin: "It was the players' idea. Adam saw an opportunity and took it as I didn't know about it (the record) at the time.
-----------------------------------
St Helens: Lomax; Makinson, Percival, Turner, Swift; Burns, Wilkin; Amor, Roby, Masoe, Greenwood, Vea, Flanagan.
Replacements: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Walmsley, Thompson, Savelio.
South Sydney: Inglis; Johnston, Walker, Goodwin, Reddy; Keary, Reynolds; G. Burgess, Luke, Tyrrell, Stewart, Sutton, Lowe.
Replacements: Clark, McQueen, T. Burgess, Grevsmuhl.
Attendance: 17,980
Referee: Richard Silverwood


Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai is pregnant, her father-in-law and legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan has revealed on a micro-blogging site.

Rai is married to actor Abhishek, Mr Bachchan's son. This will be the couple's first baby.
Often called the "queen of Bollywood", Rai, 37, married Bachchan in 2007, forging the ultimate Bollywood dynasty.
She first charmed the nation at just 21, winning Miss World in 1994. She has acted in several Hollywood films too.
"News news news!! I am going to become a grandfather. Aishwarya expecting. So happy and thrilled," Mr Bachchan tweeted on Tuesday night.
The actor later wrote that he had received "2,843 tweets in the first half hour" and that he was "overwhelmed with wishes and blessings".
It's not yet known when the baby is due.
Rai was the first Indian actress to sit on the Cannes jury in 2003. She has also appeared on the cover of Time magazine as the global face of Indian cinema.
Because of her popularity in India and outside, she has long been the face of cosmetic giant Loreal and high-end Longines watches.


James Tredwell and Sam Northeast's huge stand was not enough to stop Essex from securing victory as they moved above Kent to go top of Division Two.

Tredwell hit a career-high 124 as he and Northeast (166 not out) shared Kent's best-ever eighth-wicket stand.
Their 222-run partnership was broken when Matthew Quinn removed Tredwell and Kent were soon all out for 370.
Needing just nine runs to win, openers Nick Browne and Alastair Cook combined to seal victory for Essex.
Northeast's unbeaten knock, which lasted seven hours and 45 minutes, added to his scores of 191 and 70 not out in his previous Championship game against Derbyshire.
Tredwell and Northeast's partnership beat the previous best eighth-wicket stand of 177, shared by Geraint Jones and Yasir Arafat against Warwickshire in 2007.


Protesters demanding help for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire have stormed Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall with a list of demands.

Between 50 and 60 people broke off from a protest outside to go into the council building.
One member of the public said people made homeless needed help "right now".
After meeting survivors near Grenfell Tower, Theresa May announced a Â£5m fund to pay for emergency supplies, food, clothes and other costs.
There were angry scenes outside the Clement James Centre, in North Kensington, where the meeting had been held.
Earlier, the Queen and Prince William visited a relief centre for the victims, while the missing could number about 70, the BBC understands.
Police say at least 30 people died as a result of the west London blaze and are likely to be among the 70. Three of those who died have been identified.
There was nothing to suggest the fire was started deliberately, police said.
The town hall protest began at around 15:00 BST and scores have since joined it.
At around 16:30 BST, people began to rush up the steps and make their way into the building.
One member of the public said people made homeless by the fire needed help "right now", adding: "Nobody knows what is happening. People are so angry. Those people shouldn't be sleeping in the street".
The organisers of the protest said council leaders would not come out to talk to them, but had released a statement, promising to rehouse as many people locally as they could and to provide funding for those affected.
However, they refused to give out the number of people who lived in the tower block - which was one of the protesters' demands, organisers said.
Mustafa Al Mansur, who organised the protest, said the council's response was "flimsy" with "no concrete answers".
"The people were not satisfied with the answers," he told BBC News. "The people were getting frustrated and they walked towards the building. They did not force themselves inside. They got inside the main building and were in the foyer, just speaking."
Police then arrived on the scene and formed a barricade, which Mr Al Mansur said led to "physical confrontation" between the two sides.
"We would like the chief executive of the council to make public commitments on what the council is going to do for the victims of this borough, and for all the other buildings in the borough that [could] stand the same fate at Grenfell Towers."
The Queen and Duke of Cambridge met volunteers, residents and community representatives during their visit to the Westway Sports Centre.
The Queen paid tribute to the "bravery" of firefighters and the "incredible generosity" of volunteers now offering support.
Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said that of those who were killed, one died in hospital.
He also said there was nothing to suggest that the fire was started deliberately, and that everyone in hospital has now been identified. Police say some of those killed in the fire may never be identified.
The fire broke out shortly before 01:00 BST on Wednesday.
It tore through all floors of the building and took more than 200 firefighters 24 hours to bring it under control.
Mahad Egal, who escaped his fourth floor flat with his family, said: "At first it seemed it was controllable, but really quickly the fire started to rise as the cladding caught fire. It is incredible we survived."
Emergency services are spending a third day searching for bodies in the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in North Kensington.
Fire chiefs say they do not expect to find more survivors.  Police have launched a criminal investigation into the fire and PM Theresa May has ordered a public inquiry.
The prime minister faced criticism for not meeting survivors on a visit to the scene on Thursday, unlike Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
When Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom visited the scene, a man shouted: "Why are Sadiq Khan and Corbyn coming down here to speak to people and Theresa May is coming here with police, walking around, not meeting no-one, not meeting families?
"Enough is enough, I have got friends in that tower. We have a right to be angry."
Downing Street said the purpose of her visit was to get a briefing from emergency services and she later announced a public inquiry.
But former cabinet minister Michael Portillo said the prime minister "didn't use her humanity".
So far in the investigation:
The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council told BBC Two's Newsnight it would not use the type of cladding fitted to Grenfell Tower on other buildings in the borough.
The cladding - installed on the tower in a recent renovation - has come under scrutiny, with experts saying a more fire resistant type could have been used.
On Thursday, the first victim of the fire was named as Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali, 23.
The Syria Solidarity Campaign said Mr Alhajali, a civil engineering student, had been in a flat on the 14th floor when the fire broke out, and had spent two hours on the phone to a friend in Syria.
He had been trying to get through to his family while he was waiting to be rescued.
His older brother, Omar, told the BBC he had lost Mohammed on the way out of the building.
Two other victims have also been named.
Five-year-old Isaac Shawo reportedly got separated from his family in the smoke and later died.
Artist and photographer Khadija Saye, 24, lived on the 20th floor and also died.
By Peter Hunt, BBC royal correspondent
This is the British monarchy, in action, showing it has learnt from its mistakes of the past.
Mistakes that have included the significant time that elapsed before the Queen visited the site of the Aberfan disaster in the 1960s and the "Show us you care" newspaper headlines that were printed 20 years ago, in the days following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
As Theresa May is learning to her cost, it is a tragedy with a growing political dimension. There is a howl of pain and anger being directed at an establishment which has the royals at its heart.
There's the talk of the divide between rich and poor. The Queen's grandson is a millionaire prince living in a palace in the same borough as Grenfell Tower.
In coming to the site, the Queen was acting as "head of the nation" - a focal point at a moment of considerable pain.  She was also providing her prime minister with a masterclass in how to respond on such occasions.
Read more from Peter Hunt here
Stories of how people managed to escape have also emerged.
Christos Fairbairn, 41, a resident who lived on the 15th floor, described how he collapsed while fleeing the building, only to be rescued by a firefighter.
"I can't believe I am alive," he said. "I will never forget what happened and how traumatising it was. I know I will never live in a tower block again."
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Elpidio Bonifacio, a partially blind man in his 70s, was rescued from his 11th-floor flat after having been seen at the window waving a jumper.
His son Gordon, 41, said on Facebook that his father was now in intensive care.
Rydon, the company that carried out the Â£8.6m refurbishment of the tower, welcomed the public inquiry, but said it had met all building and fire regulations, plus health and safety standards.
Housing minister Alok Sharma said the government was working with the local authority to ensure that "every single family will be rehoused in the local area" - but Kensington and Chelsea Council said it may "have to explore housing options... in other parts of the capital."
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Edvald Boasson Hagen won stage 19 of the Tour de France as Britain's Chris Froome maintained his overall lead.

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The Norwegian was part of a 20-man breakaway but made a winning solo attack late on to finish ahead of Germany's Nikias Arndt in second and Jens Keukeleire of Belgium in third.
It was Boasson Hagen's third Tour stage victory, but his first since 2011.
Team Sky rider Froome crossed the line in Salon-de-Provence over 12 minutes behind the stage winner.
But the three-time champion retains the yellow jersey and will take a 23-second lead over Romain Bardet into Saturday's time trial in Marseille - the penultimate stage - with Rigoberto Uran six seconds further adrift.
Britain's Simon Yates remains in the best young rider's white jersey, with an advantage of two minutes six seconds over nearest rival Louis Meintjes of South Africa.
As one of the fastest sprinters remaining in the race, Dimension Data's Boasson Hagen became the favourite to win the stage by riding himself into the breakaway that was finally established after about 35km of the 222.5km route - the longest stage of this year's Tour.
However, instead of waiting for the final sprint, Boasson Hagen, 30, staved off all attempts by his rivals to drop him before riding them off his wheel.
He showed guile as well as power. Only Arndt and Boasson Hagen knew that the right side of a roundabout in the final 3km was the quickest course to take as the others in a nine-man split went left and lost their chance.
Team Sunweb's Arndt flicked out his elbow to implore the rider behind to do his turn, only to discover it was Boasson Hagen, who duly came to the front and kicked clear.
After four podium finishes in this year's Tour - including an agonising photo finish defeat by Marcel Kittel on stage seven - Boasson Hagen finally claimed victory, also ending a six-year wait since two stage wins in a breakout performance for Team Sky at the 2011 Tour.
His win also salvages a difficult tour for Dimension Data, after their leader and sprinter Mark Cavendish abandoned following a crash on stage four.
Froome, 32, enjoyed about as close to an entirely stress-free day as is possible on the Tour de France as Team Sky dictated the tempo on the front.
With the likes of Cavendish, Kittel and Arnaud Demare already out of the race, none of the remaining sprinters' teams were likely to receive any help to reel in the breakaway as a tired peloton happily let them build an unassailable advantage.
On an otherwise uneventful day, there was confirmation that Australian Michael Matthews will win the green jersey points classification, provided he completes the two remaining stages.
German Andre Greipel had needed to win all remaining 160 points on offer even to just draw level with Matthews but neither rider scored any points on stage 19.
Saturday's stage 20 is a 22.5km individual time trial in Marseille.
If, as expected, Froome remains in the overall lead at the end of day then he will win a fourth Tour title and third in a row on Sunday as tradition dictates no general classification rivals attack the yellow jersey on the final stage in Paris.
Froome, who will go out last, will also likely target victory in the time trial, to avoid becoming only the seventh rider to win the yellow jersey without winning a stage of that year's Tour.
Stage 19 result:
1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Dimension Data) 5hrs 06mins 09secs
2. Nikias Arndt (Ger/Team Sunweb) +5secs
3. Jens Keukeleire (Bel/Orica-Scott) +17secs
4. Daniele Bennati (Ita/Movistar) Same time
5. Thomas de Gendt (Bel/Lotto Soudal)
6. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra/Direct Energie)
7. Elie Gesbert (Fra/Fortuneo-Oscaro)
8. Jan Bakelants (Bel/AG2R La Mondiale)
9. Michael Albasini (Swi/Orica-Scott) +19secs
10. Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra/Fortuneo-Oscaro) +1min 32secs
General classification after stage 19:
1. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) 83hrs 26mins 55secs
2. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale) +23secs
3. Rigoberto Uran (Col/Cannondale-Drapac) +29secs
4. Mikel Landa (Spa/Team Sky) +1min 36secs
5. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana) +1min 55secs
6. Dan Martin (Ire/Quick-Step Floors) 2mins 56secs
7. Simon Yates (GB/Orica-Scott) 4mins 46secs
8. Louis Meintjes (SA/Team UAE Emirates) +6mins 52secs
9. Warren Barguil (Fra/Team Sunweb) +8mins 22secs
10. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek-Segafredo) +8mins 34secs


Ghana goalkeeper Razak Brimah has been fined $2,500 (£1,990) by his country's football association for comments he made on a facebook video.

The 29-year-old has helped Ghana reach the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals in Gabon and is expected to line up against Cameroon on Thursday.
He used the video to hit back at his critics but the Ghana FA says he used "unfortunate words" which "management finds unacceptable."
His fine will be donated to charity.
Brimah was unhappy with some of the criticism he received after the Black Stars' final group game against Egypt, when some people suggested he was fault for the goal in the 1-0 defeat.
He has since issued an apology for his video.


Two young children have been raped in the Indian capital of Delhi, drawing strong criticism from the city's chief minister.

Arvind Kejriwal accused the government and police of not doing enough to protect minors in the city.
The latest attacks come after a four-year-old girl was raped in Delhi last week.
Two years ago, India tightened its laws on sexual violence after the brutal gang-rape and murder of a student.
Mr Kejriwal criticised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung for failing to provide adequate safety and security in the city.
The responsibility for the Delhi Police comes under the national government's home ministry.
"Repeated rape of minors is shameful and worrying. Delhi police has completely failed to provide safety. What are PM n his LG doing?" Mr Kejriwal said on Twitter.
He said the prime minister should either act or transfer the control over the police to the state government.
Police say one of the victims in the two separate attacks, a two-and-a-half year old girl, was abducted in west Delhi on Friday night by two men.
She was sexually assaulted before being dumped in a park near her home.
According to police reports, she was bleeding profusely when she was found. Tests showed she had been raped at least once.
"We have launched a manhunt for the suspects. So far no-one has been  arrested," west Delhi police chief, Pushpendra Kumar, told AFP.
In a separate incident, a five-year-old girl was gang-raped by three men in the east of the city.
Police say she was lured to a neighbour's house where she was repeatedly raped.
Both girls are undergoing medical treatment but are believed to be out of danger, police said.
The incidents come one week after a four-year-old girl was allegedly raped before being abandoned by a railway track in the capital.
The girl, who was found near her home in a poor neighbourhood in the north of the city, had been slashed with a sharp object and had severe internal injuries.
Police have arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with the attack.
The head of the Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwal, has visited all three girls and said they had received horrific injuries that left them in an extreme amount of pain.
She said not enough was being done to punish those responsible for such crimes. Of 11,000 crimes against women registered with Delhi police in 2014, she said, only nine had been prosecuted.
"There is this complete lack of fear because if the convictions are not happening... if people are not having to pay the price for what they have done, then how is it that things will change in Delhi?" she told the BBC.
The latest attacks have caused outrage in the Indian capital, with many people taking to social media to express their disgust at the crimes.
The gang rape and murder of a student in 2012 in Delhi led to protests and new anti-rape laws in the country.
However, brutal sexual attacks against women and children continue to be reported across the country. Delhi alone had more than 2,000 rapes reported in 2014.


Motorists in Manchester are being frustrated by the appearance of yet another hole in a city-centre road.

A 5ft x 3ft (1.5m x 1m) void appeared on Whitworth Street on Sunday, resulting in the road's closure between Princess Street and Oxford Street.
A section of the busy Mancunian Way has been closed since August, after two holes opened up. Replacement sewer pipes are being installed.
United Utilities said sewers underneath Whitworth Street have not been damaged.
"Non-urgent" roadworks in other parts of the city have been suspended until after Christmas in order to relieve congestion caused by Mancunian Way's partial closure.
Councillor Pat Karney, city centre lead for Manchester City Council, said Whitworth Street should be repaired in time for Monday's evening rush hour.
He described the appearance of the latest hole as "incredibly unfortunate".
"The council has placed a moratorium on all non-urgent roadworks, but this is the last thing we needed at the moment," he added.
He said the council will investigate why the city is being "blighted" by holes.
A 40ft (12m) wide sinkhole opened up in August on the Mancunian Way after heavy rainfall, while another hole appeared a month later.


Images courtesy of AFP, EPA, Getty Images and Reuters

A selection of the best photos from across Africa and of Africans elsewhere in the world this week.
South African athlete Luvo Manyonga captivates the crowd with his gold medal-winning performance at the IAAF World Championships in London on Saturday. Four years ago he was addicted to a drug similar to crystal meth called 'tik'. Now, as the men's long jump champion he is looking ahead to his next goal of beating the world record.
On Monday, a group of Masaai men set to work at their roadside hair parlour called Engineer Maasai Salon. The parlour is on one of the busiest streets in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa.
"Male hairdressers are nothing new in Kenya but a group of Masaai in traditional regalia plaiting hair is a novelty," says our reporter Ferdinand Omondi, who took these photos.
On Tuesday, a group of men sit behind paintings of political-religious sect leader Muanda Nsemiare at police headquarters in Kinshasa. Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo have accused the Bundu Dia Mayala sect of being behind the violence which has left 12 people dead in Kinshasa, the capital.
On the same day, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma celebrates as he survives his latest vote of no confidence, despite the ballot being held in secret for the first time. Opposition parties had hoped the secret vote would mean some MPs from the governing ANC might side with them against the president over his alleged corrupt dealings, but the motion was defeated by 198 votes to 177.
This man is among the millions of Kenyans who voted in the country's general election on Tuesday.
People began queuing early in the morning and even overnight to cast their votes in six separate ballots, from presidential to county level.
Protests broke out in some areas on Wednesday after main opposition challenger Raila Odinga alleged that hackers had compromised the electronic voting system and falsified results to give victory to President Uhuru Kenyatta. The claim has been rejected by election officials.
On Thursday, John Paul Mwirigi celebrates with his family after becoming Kenya's youngest MP. The 23-year-old university student, who will be representing a constituency in eastern Meru county, says: "My joy is that the people of the constituency have realised that even the young generation can lead."
Many other Kenyans are watching and waiting, as the electoral commission continues to verify all the results.


The brother of a man feared dead in an explosion at a Cheshire wood flour mill said it was a "disaster waiting to happen".

One of the two bodies found at Wood Flour Mills in Bosley, near Macclesfield, is "probably that" of Will Barks, police have said.
Kelvin Barks said his brother had often expressed concerns about safety.
Owner Wood Treatment Ltd said it took the safety of staff "extremely seriously".
It said it was "committed to establishing the cause of the incident" and was co-operating fully with an investigation led by the emergency services and Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The HSE served the firm with improvement notices two years ago, in which it warned of a risk of an explosion or fire, although the company complied with the notice.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Assistant Chief Constable Guy Hindle, from Cheshire Police, said it could become a criminal investigation, describing the site as a "potential crime scene".
Kelvin Barks said his brother had not been happy at the mill and had been applying for other jobs.
"He said it was a disaster waiting to happen. He wasn't wrong," he said.
Will Barks, 51, is feared dead along with fellow workers Derek Moore, 62, Dorothy Bailey, 62 and Jason Shingler, 38.
Unstable silos were demolished at the site on Wednesday to allow search teams to continue their work.
Kelvin Barks said he had been "disgusted" by the lack of contact from Wood Treatment Ltd.
His father, Geoff Hobson, from Leek in Staffordshire, said he had "heard absolutely nothing" from the company, "except a feeble apology. It's not good enough".
The company has not responded to a request for a comment.
Mr Hobson said the family had been left "in limbo," waiting for confirmation that the body is that of his son.
"This is going to absolutely destroy us," he said.
Mr Hobson added it could take "two or three days" to identify the bodies that have been found.
"They can't identify whether it's male or female because of the state of it," he said.
"His wife is absolutely distraught. They were a devoted couple. This torture she is going through now is the same as what we're going through. We can't get any closure on it," he said.
Cheshire Police said: "A body was recovered from the scene on Sunday night. A post mortem has now taken place.
"Formal identification has not been made but, based on the information available to the coroner, indications are that it is probably that of William Barks, aged 51.
"However, further forensic tests are required to corroborate the identification."


Does the changing nature of the global economy mean that the world is about to experience - or is already experiencing - a period of deglobalisation, as in the interwar period?

The closely integrated global economy of the late 19th century - a time of widespread and fast-growing trade, global capital flows and high migration - unravelled in the interwar period.
Understanding the last period of unravelling is crucial to judging the risks this time around.
This is a question I've blogged on before myself.
Since the financial crisis, the pace of integration of the global economy certainly looks to have slowed.
World trade growth, which, over the 1990s and 2000s, easily outpaced global GDP growth, has been expanding at a slower rate than global output.
Various factors can be pinpointed as the cause: the changing nature of global supply chains, a lack of trade liberalisation (the lack of further liberalisation has been more important than rising protectionism) or banks and financial services firms choosing to pull back from international operations.
It certainly looks like that this slowing is more than merely a cyclical downturn in global trade. Something structural and longer lasting appears to be at work.
The consultancy firm Capital Economics today asks, "is globalisation dead?", concluding that it isn't dead but merely resting, and that the pace has slowed but the process will continue.
There are signs, though, that the nature of globalisation may be beginning to change - and that is as much about geopolitics as raw economics.
Even Capital Economics' relatively optimistic take today notes that:
"Trade and investment agreements should eventually unleash a fresh wave of economic integration, even if they are formed on a regional rather than global basis."
The future of the world economy may be less about "globalisation" and more about "regionalisation".
To understand why, it is worth starting with China. According to IMF data (adjusting for relative prices) in 1980 the Chinese economy represented around 2% of the global economy, while the United States represented around 23%. Last year they each amounted to around 16%.
That, in just over a generation, is a striking change.
Even if China's rate of growth dips in the coming years by weight of population alone China is set to be the largest economy in the world, even if Chinese living standards remain low compared to the West.
Many observers have been tempted to compare China's eclipse of the US (economically at least), to the US's eclipse of Britain in the 20th century.
Just as the Pax Britannica gave way to a post-World War Two Pax Americana, talk of the "Chinese Century" has been commonplace.
But that is to misunderstand the economic history of the last two centuries.
The extent of American economic dominance over the last few decades has been truly exceptional , as has the extent of US power.
From the 1870s until the First World War, the height of British imperial power, the British economy never represented more than 10% of global GDP.
Even adding in the Empire doesn't get the total share to the levels of the levels the US achieved in the 1950s and 1960s.
While the British Empire was a major factor in world politics, Britain always had to share power globally.
The new geography of global economics is far more similar to that of the late 19th century than the late 20th.
Adam Posen, a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, has noted before that the "new normal" is really the "old normal".
In 2012, he argued that the experience of the late 19th century offered important lessons for the 21st.
Specifically, a world of multiple economic powers would see less strict rule enforcement and greater volatility than a world dominated by the US.
More than one major currency would play a decisive role, intellectual property rights would be harder to enforce and yet globalisation would continue.
All of which would suggest the decline of US economic hegemony and the rise of China is perfectly compatible with an increasingly integrated global economy.
But that doesn't mean globalisation in an era of multiple economic powers will be like globalisation in a unipower era.
The roots of the deglobalisation of the 1920s and the 1930s can be found well before the Great War.
British policymakers in particular began to fret about the relative decline of the UK economy and the rise of other powers from the 1870s onwards.
The reaction of many was to drop their traditional desire for an open, trading world economy and turn towards the empire.
As one historian has put it: "[In the 1880s and 1890s] international exhibitions were replaced by colonial exhibitions; companies reorganised on an imperial basis; even education and patterns of travel to some extent became imperial, rather than cosmopolitan."
As Capital Economics have argued the future of global trade deals may well be regional, rather than global.
It's hard not to detect the whiff of geopolitics in the US attempt to sign a grand deal in Asia, excluding China. Meanwhile, China's international economic strategy (as analysed by former UBS chief economist George Magnus) is following a similar regional pivot, aiming to bind together diverse countries in a "New Silk Road Economic Order".
The globalisation of the 1980s to 2000s was genuinely global; the globalisation of the 2010s and 2020s may be much more regional.
The globalisation of the last 30  years may have contributed to lower interest rates, slower wage growth and booming asset markets.
It remains unclear if "regionalisation" would do the same.


The founder of the Wikileaks website, Julian Assange, has been denied residency in Sweden, the country's migration board officials say.

They declined to give the reason, saying it was confidential.
Mr Assange, an Australian national, had hoped to create a base for Wikileaks in the Nordic country due to its laws protecting whistle-blowers.
The rejection comes ahead of the expected publication of some 400,000 Iraq war documents on Wikileaks.
The US military has already assembled a 120-member team to prepare for the publication of the documents which are thought to concern battle activity, Iraqi security forces and civilian casualties.
Wikileaks' release in July of thousands of documents on the war in Afghanistan prompted US military officials to warn that the whistleblower website might cause the deaths of US soldiers and Afghan civilians because some of the documents contained the names of locals who had helped coalition forces.
"We have decided not to grant him (Mr Assange) a residence permit," Sweden's Migration Board official Gunilla Wikstroem told the AFP news agency.
"He did not fulfil the requirements," she added without giving any further details.
Mr Assange applied for a residence permit on 18 August.
He is currently being investigated in Sweden over an alleged sex crime.
Mr Assange denies any wrongdoing and says the allegations are part of a smear campaign by opponents of his whistle-blowing website.


A neo-Nazi has been jailed for life for attempting to behead a Tesco shopper in a racially-motivated revenge attack for the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.

Dr Sarandev Bhambra was singled out by Zack Davies who was heard saying "white power" during the machete attack at the store in Mold, Flintshire, in January.
An ex-soldier rescued the victim.
Davies, 26, of Mold, was convicted of attempted murder at the town's crown court in June and on Friday was told he must serve at least 14 years in prison.
Judge Rhys Rowlands said Davies had developed "extreme racist views" and had been plotting to carry out a "murderous attack" in order to draw attention to himself.
He said it was a "planned and racially motivated attack", as Dr Bhambra watched proceedings during his first appearance at the court in Mold.
Speaking outside court, the victim said Davies was a "coward".
"He attacked me from behind and tried to behead me," Dr Bhambra said. "By the grace of God I remained conscious and was able to defend myself.
"It is abhorrent that he has claimed that he tried to kill me in Lee Rigby's honour."
During the trial, the court heard Dr Bhambra had been walking down an aisle in the store on 14 January when he felt a "huge blow" to the back of his head from the 30cm (12in) machete.
Shopper Leanne Jones said she heard the words "white power" and that Davies was acting "like a lunatic" as he hacked Dr Bhambra with the machete.
Another witness heard Davies say: "Come here, this is for Lee Rigby".
The attack left Dr Bhambra, a 25-year-old dentist from Leeds, with two deep cuts to his scalp and another to his back, which went down to the muscle.
An injury to his left hand caused major nerve, artery and tendon damage, leaving him in need of surgery for five hours.
If it was not for the "remarkably brave actions" of soldier Peter Fuller, who came to his defence, Dr Bhambra would have been "killed in front of many shoppers", Judge Rowlands said.
The trial heard items associated with white supremacy and Nazism were found at Davies's home, including banners, swastika badges and Combat 18 stickers.
He also said he was "absolutely fascinated" with Islamic State and described the British man known as Jihadi John as his inspiration.
Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale were jailed for life in February 2014 for hacking Fusilier Rigby to death.
After the trial concluded, Dr Bhambra's brother, Dr Tarlochan Singh Bhambra, said his family had "no doubt" that, had the "racial disposition" of the case been reversed, it would have been reported as an "act of terror".
Det Ch Insp Alun Oldfield from North Wales Police said: "This was a horrific attack and we are pleased with the sentence given to Davies.
"North Wales Police would like to commend the character and determination of Dr Bhambra and we are delighted that he is making such a good recovery.
"We also applaud the actions of Mr Peter Fuller, who has since been nominated for a national bravery award."