Asian shares were lacklustre in early trade on Friday, despite US stocks closing higher on strong retail sales data.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up just 0.12% at 20,407.08.
But on Thursday, the benchmark index marked its biggest percentage gain in four months.
"It's interesting to see that US retail sales are up," economist Tony Nash told the BBC, "as we've seen Asian exports down for the past several months."
"The real question for Asia is whether the US up-tick is a trend and if that will flow upstream to exports in Asia any time soon," said Mr Nash, managing partner of Complete Intelligence.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.21% at 5,545.30, while South Korea's benchmark Kospi index closed down 0.22% at 2,052.17.
South Korean shares ended a four-day losing streak on Thursday after the country's central bank cut interest rates to a record low, citing a deadly outbreak of Mers as a concern for the economy.
In China, markets were setting a more positive trend, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index up 0.5% at 27,043.43 in afternoon trade and the Shanghai Composite up 0.72% at 5,158.40.
Chinese markets experienced mixed trading on Thursday following data that showed both retail sales and industrial production rose in May from a year earlier, in line with expectations.
But fixed asset investment grew more slowly than forecast in the first five months of the year compared to a year ago.
Earlier this week, China's National Development and Reform Commission said that it had given approval for seven big new projects, including an airport expansion on Hainan - an island destination that is growing in popularity with holidaymakers.
Mr Nash said he expected fixed asset investment in China to see stronger growth in early 2016 in light of the Commission's announcement.


A top Russian human rights body says it has been contacted by Russian soldiers who fear being sent to fight in Syria.

The presidential Human Rights Council told BBC Russian that it was seeking an explanation from the Russian military.
Officers reportedly told some soldiers that they would be sent to fight "in a hot country". Russia has sent military hardware to Syrian government forces.
Separately, a top Russian security official said nearly 2,400 Russians had joined Islamic State (IS) fighters.
Gen Sergei Smirnov of the Federal Security Service (FSB) did not say where the Russian Islamist militants were fighting. IS controls a big swathe of Syria and Iraq, and part of Libya.
He also said a larger number of volunteers from Central Asia had gone to fight for IS, bringing the total of Russians and Central Asians to more than 5,000.
It is bigger than previous Russian estimates of IS militants from the ex-Soviet Union.
IS has been spreading its influence among Muslim communities in Russia's North Caucasus, and many of the Russians in its ranks are believed to be Chechens. An anti-Moscow insurgency continues in the region.
The main nationalities of IS volunteers from Central Asia are Uzbek, Kazakh and Turkmen.
According to intelligence estimates, IS has about 20,000 foreign fighters, most of them Arabs. At least 3,400 of the 20,000 are from Western Europe.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged continued military support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad, whose forces are fighting IS and other rebel groups.
The US expressed concern over a Russian military build-up near Syria's coastal city of Latakia, monitored by US intelligence.
The US says Russia is building an airbase there, but it is not clear whether any Russian troops are directly involved in the Syrian fighting.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, quoted by Russia's Tass news agency, said "there is no joint fighting on the ground with Russian troops", but he did not rule out requesting that if necessary.
"So far the Syrian army is able (on its own) and what we need frankly is more of the ammunition and quality weapons," he said.
Sergei Krivenko of the Russian Human Rights Council said he had received worried messages from Russian soldiers and their relatives, who feared they could be sent to Syria.
Any secret deployment of troops to Syria would be illegal, he said.
The council is an advisory body whose role is to assist the Kremlin in safeguarding human rights.
President Putin has legal authority to send troops to Syria, Mr Krivenko said, but he would have to sign a decree to that effect, which must be made public.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of any such messages about Syria having been sent by Russian soldiers.
On Friday the Russian news daily Gazeta.ru reported that Russian professional soldiers and military hardware were being shipped to Syria clandestinely from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
Identification plates were removed from military vehicles, it said.
Soldiers interviewed by the paper said they did not find out about their mission until they arrived in the port. Officers told them only that they were going "to a hot country".
Some soldiers had assumed they were being sent to Donbas in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are resisting the Ukrainian army.
A soldier called Alexei said that "so far our command has not specified where we are going... Our regiment has lots of companies, and we were told they had picked out the best 20 fighters.
"But nearly all are unhappy and not prepared to go to Syria," he said.


A campaign group has said extending the new rail line linking Edinburgh and the Borders should be a transport priority for the region.

The Campaign for Borders Rail said the "resounding success" of the route showed the huge demand for services.
It said it appreciated the area had "many and varied transport needs".
However, the group said those should be considered separately from the case to extend the railway south beyond its current Tweedbank terminus.
The CBR said the demand for services was a clear indication of the potential to capitalise on that success which could only be achieved by taking the line south to "benefit a larger catchment area".
It said consideration of roads improvements should be a separate exercise and should not be allowed to affect plans to examine the feasibility of extending the track.
The group said it welcomed confirmation that significantly more people had used the Borders Railway in its first year of operation than was initially expected.
The CBR said it was also looking forward to the results of a study into the potential for railway development in the Borders.
"The return of trains is incredibly popular in the Scottish Borders," said CBR chairman Allan McLean.
"The line has boosted the economies of the Borders and Midlothian. This proves that people were right to argue for so long in favour of railway services.
"The time has now come to enhance the existing route to match the level of demand and to prepare for the extension of tracks to serve more communities by train."
The Scottish government has already given a commitment to a feasibility study to look at the possibility of extending the line.
It will examine the case for an extension of the railway - along with improvements to the A1, A7, and A68 - with a report expected by the end of next year.


Lee Merrien has admitted his Olympic career is over after failing to run the Rio 2016 qualification time in Sunday's London Marathon.

Merrien, who ran at London 2012, came 19th in a time of 2 hrs 16 mins and 42 secs, but needed 2:14 to qualify.
"I'm disappointed with the time, but to be honest it was irrelevant," the 37-year-old told BBC Guernsey.
"When you're outside that time it's almost immaterial whether it's a couple minutes or a few seconds."
Three British athletes - Tsegai Tewelde and brothers Callum and Derek Hawkins - crossed the line inside the men's qualifying time on Sunday.
Merrien said "you have to take your hat off" to the trio, and confirmed he would not try to qualify for the Tokyo Games in four years time.
"I won't be going for 2020. It only comes every four years but it's a lot of commitment from a family perspective and being away from home so often for training camps and things.
"There'll be other competitions, but as far as the Olympics go, that's me."


Five Britons were killed when a whale-watching boat sank off the coast of western Canada, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

The boat carrying 27 people sank near Tofino on Vancouver Island on Sunday.
Emergency officials said 21 people had been rescued and one other person was still missing.
The boat, Leviathan II, made a mayday call before sinking about 8 miles (12km) west of Tofino. Sea conditions at the time were reported to be calm.
Authorities say they do not know what caused the accident, which is still being investigated.
Mr Hammond said: "It is with deep sadness that I can confirm five British nationals have lost their lives when the whale watching boat they were on sank off Western Canada on Sunday.
"My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those affected by this terrible accident."
He said consular staff in British Columbia were supporting the family members of those who had died and were in close contact with the Canadian authorities.
Within 30 minutes of the mayday call, a rescue helicopter and boat were on the scene. Other boats in the area also responded to the call for help.
Tofino fishing guide Lance Desilets said at least 12 rescue boats were already out on the water when he arrived on the scene.
"I saw a lot of personal belongings, a long diesel slick and the top 10 feet of the Leviathan II sticking out of the water," he said. "It's a sad day for our community."
Melissa Kai, of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Center in Victoria, British Columbia said the search-and-rescue efforts had concluded, and the case of the missing person had been turned over to Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The 20m (65ft) boat was operated by Jamie's Whaling Station and Adventure Centres.
In a statement on the company's website, owner Jamie Bray said: "It has been a tragic day. Our entire team is heartbroken over this incident.
"We are doing everything we can to assist our passengers and staff through this difficult time. We are co-operating with investigators to determine exactly what happened."
Tofino is a popular destination for tourists wanting to spot humpback and Pacific Gray whales, and trips usually last up to three hours.
Canadian Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau thanked all those who participated in the rescue effort and offered his condolences to the victims and their families.
"I know firsthand of this coastal area's natural beauty and the many people who visit here from all around the world," said Mr Trudeau, who won Canada's national elections last week.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, the crew, and their families at this most difficult time. We will continue to offer them support in the days ahead."


Kosovo lost 6-0 to Croatia in their first competitive home fixture, which was played in neighbouring Albania.

The 2018 World Cup qualifier could not be held in Kosovo because of a lack of infrastructure, but thousands of fans made the trip to Shkoder.
Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic scored a first-half hat-trick for Croatia, who are top of qualifying Group I.
Matej Mitrovic, Ivan Perisic and Nikola Kalinic scored in the second half to leave Kosovo bottom of the group.
Governing bodies Uefa and Fifa admitted Kosovo as a member in May, and in September they drew their first competitive fixture 1-1 in Finland.
Match ends, Kosovo 0, Croatia 6.
Second Half ends, Kosovo 0, Croatia 6.
Goal!  Kosovo 0, Croatia 6. Nikola Kalinic (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Mateo Kovacic.
Attempt saved. Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ivan Perisic with a cross.
Mateo Kovacic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Besar Halimi (Kosovo).
Ivan Perisic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Hekuran Kryeziu (Kosovo).
Milan Badelj (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Herolind Shala (Kosovo).
Corner,  Kosovo. Conceded by Sime Vrsaljko.
Attempt saved. Herolind Shala (Kosovo) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Foul by Marko Rog (Croatia).
Besar Halimi (Kosovo) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Ivan Perisic (Croatia).
Valon Berisha (Kosovo) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!  Kosovo 0, Croatia 5. Ivan Perisic (Croatia) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcelo Brozovic with a through ball.
Attempt missed. Albert Bunjaku (Kosovo) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Milot Rashica.
Attempt missed. Marko Rog (Croatia) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Nikola Kalinic following a fast break.
Mateo Kovacic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Hekuran Kryeziu (Kosovo).
Attempt blocked. Valon Berisha (Kosovo) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Leart Paqarada.
Sime Vrsaljko (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Leart Paqarada (Kosovo).
Substitution, Kosovo. Herolind Shala replaces Arber Zeneli.
Attempt blocked. Ivan Perisic (Croatia) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Offside, Kosovo. Besar Halimi tries a through ball, but Albert Bunjaku is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Albert Bunjaku (Kosovo) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Foul by Matej Mitrovic (Croatia).
Besar Halimi (Kosovo) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Croatia. Marko Rog replaces Andrej Kramaric.
Substitution, Kosovo. Albert Bunjaku replaces Bersant Celina.
Goal!  Kosovo 0, Croatia 4. Matej Mitrovic (Croatia) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Marcelo Brozovic with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Croatia. Conceded by Fanol Perdedaj.
Attempt blocked. Ivan Perisic (Croatia) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mateo Kovacic.
Attempt blocked. Nikola Kalinic (Croatia) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Andrej Kramaric.
Corner,  Kosovo. Conceded by Domagoj Vida.
Attempt missed. Nikola Kalinic (Croatia) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Sime Vrsaljko.
Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Alban Pnishi (Kosovo).


A mystery which has had archaeologists stumped for years, may finally be solved.

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1 October 2015 Last updated at 17:36 BST
Queen Nefertiti was one of the most important women in ancient Egypt. But archaeologists have never been able to find the mummy of this legendary queen.
Now, a leading British expert Dr Nicholas Reeves thinks that her grave is actually hidden behind a wall in the famous tomb of the boy Pharaoh, Tutankhamun.
Take a look at Jenny's report here.


Seven people had to leap to safety when a blaze broke out at an Indian restaurant.

Police and fire crews were called out to the fire in Maliks in Cookham High Street, Berkshire, at 01:45 GMT.
The people living above the restaurant jumped out of windows on both first and second floors to escape the fire, which is being treated as arson.
One man in his twenties was taken to hospital with leg injuries and the others were treated at the scene.
The injured man has since been discharged.
More on this and other stories on BBC Berkshire's live page


A French town has been told it must take down its statue of the Virgin Mary to comply with a national ban on religious symbols in public spaces, the town's mayor said on Saturday.

A court has given the town of Publier, in eastern France, three months to remove the work.
If it fails to do so, it will be fined â‚¬100 (Â£80; $105) a day.
Mayor Gaston Lacroix said he will try to relocate the marble statue on private land.
The image of the mother of Jesus has been standing on the shores of Lake Geneva since 2011.
It has been the subject of local controversy for some years after it was paid for with municipal funds.
The decision to remove the statue has been criticised on social media, with some wondering whether freedom of expression had been curbed.
France has long had strict rules ordering the separation of church and state.
In 2010, it became the first country in Europe to prohibit the wearing of face-covering Muslim veils in public spaces.


Hundreds of people have shown their support for friends and family of a man who vanished from the Royal Welsh Show.

People gathered in Montgomery, Powys, on Saturday for James Corfield, 19.
He has not been seen since he left the White Horse pub in Builth Wells in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
David Thomas, 50, who is secretary of the town's cricket club, where Mr Corfield plays, said: "It was great to see that support. We're trying to stay positive."
Those gathered also held a round of applause.
Brecon Mountain Rescue Team had its kayak search teams out on Saturday along with the police helicopter, as the search continued.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service's drone has also been used along the River Wye.
Dyfed-Powys Police said on Saturday it was being supported by South Wales Police and Devon and Cornwall Police, as searches were conducted "on land, water and from the air".
Mr Corfield was due to meet family at the showground where he was camping with friends, but never arrived.
His mother Louise Corfield said the family were "desperate to know where he is".
Following the end of the festival, officers have searched the Royal Welsh showground and the young people's village.
On Thursday, about 200 volunteers joined mountain rescue teams, police and dog units, officials from young farmers' clubs and the fire service in the search for Mr Corfield.
Police have begun studying CCTV footage to understand where Mr Corfield, a member of Shropshire-based Chirbury & Marton Young Farmers Club, went after he left the pub.
Mr Corfield is 6ft 2in tall, of slim build, with short brown hair and was last seen wearing a blue Abercrombie and Fitch shirt and jeans.


Transport Minister Humza Yousaf is to meet with First Group to discuss its plans to sell its operations in the Borders and Midlothian.

It announced this week it had agreed a deal in principle with West Coast Motors to be concluded on 25 March.
MSP Christine Grahame raised the issue at Holyrood, seeking reassurances over employment and service provision.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the Scottish government was already looking into the proposed sale.
First Group revealed its intention to sell its operations on Wednesday, blaming the impact of the Borders Railway.
It would see its Galashiels depot, Peebles, Hawick and Kelso outstations and all staff transfer to West Coast Motors.
In response to Ms Grahame's question, Mr Swinney said talks were planned to look at any potential impact of the deal.
"We are engaging with the operators and also with the relevant local authorities to understand the situation and any implications for the staff and the travelling public," he said.
"We welcome the assurances that have been given by First that all the jobs, pay and conditions will be protected."
He said the transport minister would be speaking with the managing director of First Scotland East next week to discuss the issue.
"We will consult publicly on measures in the transport bill later this year to address some of the issues that are raised," he added.


Scotland needs to shift a fifth of its spending on new buildings and transport towards backing for its targets of big cuts in carbon emissions, a new study has claimed.

A report published by the Task Force on Low Carbon Infrastructure said less should be spent on projects that increase energy use.
That could include new roads.
The Scottish government said the report was a "valuable contribution" to shifting to a low-carbon economy.
The report argues that it is better to build now for changed public choices and behaviour, travel patterns and energy efficiency standards rather than alter infrastructure when the changes have taken place.
Compiled by the Green Alliance think tank, it says there are "critical weaknesses" in the way Scotland now spends.
It says international comparisons suggest 72% of infrastructure spending in other countries is on projects designed to reduce carbon emissions, whereas that is thought to be 52% in Scotland.
The report's authors set a challenge to see that 20-point gap closed - a change for a fifth of infrastructure spending.
The "Scotland's Way Ahead" report pushes for further progress on renewable electricity, transport, housing and waste, but says the approach should also apply across health, schools, the digital economy, culture and justice.
One of the main areas addressed is in local district heating of homes and other buildings. It argues for a more co-ordinated approach, rather than project-by-project.
And while it says telecom links will allow people to work from home and reduce commuting, it suggests a better understanding is required of how that could increase energy use in workers' homes.
The report argues that there are benefits from more emphasis on capital spending to reduce energy use.
Less use of cars - with more walking or cycling - can help health, lower energy use should help cut fuel poverty and there are tens of thousands of "low-carbon" jobs yet to be created.
Sara Thiam, chairwoman of the task force, said: "As Scotland prepares to spend billions of pounds over the coming decades to upgrade our ageing infrastructure, it's essential we invest wisely for the future, building infrastructure that improves our economy, environment and quality of life for the people of Scotland in the 21st Century and beyond."
As a director of the Institute of Civil Engineers, she added that the challenge of the report could "inspire the next generation of men and women into the profession to build on the legacy of famous engineers of the past including Telford, Watt, Arrol and Stevenson".
She added: "They have the potential to build a better world by getting involved in 21st Century engineering projects that will stand the test of time, as the Forth Bridge has done."
A Scottish government spokeswoman said the report was a "valuable contribution" to the challenge of shifting to a low-carbon economy.
"Establishing Scotland as a low-carbon place is already a central theme of Scotland's National Planning Framework," she said. "We are also broadening our infrastructure approach, building on the success of our approach to renewable energy.
"For example, in June we announced that improving the energy efficiency of Scotland's homes and non-domestic building stock would be designated a National Infrastructure Priority."
Dr Sam Gardner, Task Force member and head of policy at WWF Scotland, said: "The report shows that Scotland's climate action plan must be matched by an infrastructure plan that ensures we build the foundations for a low-carbon future.
"Securing the benefits of a low-carbon Scotland will mean shifting the focus from projects that lock in high-carbon emissions to the essential fabric of a low-carbon economy such as energy efficiency, district heating and sustainable transport."
Ross Martin, chief executive of the Scottish Council for Development & Industry, said: "As we take our next few steps on our journey to a low-carbon economy, we recognise the importance of infrastructure in supporting our drive for higher productivity, greater levels of innovation and a stronger presence in international markets - the three key economic challenges of our time.
"This report sheds new light on this important issue enabling us to view low-carbon infrastructure from this economic perspective."


A man has been found shot dead outside a police station in Greater Manchester.

Police say they believe Kieran McGrath, 26, drove himself to Ashton-under-Lyne police station on Manchester Road after being shot in a "targeted attack".
Paramedics tried to revive him but he was pronounced dead at the scene at about on 22:25 BST on Saturday.
Officers believe Mr McGrath was shot after leaving the nearby Sheldon Arms pub a few minutes earlier. Detectives have launched a murder investigation.
Det Ch Supt Russ Jackson said: "We are very much in the early stages of the investigation, however, with what we know now, it does seem pretty clear to have been a targeted attack."
He said: "Almost immediately after leaving the pub we believe several shots were fired in his direction and we believe at least one hit him.
"Kieran, despite his injuries, managed to drive himself to the police station on Manchester Road where he was found collapsed on the floor by police officers.
"We don't know how long the attacker or attackers were there or how they got away - it may have been in a car or on a motorbike."
Mr Jackson added: "We are keeping a really open mind as to why this happened but we also have to bear in mind that Kieran has had fallouts with people over the past year.
"We really need to understand the full details of these so that we can understand any potential motive."
He urged anyone with information to get in touch with police.


Ofcom has launched an investigation into ITV2's show Dapper Laughs: On The Pull.

The media regulator told Newsbeat it's looking at whether "repeated use of sexual references in this comedy series met generally accepted standards".
Last week Daniel O'Reilly, the comedian behind Dapper Laughs, said he was killing off the character.
It was after his jokes about rape and homeless people caused offence and ITV said there would be no second series.
Earlier this month Cardiff University students successfully petitioned for the cancellation of his show at their student union.
The union said Dapper Laughs was banned after students complained that he "trivialised rape, unprotected sex and dehumanising of women."
Vine star O'Reilly, whose full 12 date 2015 UK tour has now been scrapped, told BBC Newsnight that the controversy had "wrecked my life" adding it was a type of comedy he "shouldn't have been doing".
Ahead of his Newsnight appearance, the comedian posted an online statement which read: "I would like to say sorry to those people who I may have upset with my recent comments.
"I assure them that was not my intention."
Ofcom also said it has received a total of 99 complaints "in a similar vein" to their investigation about the show since it first aired.
A spokesperson referred to rule 2.3 of the Broadcasting Code which states: "In applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context.
"Such material may include, but is not limited to, offensive language, violence, sex, sexual violence, humiliation, distress, violation of human dignity, discriminatory treatment or language.
"Appropriate information should also be broadcast where it would assist in avoiding or minimising offence."
Following the original online criticism ahead of Ofcom's investigation, an ITV spokesperson told Newsbeat: "Dapper Laughs: On The Pull features an established internet comedy character created by Daniel O'Reilly.
"ITV2 commissioned a show in which this character is placed within a recognisable TV format, a dating advice show.
"Comedy is subjective and we realise the content of the show might not be to everyone's taste.
"We regret that any of our viewers were offended. However, as with all of our shows, the series content was carefully considered, complied and deemed suitable for broadcast."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube


The government has committed to introducing a year of shared leave for new parents by April 2015.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the rights would allow men to become more hands-on fathers and stop women feeling they have to choose between a career or a baby.
There should not be a "one-size-fits-all" approach, he added.
But the Institute of Directors described the new rights as a "nightmare" for employers.
Since April 2011, fathers and mothers have been able to share some of the 52 weeks' existing leave, with the father able to take up to six months beginning after the baby is 20 weeks old.
However, this can only be taken as a single block - as can the leave the mother takes.
Under the proposed new arrangement, first trialled last year, the existing 52 weeks of maternity leave, other than the first fortnight for a new mother's recovery, will be shared between the parents.
But, in an effort to allay fears of the impact on smaller firms, bosses will have to agree any proposed pattern of time off and will retain the right to insist it be confined to a continuous block, with no more than two subsequent changes.
Anyone taking total leave of six months or less over the period will be legally entitled to return to the same job.
Mr Clegg said the current "Edwardian" rules stopped parents from "taking the decisions" that best suited their own needs and those of their children.
"Women deserve the right to pursue their goals and not feel they have to choose between having a successful career or having a baby," he said.
"They should be supported by their employers, rather than being made to feel less employable or under pressure to take unchallenging jobs.
"It is already illegal to sack a woman because she is pregnant, or on maternity leave, but we want to go further than that. We want to create a fairer society that gives parents the flexibility to choose how they share care for their child in the first year after birth.
"We need to challenge the old-fashioned assumption that women will always be the parent that stays at home, many fathers want that option too."
Mr Clegg added: "There shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all approach; that's not how families are set up. Many businesses already recognise how productive and motivated employees are when they're given the opportunity to work flexibly, helping them retain talent and boost their competitive edge.
"This is good for families, good for business and good for our economy."
Campaign group Maternity Action said the reforms were "a useful but very modest step in the right direction".
But the Institute of Directors business group said the plan was a "nightmare" that would "heap yet more burdens on struggling employers."
Deputy director of policy Alexander Ehmann said: "The proposed system is considerably more complex and unwieldy than the current laws and employers will - once again - have to absorb the cost of adapting and implementing this new system.
Equalities Minister Jo Swinson told the BBC News Channel the government would be bringing in 'simple, straightforward' changes to put in place greater flexibility for employers and working mothers.
She outlined an example whereby a mother would be happy to return to work for four or five weeks to help out in busy periods, such as Christmas, before returning to maternity leave.
"At the moment that is actually not possible with the law - she would lose all of her maternity rights after that point," she said.
For Labour, shadow minister for women and equalities Gloria De Piero said: "Nick Clegg claims to be on parents' side but he and David Cameron have done nothing to support families in the last three years."
She added: "This reheated announcement contains nothing new for families suffering from this government's cost-of-living crisis."
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady added: "Shared parental leave is a welcome new step that should encourage more fathers to get involved in childcare from the very beginning.
"But unless it is backed up with better pay, many couples simply won't be able to afford to take it."


Abhisit Vejjajiva is the English-born, Oxford-educated 46-year-old who as prime minister led Thailand's Democrat Party into July's general election but quickly conceded defeat to the main opposition Pheu Thai party.

Young and photogenic, though not known as particularly dynamic, he has a reputation for "clean politics".
His government faced major protests in 2010 which paralysed parts of the capital and left more than 90 people dead.
Distinctly upper-class, Mr Abhisit hails from a wealthy family of Thai-Chinese origin. Both his parents were medical professors.
He was born in the British city of Newcastle in August 1964 and educated at England's top public school, Eton. He then went on to gain a degree in politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) at Oxford University.
Mr Abhisit's support is drawn mainly from southern Thailand and from Bangkok's educated middle-classes. He has had less success in attracting the support of working class and rural Thais.
In 1992, Mr Abhisit joined Thailand's oldest party, the Democrats, and at the age of 27, entered parliament as one of its youngest ever members. Having tried and failed to become party leader in 2001, he eventually got the post in 2005.
Championing a raft of populist policies, Mr Abhisit campaigned under the slogan "Putting People First".
The Democrat Party failed to win power in national elections in 2007 - the first since the military coup in 2006 that ousted then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Instead, Mr Thaksin's allies won.
Months of political pressure by anti-Thaksin protesters followed, including a week-long sit-in at Bangkok's two airports, which shut down air traffic and crippled the tourism industry.
In December 2008 the Constitutional Court found the ruling party, led by Mr Thaksin's allies, guilty of electoral fraud and banned it.
This enabled Mr Abhisit to form a new government and become the next prime minister without calling elections.
At age 44, he became the country's youngest prime minister in more than 50 years.
His government has faced major protests; the first in 2009.
A year later, in March 2010, Mr Abhisit was spirited away to a barracks when red-shirted opposition protesters marched on Bangkok, denouncing him as an illegitimate leader.
In May that year, a military crackdown brought an end to the demonstrators' occupation of the city's commercial district.
More than 90 people died in the course of the protests, which hit the economy hard.
While not entirely ditching the liberal reforms of "Thaksinomics" - a term used to refer to the economic set of policies of the exiled former leader - Mr Abhisit has argued for a more statist approach.
Among other things, Mr Abhisit has advocated free healthcare, a higher minimum wage, and free education, including textbooks and milk for nursery-school children.
He has also been a consistent campaigner against corruption.
When Mr Thaksin called a snap election in February 2006, Mr Abhisit's campaign pitch was that he was "prepared to become a prime minister who adheres to the principle of good governance and ethics, not authoritarianism".
Later that year, he opposed the military when it overthrew Mr Thaksin in a coup.
"We cannot and do not support any kind of extra-constitutional change, but it is done. The country has to move forward and the best way forward is for the coup leaders to quickly return power to the people and carry out the reforms they promised," he said at the time.
He also said he expected high standards of probity from his party and any government he led.
Going beyond the current transparency rules for Thai MPs, he said he would require all future Democrat Party representatives to declare their assets and any involvement in private companies.
However, that has not shielded his government, or party, from corruption allegations, including claims of a cover-up of illegal donations by a petrochemical firm.
But the main chink in the Abhisit armour, apart from the impression that his good looks tend to outshine his sometimes rather bland political pronouncements, has been his failure to win the popular vote.
His acceptance of defeat in the July 2011 election has done nothing to change that.
Before entering parliament, Mr Abhisit had a brief academic career. After Oxford, he taught at Thailand's Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy.
Later, he returned to Oxford to study for a Master's degree. He then taught economics at Thammasat University before studying law at Ramkhamhaeng University.
Mr Abhisit's family is a circle of accomplished individuals. One of his two sisters is a professor of child psychology, while the other is a leading Thai author.
Mr Abhisit's wife is a dentist-turned-mathematics lecturer at Chulalongkorn University. They have two children.


Lifting the Scottish Cup with Rangers would turn a good season into a great one, according to captain Lee Wallace.

The Glasgow side go into Saturday's final against Hibernian at Hampden Park having already won the Championship title and the Petrofac Training Cup.
"If we can go on and win our version of a treble, it would make a good season into a great one," said Wallace.
"But we also know it could go from good to not so good if we don't do the business on Saturday."
It will be the first Scottish Cup final not to involve a club from the top flight.
Rangers defeated Hibs on their way to win the Petrofac Training Cup and then finished 11 points clear of the side expected to challenge them most closely for the title and promotion.
"I don't think many people would have expected us to go on and win the Scottish Cup," said left-back Wallace.
"We were expected to win the Petrofac Cup and the Championship and do it in an eye-catching way and we've been dominant on that front."
Wallace joined Rangers from Hearts in 2011 before they started their journey up the Scottish leagues following liquidation.
He now has three league winners' medals, but this is his chance for a first major trophy.
"When I came here, I thought I was coming to a place where I could win a lot of medals," admitted Wallace.
"I remember saying in my first press conference that I was joining a dressing room full of winners, top internationals and top pros.
"I felt really fortunate at that point, but who could have seen what was coming our way a few months later?
"But now finally I've got the opportunity with a unique group of players at a unique club to bring our first Rangers-type piece of silverware back to the club."
Wallace recognises that Hibs will be hurting from missing out on promotion after losing their play-off semi-final to Falkirk.
The Edinburgh club will also be motivated by the desire to end a much-publicised 114-year wait to again win the Scottish Cup.
"We're not focusing on the hoodoo or any of their statistics," Rangers' captain added.
"We just need to focus on what we do and never deviate from the mentality and mindset we've had from day one.
"We're aware of their issues, but we know, if we do what we do, prepare well and deliver our normal performance then we should be fine."


League Two side Crawley Town have signed Dean Cox following the winger's departure from Leyton Orient.

The 29-year-old left the O's at the beginning of the month after six years at Brisbane Road, in which he scored 59 goals in 275 appearances.
He has agreed a contract with the Reds until the end of the 2018-19 season.
However, because Cox left Orient after the transfer window closed, he will not be able to make his debut for Crawley until 2 January 2017.
"Although it's frustrating that we can't play him for a while, we have the option of loaning him out to a National League South club," Reds boss Dermot Drummy told the club website.
"We can also arrange practice matches for Dean and, of course, he'll be training with us as part of the squad."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Labour has chosen Jim McMahon, the leader of Oldham Council, to be its candidate in the Oldham West and Royton by-election next month.

Mr McMahon beat Mohammad Azam, who had been backed by the Unite union, by 232 votes to 141 in a primary contest.
The 3 December by-election, triggered by the death of Michael Meacher last month, will be the first electoral test of new leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Meacher won the seat at May's election with a 14,738 majority.
Mr McMahon, Labour's most senior representative in the Local Government Association, is regarded as being a centrist.
He won a ballot of local party members, seeing off the challenge of three candidates from the left of the party, including Mr Azam, a bus driver, and Chris Williamson, the former Labour MP for Derby North.
The UK Independence Party, which came second in the general election, has chosen local businessman John Bickley to contest the seat, the first by-election of the new Parliament.
The Conservative candidate will be James Daly, a criminal defence solicitor and councillor for Bury North. The Lib Dems, meanwhile, have chosen Manchester councillor Jane Brophy and the Green Party has chosen Simeon Hart.
Full list of declared candidates:
Labour: Jim McMahon
Conservatives: James Daly
UK Independence Party: John Bickley
The Liberal Democrats: Jane Brophy
The Green Party: Simeon Hart


A suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group has killed at least 31 police recruits in southern Yemen.

Officials say the militant detonated his explosives outside a police base in the port of Mukalla, killing recruits as they queued up outside the building.
IS's jihadist rival, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was forced out of Mukalla last month by a Saudi-led military coalition.
The conflict in Yemen has displaced two million people since 2011.
Hospitals in Mukalla, capital of Hadramawt province, said they were treating at least 60 people wounded in the attack.
A year that has set Yemen back decades
Practising medicine under fire in Yemen
A young girl and a city struggling for life
Profile: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Reports said the bomber had joined a queue of men lining up at the police recruitment centre before detonating his explosives belt.
A statement from IS said the bomber had been targeting "apostates of the security forces".
The bombing is the second such attack in Mukalla claimed by IS militants since AQAP's withdrawal from the city.
The group claimed a suicide car bomb attack that killed 15 soldiers last week.
The port city of 500,000 people had been held for more than a year by AQAP, which has taken advantage of Yemen's civil war to seize territory, weapons and money.


The death of at least seven people after a vintage Hawker Hunter jet crashed at the Shoreham Air Show marked the most serious crash at such an event in the UK in many years.

But there have been a number of other accidents during aerial displays in the UK over the last decade - including a further two at the Shoreham show.
August 2015 - CarFest
Pilot Kevin Whyman, 39, was killed when his Folland Gnat aircraft crashed during an aerial display at the CarFest event in Cheshire.
The plane nosedived during the display, before disappearing behind trees. Moments later a plume of thick black smoke was seen.
July 2014 - Royal Navy Culdrose Air Day
A Royal Navy Sea Fury crashed onto the runway at the show, with eyewitnesses reporting the aircraft appeared to lose power and made an emergency landing.
Pilot Lieutenant Commander Chris Gotke walked away uninjured.
July 2012 - Old Warden Aerodrome
Trevor Roche, 52, was killed when a 1923 De Havilland DH53 Humming Bird crashed near Biggleswade.
The plane crashed at the back of the airfield while practicing for a display.
A report later found Mr Roche lost control of the aircraft in strong winds.
August 2011 - Bournemouth Air Festival
RAF Red Arrows pilot Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, died when his Hawk T1 aircraft crashed.
Eyewitnesses described seeing the plane plunge to the ground in a field near the River Stour at Throop village.
It was one of nine Red Arrows aircraft that had earlier taken part in a display over the seafront.
10 July 2011 - Duxford Flying Legends show
Two classic US fighter planes collided during an air display show in Cambridgeshire.
One of the planes  plummeted to the ground after their wings touched, forcing the pilot to parachute to safety. The pilot of the other plane, a Skyraider, went on to land safely. No-one was injured.
3 July 2011 - Old Warden airfield
A Bucker Jungmann plane, designed in the 1930s, crashed during a practice in the run-up to a display. The pilot escaped with slight injuries.
September 2010 - Shoreham air show
A pilot survived after a stunt glider crashed into a runway in front of spectators.
September 2007 - Shoreham air show
Brian Brown, an experienced pilot, died when the Hurricane he was flying crashed.
A report found the accident was probably caused by an unplanned manoeuvre.
The report recommended the sequence of manoeuvres should be clearly specified in advance of flying displays.


Jeremy Corbyn has responded to his critics in the Labour leadership contest by calling for an end to "silly remarks".

The left-wing MP said politics should be "comradely and friendly".
Former Cabinet minister Alan Milburn followed Tony Blair in warning against a victory for Mr Corbyn, saying Labour had a "death wish" if it shifted left.
Another candidate, Liz Kendall, said a win for Mr Corbyn - who topped a recent poll - would be a "disaster".
Labour party donor John Mills told the Guardian the election of Mr Corbyn could trigger an "SDP-style split" and the withdrawal of support from wealthy donors.
The Labour row comes after a YouGov poll for the Times that put left-winger Mr Corbyn ahead in the race and Ms Kendall fourth.
Mr Blair has warned the party would not win from a left-wing position, and one of his former advisers said MPs who helped Mr Corbyn onto the ballot paper but did not support him were "morons".
Asked about the criticism, Mr Corbyn told the BBC: "I think politics should be conducted on a comradely and friendly basis, and if people disagree with each other then say what they disagree on, and let's keep these silly remarks to themselves."
Ms Kendall dismissed calls for her to withdraw from the contest to ensure Mr Corbyn is beaten.
She told the BBC: "I'll be fighting for what I believe in until the very end."
She said a victory for Mr Corbyn would be a "disaster", saying that turning back to the politics of the 1980s and losing elections "does nothing to help the people" the party wants to help.
At-a-glance profiles of the four contenders
Mr Milburn told the BBC the party would only win the next election if it occupied the centre ground.
He added: "The alternative is that Labour lurches to the left.  If it does that, frankly, it has a death wish."
Mr Mills, a donor to the Kendall campaign, told the Guardian: "If Corbyn won, I suspect what would happen is that there would be some sort of split.
"Then you would have an SDP-type party" - a reference to the Social Democratic Party formed in 1981 by Labour party defectors.
Mr Mills said he suspected "some of the major donors" would be "less likely to give".
The YouGov poll suggested Mr Corbyn could receive 43% of first preference votes, ahead of Andy Burnham on 26%, Yvette Cooper on 20% and Ms Kendall on 11%.
In a subsequent poll, for Ipsos Mori, 27% of the general public said Mr Burnham would be a good prime minister, compared to 22% for Ms Cooper, 17% for Mr Corbyn and 16% for Ms Kendall.
Mr Burnham also led among Labour supporters.
On Tuesday, former prime minister Mr Blair warned Labour would not win again from a "traditional leftist platform".
He also said people who had Mr Corbyn's politics at heart should "get a transplant".
This prompted a response from former Labour deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, who said Mr Blair was wrong to "abuse" supporters of Mr Corbyn and told the party to "calm down".


Rail Minister Paul Maynard has assured passengers he is determined to resolve issues on the troubled Southern network as a matter of urgency.

The government is to meet this week with Southern, which links London with Surrey, Sussex, Kent and Hampshire.
The rail company is embroiled in a long-running union dispute over the role of guards on new trains.
Mr Maynard said the continued delays and cancellations affecting the service were "unacceptable".
More updates on BBC Live: Sussex
Industrial action by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and high levels of staff sickness have hit services, with the introduction of a temporary emergency timetable initially cutting up to 341 trains a day.
Mr Maynard told the Commons: "Some routes are still suffering badly and my priority is making sure services are being restored in a timely, sensible and lasting manner."
"The real solution here is for the RMT to bring this dispute to a close and start to put passengers first," he added.
Mr Maynard also denied plans for "more generous" compensation to Southern Rail commuters affected by strikes were on the "backburner".
He also agreed to consider calls for season ticket holders to receive a rebate of up to 20%.
Meanwhile, Southern announced it would reinstate the full timetable from Tonbridge and Reigate to Redhill and London Victoria/London Bridge on Monday.
Alex Foulds, Southern's passenger services director, apologised to customers "who have suffered ever since the RMT began their unnecessary action".
He said the temporary weekday timetable had been delivering a "more consistent, reliable" service.
"We are steadily reintroducing trains and will continue to do so until the entire timetable is back in place," he added.
Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, called the changes "pitiful".
He added: "The fact passengers are still paying through the nose for a vastly reduced service is solely due to the gross managerial incompetence and profiteering of this basket-case rail operator.
"Yet again Southern are blaming their staff for their own systemic failures..."
RMT spokesman Garry Hassell has said the dispute "could last until Christmas".


In October 1990, goals from Ian Rush, Dean Saunders and Mark Hughes helped Terry Yorath's side complete a stunning comeback to beat Belgium 3-1 at Cardiff Arms Park.

Media playback is not supported on this device
It was Wales' first match of a campaign which saw the team come to within a point of qualifying for the 1992 European Championships in Sweden.
Catch BBC Wales Sport's "Wales: The Road to the Euros" - our very special documentary on the history of Welsh football - on BBC iPlayer.


Hampshire County Council is to take over the running of the Isle of Wight's children's services for five years.

Ofsted ranked the island's child protection services "inadequate" in November, while the Department for Education (DfE) also raised concerns about its schools.
The government subsequently directed Isle of Wight Council to establish a strategic partnership with Hampshire.
The deal is expected to be agreed by the island's council on Wednesday.
Isle of Wight Council will remain financially accountable and will fund the costs of the arrangement.
The island's children's services councillor, Richard Priest, said the partnership aimed to drive up educational standards and improve children's services, in particular safeguarding standards for vulnerable children.
He said: "At a time of increasing pressures on children's services and budgets, we believe this collaborative partnership can become an example for other authorities illustrating how they, too, can effectively share their expertise and resources to benefit their local communities."
Hampshire's children's services councillor, Keith Mans, said: "I am confident that we can now move forward in supporting the Isle of Wight Council without compromising our responsibilities and services for children and young people in Hampshire, and without any impact on the county council's budgets."
According to a Hampshire report, in November 2012 an Ofsted inspection found the island's children's social services to be "inadequate across all of the domains of the inspection".
The report also said the DfE had expressed concern that the island had a "disproportionate number of secondary schools which require significant improvement or require special measures" and that absence rates at secondary schools were "the worst in the country".
Ofsted inspectors returned to the island this week after their last report ranked four of the island's six secondary schools "inadequate" - the lowest grade. Another was ranked as "requiring improvement", while the sixth was rated "good".
A new Isle of Wight Council administration was formed following last month's election by a group of 20 independent councillors, inheriting a previously Conservative-led council.


An official assessment of paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland, compiled by the police and the security service, is due to be published later.

20 October 2015 Last updated at 09:04 BST
The Democratic Unionist party has indicated its ministers may return to their posts full time if the report says the Provisional IRA has not sanctioned terrorist or criminal acts.
BBC News NI's political editor Mark Devenport reports.


A first edition copy of one of the most significant maps in the history of science has been rediscovered in time for an important anniversary.

William Smith's 1815 depiction of the geology of England, Wales and part of Scotland is a seminal piece of work.
The first map of its kind produced anywhere in the world, only about 70 copies are thought to exist today.
Now, The Geological Society has turned up another in its own archives, ready to celebrate the map's bicentenary.
Tucked away in a leather sleeve case, the mislaid artefact was last seen roughly 40 or 50 years ago.
"It just wasn't where people expected it to be," said John Henry, the chairman of The Geological Society's History of Geology Group.
"I guess the person who put it away knew where it was, but then they left and that was it - it became lost," he told BBC News.
In one sense, the map is better for its abeyance because it means it has not been exposed to light, and that has protected its exquisite colours.
Smith spent the better part of 15 years collecting the information needed to compile the map.
It is said he covered about 10,000 miles a year on foot, on horse and in carriage, cataloguing the locations of all the formations that make up the geology of the three home nations.
An estimated 370 copies were produced. The outline of the geography and the strata were printed from copper plate engravings, but the detail was finished by hand with watercolours.
The lower edge of a formation is saturated and then the paint is made to fade back to the high edge.
It is this colouring technique, combined with the tendency of many of England's rocks to dip to the south or southeast, that gives Smith's map its iconic look.
The re-discovered copy comes in 15 separate sheets. These have no serial numbers on them, but that in itself is a clue to the map's position in the production sequence.
The first batch in the run is known not to have carried any numbering. Another clue is the geology of the Isle of Wight. Smith changed its depiction several times, and the re-discovered map displays his earliest efforts.
The artefact is certainly among the first 50 to come off the production line, and very probably among the first 10.
Quite what its value is - that is difficult to say. Possibly in the six figures.
The Geological Society has had the map fully restored and digitised. And from Monday, anyone will be able to view it online. The paper version will also go on display at the society's Burlington House HQ in London's Piccadilly.
William Smith (1769-1839) is often referred to as the "Father of English Geology" - a title bestowed on him by The Geological Society, which at first had been reluctant to embrace his vision.
The organisation's first members were drawn from the metropolitan elite, and they took a rather disdainful view of the blacksmith's son turned surveyor.
But the big landowners knew his worth. They brought Smith in to help them maximise the worth of their estates - to drain land, to improve the soil, to find building stone, and, above all, to find coal.
It is this work that would have brought him into contact with the rocks and with the fossils that would lead him to his greatest scientific contribution.
John Henry explained: "The concept which enabled him to do the mapping and that drove him along almost obsessively was this realisation that specific fossils were unique to a specific stratum, and that you knew where you were in a sequence if you could see what the fossils were. That was the breakthrough. People had been collecting them for a long time and naming them in the Linnaean way, but without any real idea that they were in a sequence. But Smith knew it."
Today, it is called the "principle of faunal succession", and this idea holds that because fossils succeed one another in order, rocks containing similar fossils are similar in age.
This principle has enabled scientists to construct the geological timescale by which the relative ages of rocks can be measured, and thereby understand the history of the Earth.
No wonder Simon Winchester called his 2001 book about William Smith, The Map that Changed the World.
Monday, 23 March, is Smith's birth date.
Sir David Attenborough is going to unveil a plaque at Smith's former residence at 15 Buckingham Street on London's Embankment.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


Welsh ministers face a budget cut of 3.2% in real terms over the next three years, a think tank has warned.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the cuts would double if EU aid was not replaced after Brexit, with councils likely to be hit hardest.
The IFS said using proposed new powers to raise income tax in Wales by 1p in the £1 would plug half the gap.
UK ministers want some control of income tax devolved to Welsh ministers but no date has been set for this.
The Welsh Government's annual budget is about £15bn but it has complained that cuts at a UK level have left it with less to spend.
The IFS said the real-terms cut of 3.2% identified would be worth around £445m and would represent a decrease in revenue spending, which makes up the vast majority of the budget.
It means that after inflation, the Welsh government would have 3.2% less for day-to-day spending in 2020 than it does now.
According to the IFS report, a decision not to cut NHS spending would mean other departments facing cuts of 7.4%.
On European funding, the report said that while the UK government had guaranteed some projects would be funded until 2020, it was "even less clear what funding will be available for schemes currently funded by the EU after 2020".
It added: "If no additional funding was provided, the Welsh Government would have to find over £500m a year from its existing budget if it wanted to continue to fund these schemes.
"This could more than double average budget cuts to 6.9% in 2020-21 (assuming the remainder of the Welsh Government's funding was unchanged)."
Polly Simpson, a research economist at the IFS and an author of the report, said: "This research highlights the difficult budgetary trade-offs facing the Welsh Government.
"Protecting such large areas of spending as health, social care and education would require substantial cuts to other areas of spending that have often already had to absorb seven years of real-terms cuts.
"It is also important to realise that increases in the taxes under Welsh Government or councils' control is unlikely to be a panacea.
"For instance, even increasing council tax by over 7% a year, could still leave some council services facing double-digit cuts over the next three years."
A Welsh Government spokeswoman responded: "This report shows that the Welsh Government's budget will be 11.6% lower by 2019-20 compared to 2010-11 as a result of the UK Government's ongoing cuts to public finances and programme of austerity.
"We are currently developing our budget for 2017-18, which will be published on 18 October, and are looking at the long-term outlook and how the pressures identified by the IFS can be managed."
On concerns over EU aid post-Brexit, the spokeswoman added: "The first minister has made clear that he expects the UK Government to make good on the promise made to the people of Wales that we will not lose a penny in European funding."
A Treasury spokesman said capital budgets available to the Welsh Government for infrastructure investment will rise by more than £900m through to 2020-21.
He added: "Welsh Government budgets for day-to-day spending are reducing by an average of 0.8% per year in real terms over the Spending Review period, reflecting the application of the Barnett formula to decisions we took to continue to repair the public finances whilst protecting NHS and schools funding in England.
"How it allocates the funding available to it in its forthcoming budgets is, as the IFS note, a matter for the Welsh Government."


Two men who were arrested after a car chase involving police in north Belfast on Wednesday have been released pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

They were arrested along with a third man who remains in custody.
Police said they believed the men had been involved in a burglary in Newcastle earlier on Wednesday night.
Officers later noticed a car driving dangerously on the West Circular Road.
It was pursued by officers but got away, and was later seen in the Oldpark Road area where it was stopped and arrests were made.
A 27-year-old man and a 19-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of burglary and allowing themselves to be carried, but have since been released.
The 29-year-old man remains in custody on suspicion of a number of offences, including burglary, driving when unfit, dangerous driving and criminal damage.
During the pursuit, the car struck and damaged two other vehicles.


West End farce The Play That Goes Wrong is on its way to Broadway - with a helping hand from American director JJ Abrams.

Now in its third year at London's Duchess Theatre, the show will open at the Lyceum Theatre in Manhattan in April.
The original West End cast will star in the New York run.
Abrams, the creator of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, said it was a "true honour" to be on the production team.
"I have been a fan of theatre all my life. When I saw The Play That Goes Wrong on the West End, I hadn't laughed that hard, seen something as preposterously absurd or wonderfully hilarious, in ages."
Abrams will co-produce the Broadway version with Kevin McCollum, Kenny Wax, Stage Presence Ltd and Catherine Schreiber.
The slapstick comedy features the inept members of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society attempting to put on a 1920s murder mystery.
The Play That Goes Wrong started life as a one-act play by the Mischief Theatre company at a pub theatre in 2012 with just four paying members of the public at the first performance.
An extended version opened in the West End two years later.
Co-writer Henry Lewis told the BBC at the time that the aim had been to create a "really physical show" packed with visual gags.
It went on to win the 2015 Olivier Award for best new comedy.
Commenting on the Broadway transfer, Lewis said: "We are delighted that due to an administrative error The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society will be coming to Broadway's Lyceum Theatre in place of the RSC's production of Black Beauty.
"A fresh American audience with no knowledge of our previous work will be a real help to us," he added.
"We would also like to wish the RSC all the best with Black Beauty, which will now be taking place back in England at the Cornley Village Hall. We'll leave the vaulting horse out for you."
In addition to The Play That Goes Wrong, Mischief Theatre has two other current West End productions -  The Comedy About A Bank Robbery at the Criterion theatre and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, which has just reopened at the Apollo.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


Records of conversations between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton between 1997 and 2000 - obtained by the BBC - shed new light on their terms in office.

Tony Blair and Bill Clinton told each other that their role was to act like "shrinks" offering therapy to global politicians, as they tried to reconcile various bitter international disputes during their time in office.
But sometimes the frustration clearly got to them.
In 1999, during a fractious EU-US trade dispute over Caribbean bananas, President Clinton told Prime Minister Blair in one of their phone calls: "The Central Americans and the Caribbeans sound like a boys school argument. They ought to be thinking about making common cause and not pissing down each others' leg to see who has the biggest bananas."
This features in transcripts of calls and meetings between the two men that have been released following a BBC freedom of information request to the Clinton Presidential Library, which stores the records of his presidency.
The transcripts cover the period between 1997 and 2000, when the two leaders were both in power. They contain substantial redactions, especially of Mr Blair's remarks, but they shed light on their relationship and co-operation.
Much of their discussion was about the Northern Ireland peace process, in which President Clinton played a significant part. The president frequently promised the prime minister that he would say and do whatever Mr Blair wanted him to.
The pair were clearly often worried about the delays in the IRA decommissioning its weapons, and sometimes frustrated by their dealings with the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams. At one point the president remarked that "We've all taken our licks for Gerry".
President Clinton also asked Mr Blair: "What's the date that Gerry does the actual decommissioning? When does the IRA actually have to turn some guns over?" and at another time: "Do you think the IRA has decided they are never going to decommission?"
And talking of Mr Adams he said: "I don't know what the real deal is between him and the IRA. It's hard to put pressure on him when you don't know what's going on. It's just bizarre."
It's very noticeable from the transcripts that they tended to talk of "Gerry", and also "Bertie" for the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Bertie Ahern, whereas the Northern Ireland Unionist leaders were generally referred to as "Trimble" and "Paisley".
There was sympathy for some of David Trimble's political difficulties. The president referred to "all those crazies in his party" and asked Mr Blair: "Do you think there is anything we can do to Trimble to stroke him?"
Mundane dilemmas were also discussed, such as once whether it was too late for President Clinton to phone Gerry Adams when it was half past midnight.
The shared broad political perspective between the two leaders is apparent from the transcripts.
When the president called Mr Blair in May 1997 to congratulate him on his election victory, the new prime minister replied: "You showed the way".
In later conversations they talked about the challenges and opportunities for centre-left governments and questions such as: "Is there a third way response to financial crises?"
Mr Blair told the president that centre-left governments in Europe had come round to realising that they could learn from the experience of America.
They discussed political strategies. The president talked of "fighting reactionaries in Congress" and the prime minister of how in the UK "the Conservatives have really moved off to a very far right position".
In terms of US politics, President Clinton explained his party had electoral difficulties as the 2000 presidential election approached because "the cultural aversion of white, married, Protestants to voting Democratic is a real problem".
The controversial issues of United Nations weapons inspections in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Kosovo also took up a lot of their time, but much of the substantive conversation is blanked out.
Possibly Tony Blair should have paid more attention to a warning he received from President Clinton, who cautioned him in late 1999 about potential trouble from their dealings with Iraq: "It may not happen while I'm in office, but it will for you. It could become a real nightmare for you."
Other topics do feature. After Princess Diana was killed in 1997, the president phoned Mr Blair to sympathise. The prime minister told him that "she was liked by ordinary people, it gave her problems with the royal establishment". He added: "I will personally miss her, it's like a star falling."
And there are insights into some of President Clinton's views of other nations and leaders.
On one occasion he told the prime minister: "The Iranians - and I sometimes think the Chinese are this way, too - think we're so motivated by money that we'll eventually cave in." On another he complained that France and Brazil were two countries that have "inbred an anti-Americanism".
He also told Mr Blair that Vladimir Putin, who became Russian prime minister in 1999, "has enormous potential" and is "very smart and thoughtful. I think we can do a lot of good with him".
The transcripts also make clear the personal friendship of the two men, who were plainly on relaxed and close terms with each other. In one call the president said he had watched on American television Mr Blair taking part in Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons. The prime minister replied: "Frankly I could do without it every Wednesday".
And when in 1999 it was announced that Tony Blair was to become a father again, the pair joked about the president joining the babysitting rota. Mr Blair said "it was so unexpected" and "I feel as if my life's about to begin again".
Records of conversations between Mr Blair and President Clinton's successor, George W Bush, are expected to be released as part of the long-awaited Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War. It is not known how comprehensive or redacted the published documents will be.


Scientists have confirmed that bones discovered in Wales in 2014 are from a new species of dinosaur which, at 201 million years old, could be the oldest known Jurassic dinosaur from the UK.

The new species has been named Dracoraptor hanigani, which means 'dragon thief', after the red dragon which is the national symbol of Wales.
The Dracoraptor's skeleton was found by two fossil-hunting brothers, who spotted the bones in a pile of rubble from a rock fall in 2014.
The brothers found its skull, claws, teeth and foot bones, which had all been hidden in the cliff face.
Although it's thought to have only been about the size of a dog, the Dracoraptor was a meat-eater, with small sharp teeth.
It probably ate large insects, lizards, and other small animals.
Researchers think it may even have eaten other young dinosaurs.
The dinosaur probably lived on a prehistoric island, but was washed out to sea before eventually being buried in the Welsh cliff face.
The brothers have donated the bones to the National Museum of Wales.


Scarlets produced a superb performance to beat Leinster in the Pro12 semi-final despite having winger Steffan Evans sent off before half-time.

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Evans was red-carded for a tip tackle on Garry Ringrose in the 38th minute when Scarlets were leading 21-10.
Evans, back-row Aaron Shingler and scrum-half Gareth Davies scored fine tries for the visitors.
Centre Ringrose and number eight Jack Conan touched down for Leinster who miss out on the 27 May final in Dublin.
Munster host Ospreys in the other semi-final at 18:15 BST on Saturday.
The against-the-odds triumph by Scarlets at the RDS was the first time an away team had won in the Pro12 semi-finals.
Ospreys were the last Welsh club to win the competition in 2012.
The dismissal of Evans could result in the 22-year-old missing out on his first Wales cap as a suspension could rule him out of his country's June Tests against Tonga and Samoa.
Ringrose landed on his head and neck after having his legs lifted by Evans. The red card was shown following several video re-runs of the incident.
Evans watched from the sidelines as Scarlets brilliantly withheld Leinster's response after the interval.
Scarlets had started superbly, scoring first when Evans broke through on the right in the ninth minute.
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Isa Nacewa's penalty got Leinster off the mark and then Ringrose burst in for a 24th-minute converted try which put the Irish side 10-7 up.
However, Leinster looked rattled when Scarlets touched down in the 26th and 30th minutes through Shingler and Davies.
Scarlets led 21-10 at the interval, but faced the prospect of playing the entire second half a man down.
They actually outscored their opponents in the second half as lacklustre Leinster could only manage a try by number eight Conan in the 64th minute.
Nacewa somehow missed the straightforward conversion, leaving the hosts 21-15 in arrears.
Scarlets sealed victory with two penalties by Liam Williams after the winger successfully took over from regular kicker Rhys Patchell who had been replaced.
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Leinster: Joey Carbery; Adam Byrne, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Isa Nacewa (capt); Johnny Sexton, Luke McGrath; Jack McGrath, James Tracy, Tadhg Furlong, Ross Molony, Hayden Triggs, Rhys Ruddock, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Kirchner for G Ringrose (74), Strauss for Tracy (71), Bent for Furlong (61), Toner for Triggs (51), Leavy for Ruddock (46), Gibson-Park for L McGrath (22), Healy for J McGrath (9)
Not used: R Byrne.
Scarlets: Johnny Mcnicholl; Liam Williams, Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Steff Evans; Rhys Patchell, Gareth Daviess; Rob Evans, Ryan Elias, Samson Lee, Lewis Rawlins, Tadhg Beirne, Aaron Shingler, James Davies, John Barclay (capt).
Replacements: Parkes for Patchell (61), J Evans for G Davies (51), W Jones for R Evans (56), E Phillips for Elias (71), Kruger for Lee (65), Bulbring for Rawlins (65), van der Merwe for J Davies (80), Boyde for Barclay (63).
Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)


Chancellor George Osborne has urged Chinese investors to bid for contracts to build HS2, as he opened the bidding process for the high-speed rail line.

Speaking in China, he urged firms to bid for seven contracts worth £11.8bn in total - covering the first phase of HS2, between London and Birmingham.
Mr Osborne also invited bids for £24bn of investment in northern England.
Critics say opening HS2 bidding before Parliament has approved the scheme "smacks of a mercenary approach".
It comes as shadow transport secretary Lilian Greenwood said Labour would nationalise the railway system - including HS2.
Speaking about new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - who has previously voted against HS2 legislation - she added: "He supports high-speed rail, I support high-speed rail, and the Labour Party supports the continued development of HS2."
The initial plan is for a new railway line between London and the West Midlands carrying 400m-long (1,300ft) trains with up to 1,100 seats per train.
They would initially operate at speeds of up to 225mph (362km/h), potentially rising to 250mph (400km/h) and would travel up to 14 times per hour in each direction.
This would be followed by a V-shaped second phase taking services from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds. Intermediate stations in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire are also planned.
Read more: High-speed rail's long journey
Can the UK be China's best partner in the West?
Mr Osborne, who is on a trip to boost trade links between the UK and China, announced the start of the procurement process for bridges, tunnels and earthworks.
The chancellor quoted Treasury analysis suggesting 265,000 jobs in Britain "only exist because of our links with China", adding the bidding process would "propel HS2 forward".
The first phase of the proposed high-speed rail link would be constructed between London and Birmingham, with proposed extensions to Manchester and Leeds.
Simon Kirby, chief executive of HS2, said Mr Osborne's appeal was designed to bring "the best technology into the UK", saying the project would boost British jobs.
Final contracts would not be signed until the bill received Royal Assent, he added, saying it was "best practice" to get the firms who will build the track involved in early planning stages.
But Richard Houghton, from campaign group HS2 Action Alliance, said: "Putting contracts out to tender prior to the legislative process being complete smacks of a mercenary approach to HS2.
"Surely the honest and transparent approach would be to only put out tenders after the hybrid bill has been passed and the funds are available."
Campaigners are fighting the plans on grounds of cost and the damage they say the network will do to the countryside it goes through.
Mr Osborne also invited Chinese investors to become involved in infrastructure schemes in the north of England, including a proposed Science Central development in Newcastle and the Atlantic Gateway development between Liverpool and Manchester.
Communities Secretary Greg Clark said: "Today's pitch book sets out in black and white to Chinese investors over £24bn worth of exciting investment opportunities, which together will deliver key infrastructure projects, help develop a highly skilled workforce and create thousands of jobs."
Other announcements included:
Mr Osborne's China trip comes ahead of a state visit to the UK by Chinese President Xi Jinping next month - the first by a Chinese leader for a decade.


Beyonce wowed audiences and critics with her half-time performance at the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday.

Her live 14-minute set featured a medley of her hits and also a reunion of her group, Destiny's Child.
After admitting last week she mimed the US national anthem at President Obama's inauguration, critics were keen to scrutinise Beyonce's show.
But the New York Times was one of many that said she had now "silenced her doubters".
"She balanced explosions and humanity, imperiousness with warmth, an arena-ready sense of scale with a microscopic approach to the details of her vocals," wrote Jon Caramanica.
"Amid all the loudness were small things to indicate Beyonce was answering her sceptics, quietly but effectively. Beyonce the machine had made her point. This was proof of life."
Dressed in a black leather mini dress, the singer kicked off the show with a blaze of flames while she sang a brief a cappella version of her single Love on Top before launching into mega hit Crazy In Love.
Billboard Magazine said the performance was "easily one of the best ever" half-time shows.
"She strutted towards the front of the stage in her black leather dress and booties looking like Catwoman, it was obvious that it likely would be the last time she did anything at medium pace," Brad Wete said.
After stripping down to a leotard, she also performed tracks End of Time, Baby Boy and Halo, while her Destiny's Child band mates joined her on stage to give renditions of Bootylicious, Independent Women Part I and Single Ladies.
The Washington Post said the show was "the sexiest Super Bowl half-time since 2004" when the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" occurred.
Since that event, organisers had opted for "safer" rock acts from the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and The Who, until last year when Madonna landed the gig.
The New York Daily News praised the show saying: "Beyonce gave an absolutely live Super Bowl halftime performance that killed."
"Given both Beyonce's persona and talent, only a fool would have bet against her at this particular event. It's hard to think of a star better suited to the Super Bowl than she is."
The Los Angeles Times agreed the singer had succeeded in "shutting everybody up".
"The artist who dubbed herself Sasha Fierce made many musical arguments. None involved submitting to doubters," Randall Roberts said.
Jerry Shriver from USA Today described the show as a "dynamic half-time performance that apparently sucked all of the power out of the Superdome" - in reference to a power cut during the game shortly after Beyonce's set.
However Shriver's colleague Chris Strauss said the set "seemed perfunctory" to the football fans in the stadium.
"While viewers at home seemed pleased by the 12-minute set, it was hard for fans in the stadium to experience the same kind of HD clarity, audio superiority and multi-angle close-ups that the CBS broadcast audience could," he said.
"The performance wasn't designed for the people in the crowd. While the energy among the hundreds of fans ushered in along the field for the performance might have been different, fans up top didn't seem to have much reaction."
It is thought more than 100 million people would have watched the half-time show, although final figures have yet to be released.
After the performance, Beyonce also announced the details of a new world tour.
It will begin in Belgrade, Serbia, on 15 April before heading to the UK for six dates, including four nights at London's O2 Arena.


A four-year-old cancer sufferer whose struggle was highlighted in a heartbreaking photograph has died.

Jessica Whelan's illness was brought to public attention when her father Andy published an image showing her in pain as she battled her terminal condition.
The four-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in September 2015.
Her death on Sunday was announced by Mr Whelan on Facebook.
Posting on the "Jessica Whelan - A fight against Neuroblastoma" page, he said: "I feel both sadness and relief in informing you all that Jessica finally found peace at seven o'clock this morning."
In a second post, he said: "Fly high my beautiful princess. Ride free on horses in heaven and enjoy being with loved ones and free from your pain.
"I will never forget you and I am honoured to call you my daughter.
"I love you more than words can convey, much more than you will ever know."
Neuroblastoma is an aggressive cancer of the nervous system.
A 'Creating happiness for Jessica' fundraising page was created on 7 October to give Jessica "as much happiness and enjoyment as possible" in the remainder of her life.
The image of her grimacing in pain as she battled her terminal condition was published on Facebook two days later, resulting in an initial Â£20,000 target being smashed.
By the time the page was closed earlier this month due to Jessica's deteriorating condition, it had raised Â£97,307.
Her family said the donations will be passed to charities that will "further research into childhood cancer".
On posting the picture, Mr Whelan said it was the "hardest photograph I have ever made... in a moment that we as parents could offer her no comfort, her pushing us away whilst she rode out this searing pain in solitude".
He said he wanted to raise awareness of the "darkness that is childhood cancer" adding: "I do not mean to offend or upset, I do mean however to educate and shock those that see it in its context."
One Direction singer Harry Styles also offered to make a recording for Jessica after seeing the photo, Mr Whelan said on Facebook.
Source: NHS Choices


Everton Football Club has become the first Premier League club in the country to be granted government permission to open a Free School.

The government-funded Everton in the Community Free School will be run by the club's charity and is expected to open in September 2012.
It will provide education and sports tuition for 120 14 to 19-year-olds.
Its approval was announced in the House of Commons by Education Secretary Michael Gove.
Everton FC chief executive Robert Elstone said: "We have played a huge part in the Liverpool and Merseyside community for over 100 years and this latest move demonstrates our desire to continue to make a difference where it counts."
Everton FC manager David Moyes added: "It will, unquestionably, provide a real chance for some less-privileged, less-fortunate children to embrace and benefit from a high-quality education."


Last night some of the biggest pop stars on the planet came together in Manchester.

5 June 2017 Last updated at 08:17 BST
They wanted to honour the victims of the attacks at an Ariana Grande concert that happened two weeks ago.
The singer was joined by stars like Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus for the emotional concert at Manchester's Old Trafford cricket ground.
Ariana paid tribute to the victims of the attack, as well as the people of Manchester.
She told the crowd: "I want to thank you for coming together and being so loving and strong and unified."
Martin was there to speak to some of the kids who had come to show their support.


If Sadiq Khan wins the London mayoral contest on Thursday he will probably throw a lifeline to Jeremy Corbyn.

The Labour leader, who appears likely to suffer setbacks elsewhere in Britain, will be able to say that his party has recaptured one of the biggest prizes in British politics.
But if Khan wins he is planning to mark his victory, at least in the immediate aftermath, without Corbyn by his side.
Khan, who has been depicted by the Tories as the Corbyn candidate after nominating him in last year's Labour leadership contest, wants to show that any victory would have  been secured on his own terms.
Khan's decision to keep his distance from Corbyn, at least in the first few days after any victory, shows the widespread unease in the party about the Labour leader.
Some members of the shadow cabinet are comparing Khan's style of campaigning, which has involved reaching out beyond natural Labour areas to build up a wider coalition of voters, with what they regard as a hard-edged side to Corbyn's approach.
There was some unease among frontbenchers when Corbyn unveiled a poster for the English local elections with what they saw as the rather blunt message: "Elections are about taking sides. Labour is on yours."
Labour's posters and leaflets in London have used much gentler language.
But the Labour frontrunner in the mayoral contest is taking nothing for granted and is keen to avoid any sense of complacency in the final days of campaigning. He is warning his team that they must work hard to encourage Labour supporters to vote because a low turnout could help his Tory rival Zac Goldsmith.
The Labour frontrunner is loath to focus on the days after the election.
No plans have been finalised. But at the moment it looks like Corbyn may have to wait a few days to congratulate Khan in person if he succeeds in winning one of the largest personal political mandates in Europe, making him a pivotal figure in Labour's future.


The series finale of BBC One's costume drama re-make Poldark was watched by 5.9 million people on Sunday night, just over a quarter of the TV audience.

Competition included ITV detective drama Vera's two-hour finale starring Brenda Blethyn, seen by 4.9 million, and film The Impossible on Channel 4.
A second series of Poldark, starring Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark, has already been commissioned.
The actor won legions of fans as the brooding, scythe-wielding Cornish hero.
The Telegraph's Allison Pearson called the finale "devastatingly good", adding: "It's hard to remember a more emotionally pummelling hour of TV drama."
She wrote: "If you weren't crying, what's the matter with you? There were enough salty tears shed across the UK last night to fill a Cornish cove."
She also suggested the tagline for the next series should be "Poldark 2: Better Than Downton."
The Independent called for "some Poldark perspective", pointing out that "Winston Graham, author of the original novels, was no Jane Austen".
However Ellen E Jones concluded: "Poldark is not a sophisticated drama, but the simple things can sometimes be very satisfying."
The Daily Mail's four-star review said, "Poldark has been a joy."
It added: "The sunsets, the seascapes, the glowers, the swoons, the dances, the duels, the feuds, the passions - Sunday nights will be dull without them."
Poldark was originally made for TV in the 1970s, with Robin Ellis in the lead role, and hooked audiences of 15 million.
This series has averaged around eight million viewers a week including catch-up services.
"Huge emotions, lots of excellent acting, probably a bit too much flashing between different plotlines," wrote The Guardian's Vic Groksop.
She added: "Adieu, Captain. See some glimpses of your chest again soon."
The bare-chested antics of Poldark star Turner have become a subject of national debate in recent weeks, thanks to promotional images of the actor scything in a field without his shirt on.
Last week Stylist chose to debate, "Is it OK to objectify Poldark" in its new Ask a Feminist column, just one of many articles published on the subject.
Poldark actress Heida Reed - who plays former flame Elizabeth - told The Telegraph she felt the obsession was an example of reverse sexism.
"Of course it's nice for everyone involved that he's viewed as a sex symbol or a very attractive man. But it's getting a little bit ridiculous. I think it just undermines the rest of the show," she said.


A collective of musicians from around the world, known as Africa Express, is in the Malian capital, Bamako to give the music industry a much-needed boost.

The event is taking place just a few months after the defeat, by French-led troops, of Islamist militants who took over the northern part of the country last year.
In their attempt to introduce Sharia (Islamic law), the militants destroyed ancient shrines and monuments and banned secular music in a country known for having some of the finest performers in Africa.
The Islamists decreed that only Koranic verses could be sung and started confiscating recordings from radio stations, destroying instruments and forcing artists to flee.
Two musical gatherings which used to attract performers and fans from all over the world - the Festival in the Desert, near Timbuktu, and the Festival on the Niger, in Segou - were cancelled.
For a nation where music is central to everyday life, this was a tragedy.
In a show of solidarity with Mali's musicians - many of whom denounced at great personal risk what was happening in the north - artists working with Africa Express have come to Bamako to help revitalise the music scene.
"It's totally abhorrent to any musician to be told they can't play musicâ€¦ It's a very particular interpretation of the Koran that prohibits all music," said Damon Albarn, one of the Africa Express co-founders.
"I mean, what is music itself?  Music is everywhere, every day.  If you're gonna genuinely do that, you prohibit all sound because music is in language, it's in everything," the Blur frontman told the BBC.
He and around 20 other musicians and producers - among them the legendary Brian Eno, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Django Django's David Maclean, Andre de Ridder and Olugbenga - have come to Bamako to source new talent.  Their aim is to offer these new artists a starting point in their international careers.
Local artists were invited to perform at the Maison des Jeunes - one of Bamako's favourite hangouts for young people.
For the last few days, members of Africa Express have been considering which ones to include in an album they are recording in an improvised studio on the site.
Brian Eno said that for him, the process of selecting the Malian musicians had been a humbling experience.
"I've just been listening to them and I said to Damon: 'This is a week-long musical humiliation.' The players are so extraordinarily good that it does make me think I might consider another career," he told BBC Africa.
"The other thing about Mali is that this is a real living music. It's not sort of a heritage music, it's not some celebration of something that was great 50 years ago. This is a music that is living and changing now," he said.
For local musicians, this has been an extraordinary opportunity to showcase their work.
"For me, it's been a huge surprise. It's the first time I play with musicians who are not from Mali," said 20-year-old singer Kankou Kouyate, who captivated the Africa Express artists and producers. They have already recorded with her.
"It's good to have foreign musicians coming to Mali because there are a lot of great artists here that need recognition for their work," she said.
Damon Albarn founded Africa Express in 2006 after a chance meeting with journalist Ian Birrell at the Festival in the Desert.
"I came to Mali the first time in 2000â€¦ I fell in love with the music of this country and I found the people extremely receptive to 'foreigners'.  It's not a term I like to use," Albarn said.
"You know, I felt the culture was very sure of itself, had a very clear sense and connection with its past, and its oral tradition was still totally intact. I had never experienced that sort of immersion in music that I found here."
The group's first trip was, of course, Bamako but they have also taken musicians to Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They have also produced live collaborations at events such as Glastonbury festival and the BBC's Electric Proms.
Last year they toured the UK for a week on a train with some 80 leading musicians from Africa, Europe and other parts of the world.
Africa Express will also headline the Fiesta des Suds festival in the French city of Marseille on Saturday 19 October.


A council has received complaints about people urinating and defecating outdoors after a village's public toilets were closed down.

The toilets at Staffin on Skye were among a number of Highland Council-run sites shut this year to save money.
The council has been in talks with Staffin Community Trust about alternative facilities.
In the meantime, two complaints have been received public urination and defecation in and around the village.
The nearest public toilet is in Kilmuir about 11 miles (17km) from Staffin.
Residents have told BBC Alba of people using ditches, a nearby quarry and the rear of the closed toilet block.
Highland Council it had cost £6,700 a year to run Staffin's loos.
A spokeswoman said: "We cannot confirm that people have been urinating and defecating in the area - we have found no evidence to support these claims.
"There have been two complaints made, one to environmental health and one to roads and community works.
"In addition to this we have had three enquiries about Staffin toilets."
She added: "The council has been in discussions with Staffin Community Trust and have agreed in principle to operate a seasonal - April to October - Highland Comfort Scheme within the community hall."