You might be reading this on a work computer.

And chances are, that computer - and its word processor, spreadsheet, and browser - pretty startlingly resembles its ancestor way back in 1995.
Yes, Clippy, Microsoft Office 1997's celebrity paperclip, is gone.
Things are quicker too, with more storage.
Still, the similarity to two decades ago is uncanny.
Take someone from 1995, deposit them in front of today's keyboard, and they could pretty much get on with it.
A minor letdown, when you ponder how far we've come since 1975.
But as we grow used to more mobility and to bringing along our own devices, might the stodgy workplace computer at last totter on the precipice of change?
Two-in-one tablets like the Surface 3, with its ultra-thin keyboard cover, finally resemble substitutes for notebooks.
Microsoft touts its Windows 10, due in a few months, as the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Windows, geared to interface with tablets and smartphones running other operating systems.
With developments in consumer electronics, it is now common for people to own better devices than those at work, says Marta Fiorentini, a senior research analyst at the International Data Corporation.
"Sandboxing" work and personal data in different compartments is removing some security worries, she says.
The end of email might be glimpsable, too - its formal, asynchronous, spammy nature grating millennials who would rather use something nearer Facebook.
Businesses are sending "upwards of 108 billion emails a day and people just can't keep up," says Jeff Schick, IBM's general manager of enterprise social solutions.
French IT company Atos went so far as to ban it internally, in 2012.
"For me the desktop won't exist, the physical PC - why would it?" says Mark Corley, chief technology officer at Avanade, a joint venture of Microsoft and Accenture.
You certainly wouldn't design it from scratch, now.
Your work and data already follow you on the cloud. Cloud applications are demonstrably cheaper to run, too.
And your computer processing speed may be overkill for 90% of your tasks, says Mr Corley, while woefully insufficient for the remainder.
But thin clients more like terminals, perhaps responding to a user's biometric log-in, can draw on appropriate amounts of processing power, and customised settings, both stored elsewhere.
"What's the point of having this box that sucks and creates dust," asks Mr Corley, "is aged before it runs off the production line, and is from a perspective of computer power, heating, cooling, storage, and everything else about it, just an inefficient clunky box?"
For collaborative environments, you could probably begin with a large video wall or multi-touch whiteboard, he says.
In 2012, Microsoft acquired Perceptive Pixel, a start-up specialising in multi-touch interfaces.
This January it announced Surface Hub, a combination videoconferencing system and cloud-enabled whiteboard.
The Equil Smartmarker takes a different approach, using an ordinary dry-erase marker, equipped with a bluetooth holder to transmit your scribbles.
Better speech recognition, like Dragon NaturallySpeaking or Microsoft's neural-net system MAVIS, could figure heavily in the future work computer, too, transcribing conversations and filing them away for future reference.
And to knit together teams in different bits of the world, some offices have installed a video wall down one end, with a FaceTime or Skype connection.
As costs come down, this becomes easier to do.
Meanwhile in the more distant future, virtual-reality tech, similar to Oculus Rift's head-mounted display, might oust Skype conference calls for employees growing more dispersed geographically.
Google Glass, HTV Vive, and Samsung Gear all scamper at different speeds from the drawing board to the market.
And in another decade's time, machine learning might be just advanced enough to write for us, in a style based on our best work, making us sound articulate and intelligent when we're still fumbling for the coffee.
Small and medium enterprises, and sectors like the media, have been the fastest adopters of the cloud, says Paul Willmott, global leader of McKinsey Digital.
But with corporations in more traditional sectors, there are more likely to be legacy systems, even dating to the 1950s and 1960s complete with green screens.
The further a workplace ventures beyond a word processor and browser, the more likely its workers will be deeply frustrated with their desktop experience, says Mr Willmott.
And many corporations are struggling with the cloud full stop, he adds.
The Snowden disclosures of widespread government hacking only added to many large corporations' paranoia about information security.
Meanwhile we all bring into work expectations for intuitive, functional applications and websites, from dealing with Uber, Amazon, and eBay.
One result has been Bring Your Own App (BYOA).
Generation Y and millennials, when they don't like what they find in the workplace, simply source something off the internet and share it with colleagues.
The only way to see which ones work is, after all, to try them.
And it is a trend corporations will have to grow used to.
According to an article published this week in the Harvard Business Review, machine learning has reached the point where it can have a first go at many sorts of tasks, and delegate particularly thorny ones to human employees.
One platform, WorkFusion, breaks data work into tasks, and assigns them algorithmically to human and computer resources.
Nuance's virtual agent, VirtuOz, answers 80 to 90% of customers' questions, but is programmed to learn when users become upset, and pass the query to a human agent.
So the office of the future may increasingly have artificial intelligence algorithms calling the shots, or at least divvying up the tasks.
Machines as managers might take getting used to.
But somebody had to turn off Facebook for us.


(Close): Shares in London and other European markets rose despite fears over whether Greece's parliament would back the latest eurozone bailout deal.

By the close, the FTSE 100 was up 0.23% or 15.8 points at 6,753.75.
France's Cac 40 gained 0.69% to 5,032.47 while Germany's Dax rose 0.28% to 11,516.90.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney said on Tuesday that the proposed eurozone deal would require "Herculean efforts from all sides".
Speaking to the UK Parliament's Treasury Committee, he also said that the point at which UK interest rates may begin to rise was "moving closer".
His comments boosted the value of sterling. The pound rose 0.65% against the dollar to $1.5589 and was 0.58% higher against the euro at â‚¬1.4154.
However, the prospect of higher interest rates hit shares in housebuilders. Taylor Wimpey fell 1.5% and Barratt Developments dropped 1.1%.
Top gainer on the FTSE 100 was Sky, which rose 4.1% after Deutsche Bank upgraded its rating on the stock to "buy".
Outside the FTSE 100, shares in newspaper publisher Johnston Press plunged by20% after it said full-year profits would be below expectations following a fall in revenues.


Republicans have called on two US TV networks to drop plans for programmes about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling them unfair promotion.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told NBC and CNN the shows would put a "thumb on the scales" of the 2016 presidential election.
He also warned Republicans could refuse to hold debates on the two networks.
The Democrat has not said if she will run for president, though analysts say she would lead the early field.
Mrs Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, has been closely watched as a possible contender for the Democratic Party's 2016 nomination since leaving her position as secretary of state under President Barack Obama in January.
Capitalising on her popularity, CNN has announced plans for a feature-length film about the former first lady with Academy Award-wining director Charles Ferguson. It is scheduled to air in 2014.
Also, broadcaster NBC is in the early stages of producing a miniseries about Mrs Clinton starring actress Diane Lane.
On Monday Mr Priebus, who is chairman of the Republican National Committee but is not an elected official, said it was "disturbing and disappointing" that the channels would seek to "promote" Mrs Clinton.
"It's appalling to know executives at major networks like NBC and CNN, who have donated to Democrats and Hillary Clinton, have taken it upon themselves to be Hillary Clinton's campaign operatives," he said.
Mr Priebus also warned that if the networks did not agree to cancel the productions by the end of summer, he would ask the Republican National Committee to refuse to hold primary election debates on the networks.
The networks declined to comment on the Republican National Committee's letters.


A former school governor has been found guilty of possessing hundreds of indecent images of children - some as young as three.

Andrew Brown, 61, of Montague Road, Peterborough, claimed the material had been planted on his computer by a burglar.
However, a court was told, forensic analysis of Brown's devices uncovered a total of 718 indecent images - which pre-dated the October 2015 break-in.
Brown will be sentenced next month.
Brown, who denied all the charges, was chair of governors at Peterborough's King's School before his arrest.
Read more Cambridgeshire news here
Peterborough Crown Court heard that on 24 October, 2015, Brown and his wife returned home to find that three USB memory sticks, a laptop, Â£300 cash and mobile phones had been stolen.
Four days later, Brown received a letter claiming the devices contained indecent images. Included was a demand for Â£8,000 cash in return for his silence, the court was told.
Brown's crimes were revealed when he contacted police over the blackmail claim, and denied any knowledge of the images, claiming the burglar had planted them on an earlier visit.
The court heard that a police forensic analysis of Brown's computer revealed 600 still and 118 moving images, 170 of which were graded category A - the most severe.
He was arrested in November 2015 - and the following April was charged with three counts of possessing indecent images of a child, two counts of making indecent images of a child, two counts of possessing extreme pornographic imagery and one count of possessing prohibited images of a child.
Det Sgt James Weston described the case as "complicated" because of Brown's "position of trust".
"His denial throughout the investigation regarding the possession of indecent images of children and extreme, prohibited images resulted in extensive digital forensic investigation work and analysis," he said.
"We remain committed to safeguarding the most vulnerable and will take positive action to protect those at risk of significant harm."


Judd Trump survived a spirited fightback from Stephen Maguire to reach the quarter-finals of the Masters at Alexandra Palace.

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The world number five led 4-1, but breaks of 92, 74, and 56 got Scotland's Maguire level at 4-4.
Trump edged back ahead in the ninth and a Maguire error in the 10th let the Englishman in to seal a second-round tie with Neil Robertson or Marco Fu.
Barry Hawkins beat Joe Perry 6-3 to book a meeting with Mark Allen.
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With the first six frames shared, Hawkins rolled in an 81 to edge back into a lead he would not relinquish to claim his first ever win at the tournament.
The world number eight will meet Trump in the last four if both win their respective quarter-finals.
For Trump, an appearance in the last eight is his first at this tournament for three years.
"I just tried to stay calm," Trump, who won two frames on the final black, told BBC Two. "I was very nervous at 4-4 because I've not had a good last few tournaments and my confidence was very low.
"For me, it's an amazing win. My game is attacking, but everything in my head was negative. My lack of form has put pressure on because I was used to going out there and expecting to play well.
"I've played every day over Christmas - that's the first time I've ever done that - and I think that's what got me through in the end.
"I've always enjoyed myself off the table, but now I'm at an age when I don't enjoy going out as much. Now I can give snooker four or five years of complete dedication and see what happens."


A business leader has accused some MPs of "cheap and pathetic gestures" in their approach to student visas.

Simon Walker, director-general of the Institute of Directors, said he was "appalled" by how overseas students had been caught up in targets for reducing immigration into the UK.
Universities were "victims of political point-scoring", said Mr Walker.
But Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said the rules on student visas "strike the right balance".
A conference at Regent's University in London examined the visa system for overseas students with members of the Home Affairs Select Committee and representatives of the government, business, schools and universities.
It follows warnings from universities that the student visa process has become so rigorous that it is putting people off - and university leaders have lobbied for students not to be included in net migration figures.
It was a meeting of different sectors, but not a meeting of minds.
University representatives made strong calls for a different approach to visas for overseas students - while Mr Brokenshire asserted that many of their concerns were based on "myths and misconceptions".
Vivienne Stern, director of the UK Higher Education International Unit, which promotes the UK's universities overseas, said the decline in applications from Indian students to UK universities was a "serious cause for concern".
She said there needed to be a much clearer recognition that universities were global enterprises, in terms of academic staff and international partnerships for research.
This also meant an international student body, but in the UK she said that this was being jeopardised by immigration policies.
Ms Stern said that overseas student numbers were being sustained by an over-reliance on recruiting students from China.
There was strong criticism of the role of politicians in student visa policy from Mr Walker, head of the Institute of Directors, representing business leaders.
He said it was not "evil or racist" to voice concerns about immigration, but it was irresponsible for politicians to use these concerns to put up barriers to recruiting overseas students.
He said he was "appalled when politicians make cheap and pathetic gestures to what they think is public opinion".
He said it "damages this country in every sense".
Mr Walker said in a global economy it was "business common sense" for the UK to be open to attract the brightest students from overseas.
The benefit of "soft power" to the UK from overseas students was emphasised by Aldwyn Cooper, vice chancellor of Regent's University.
He said it was being "substantially eroded" by the current attitude towards overseas students - and that there would not be as many world leaders educated in UK universities as in the current generation.
Alp Mehmet from Migration Watch questioned whether it was really the visa process that had caused a dip in overseas applications last year - or whether it was more about the level of tuition fees being charged by universities.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the debate on immigration "simply cannot be ignored".
He said immigration was a "key issue for all political parties".
But he said "students are not migrants" and that there needed to be an "intelligent, factual debate" about student visas.
If these arguments were pushing for a change in policy, the immigration minister made it clear that none was likely to be forthcoming.
He emphasised that there was "no cap on the number of international students" - and that claims to the contrary were fuelling "myths and misconceptions".
The inclusion of students in migration figures was in compliance with how the United Nations measured immigration, he said, and it was a measure used in countries such as the United States, Australia and Canada.
Migrants, whether students or otherwise, had an impact on public services, he said.
Mr Brokenshire also reminded the conference of the "money-making scams" that had operated in this sector, with estimates of 50,000 students in bogus colleges in 2009-10.
The government had had to intervene to protect legitimate students and the reputation of UK higher education, he said, with 750 private colleges stopped from recruiting overseas students.
The tightening of visa policy represented "sensible, long overdue reforms".
"For those playing by the rules, the UK is enthusiastically open," said Mr Brokenshire.


On 1st April, many of you may be planning to be mischievous and play pranks on your friends and family.

That's because it's April Fools' Day, when we all get to play the joker!
"It has been celebrated in the UK since at least the 19th century," explains Andrea Livesey, a historian from the University of Bristol. "Children were commonly the victims of these pranks!"
So we wanted to find out more about why we celebrate April Fools' Day.
The first of April some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools' Day;
But why the people call it so
Nor I, nor they themselves, do knowâ€¦
18th century folk rhyme
Andrea told us that not everybody agrees where the festival come from.
She says: "There is surprisingly little known about the origins of April Fools' Day and there are a large number of completely different - and quite entertaining - theories of its origin."
So let's have a look at some of them.
"Some have argued that a story told by early English poet Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century - where a fox plays a prank on a rooster (who is almost eaten because of it) - is the first reference to pranks taking place on the first of April."
The poet doesn't actually directly refer to April 1st though. In the poem, he says 32 days "syn March began", which people have said is "32 days since March began" which would be April 1st.
But those who don't believe this theory say he was just using confusing words to make fun of people in the poem.
Some believe the tradition started because of events in the calendar.
Something called renewal festivals date back to Roman times. These were a celebration at the start of a new year or season, when things went a bit topsy turvy.
"Servants could control masters or children could control their parents!" says Andrea.
March is the time of the Spring Equinox, so people think the joker tradition could come from this, as the beginning of spring and planting flowers was considered the start of the new year.
There is another calendar theory about when people started celebrating new year at the beginning of January, instead of the end of March.
Those who continued to celebrate it at the end of March, rather than on 1st January like we do today, were considered to be fools and had jokes played on them.
"The earliest concrete records we have about 1st April are from France and Holland in the 1500s and, because of this, people believe that it must have been a northern European tradition that spread to Britain," Andrea explains.
It is actually known as April Fish Day in some areas of Europe.
People think this is because there are a lot of fish in French streams and rivers around 1st April, and they are easy to catch - foolish fish!
So it soon became a tradition to play tricks on people on April 1st too.
"It is still a common trick in France, and elsewhere in Europe, to attach a paper fish to somebody's back on April Fools' Day, and also to give chocolate fish as gifts," Andrea says.
So it appears we don't actually know for sure where April Fools' Day officially started.
But one thing's for sure - people have been playing jokes on April 1st for a very long time!
So watch out that you don't get pranked!


A mother from Rhondda Cynon Taff has admitted causing or allowing cruelty towards her late 17-month-old son.

Chloe Thomas, 25, originally denied neglecting Finley, who was found with "catastrophic" injuries at his home near Tonypandy in September 2014.
But she changed her plea at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday.
Her boyfriend Sean Buckley, 28, denies murdering Finley and cruelty to a young person under 16.
Thomas was visibly upset and shaking in the dock as she pleaded guilty, before Mr Buckley then took to the stand.
Describing the day Finley died, Mr Buckley said he had just returned home and was upstairs when he heard a "banging noise".
Asked by Vincent Coughlin QC, defending, where Finley was, he replied while crying: "At the bottom of the stairs.
"I picked Finley up under his arms, I held him to eye level, and his eye were rolling in the back of his head.
"I tried to stand him on the floor and he just flopped over.
"I give him a little wobble and tried to rouse him but.... I don't know how to explain... I took him into the living room and sat him on the settee and I just starting panicking."
He said he then grabbed his phone, called Thomas and told her to "come over, quick, quick, quick".
The evidence suggested Finley's injuries "could well have been caused by gripping in an inappropriate way", Mr Coughlin told the court.
Mr Buckley said he could never recall gripping Finley and denied doing anything that could have caused bleeding on his brain three to five days before his death.
Earlier on Wednesday, the court heard Mr Buckley been diagnosed with ADHD, epilepsy and bipolar disorder and that Thomas was managing his prescription for his mental health conditions.
Mr Buckley told the court he regularly smoked cannabis and had taken cocaine in the past, but denied there was any "after-effect" and that he "rarely" drank alcohol.
Describing Finley as "lovely", he explained his two dogs "fitted in well" with Thomas and her son at their home and he never reacted badly towards the toddler.
He said he had "heard about" Finley having two or three other falls down the stairs from Thomas, although he had never been there at the time.
"What was your reaction to being told about it?" Mr Coughlin asked.
"I was a bit worried about it," he replied, telling the court that Thomas was "struggling" at being a mother.
"She was always calling me; she was depressed," he said.
Traces of cannabis and cocaine were found in Finley's body after he died, but Mr Buckley denied taking illegal drugs in front of the toddler or exposing him to the substances.
The trial continues.


Boko Haram militants have killed at least 40 people in north-eastern Nigeria, according to witnesses.

The attacks on Monday and Tuesday took place in the villages of Debiro Hawul and Debiro Bi in Borno state.
Residents say the militants drove into the towns and began shooting, looting and burning houses.
In a separate attack, a young female suicide bomber reportedly killed at least 10 people in the neighbouring state of Yobe.
A witness said the girl, who detonated explosives in the town of Gujba on Tuesday, was about 12 years old.
The Islamist group has not commented on the attack but it is known for carrying out such bombings.
Earlier this year, the Nigerian army seized Gujba from the militant group Boko Haram.
Some 18,000 people have been killed in Nigeria since the group began a campaign of violence in 2009.
One resident who fled Debiro Hawul said that the attack had taken the village by surprise.
"It never occurred to us we would be the next target," Umaru Markus told the AFP news agency.
"The gunmen slaughtered 22 people who were not fast enough in fleeing and went about looting homes, grains silos and drug stores," he added.
Tuesday's attack in Gujba happened at about 11:00 local time (10:00 GMT).
"It was a suicide attack by a girl of around 12 years," said witness Hussaini Aisami.
"She went into the market and headed straight to the grain section. She detonated her explosives in the middle of traders and customers."
That attack came a day after two female suicide bombers attacked the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, killing at least 20 people.
And in January, at least 19 people were killed by a bomb strapped to a girl aged about 10 in Maiduguri.
Maiduguri is where Boko Haram first emerged, and the Nigerian military has recently begun moving its headquarters from the capital Abuja to the city.
African news updates
Nigeria's female bombers


A contract has been signed that will lead to the construction of one of this century's key astronomical facilities.

The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) will be the biggest optical and infrared observatory ever built, with a primary mirror nearly 40m across.
The Italian-led ACe Consortium will manufacture, transport, and assemble the E-ELT's major structural elements - its support frame and protective dome.
It should enable the Chile-based telescope to see "first light" in 2024.
At €400m (£305m; $445m), the contract is the largest ever awarded by the European Southern Observatory - an intergovernmental organisation that runs some of the world's largest and most advanced telescopes.
It has already had the top of the Armazones mountain in Chile's Atacama Desert levelled to receive the observatory.
Development on the mirrors - in particular, a very complex quaternary mirror - continues apace.
And commissioning steps have been made on the three initial instruments and adaptive optics system (the technology used to overcome atmospheric disturbance when looking at stars).
The support structure and dome were seen as significant outstanding items.
The signatures put to their construction contract in Garching bei München, Germany, on Wednesday mean the E-ELT project can now move to full implementation.
There are some small design issues that still need to be closed out, but this should happen very soon, said Tim de Zeeuw, ESO's director general.
"Essentially, it is fixed now; a design came with the winning bid," he told BBC News.
"There will be one further phase - a 'final design review', which will give us what you might call the blueprints. It is a small iteration. This will be in 8-9 months, and after that we can start pouring concrete."
The E-ELT's 39.3m main mirror will be more than four times the width of today's best optical telescopes (antennas for radio telescopes are still very much bigger).
Its sensitivity and resolution should make it possible to image directly rocky planets beyond our Solar System.
The observatory should also be able to provide major insights into the nature of black holes, galaxy formation, the mysterious "dark matter" that pervades the Universe, and the even more mysterious "dark energy" which appears to be pushing the cosmos apart at an accelerating rate.
The ACe Consortium comprises the Italian construction groups Astaldi and Cimolai, and the nominated sub-contractor EIE Group.
Nicolò D'Amico, the president of Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), was present at the Garching signing.
He commented: "This is an important day for Italian industry and Italian science.
"We do a lot of technological development inside our institute with a view to transferring it to industry, so in a sense what we are doing here today is closing the loop."
How the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) will work
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau will start for Newport Gwent Dragons for the first time in nearly a month in Sunday's home Pro12 match with Munster.

A knee injury has limited Faletau to only two games for the Dragons since returning from the Rugby World Cup.
Captain Thomas Rhys Thomas starts his first game since September after recovering from a foot injury.
Flanker Lewis Evans and Nic Cudd join Faletau in an all-new back row, while tight-head prop Brok Harris returns.
The Dragons have won only twice in the league this season, beating Italian opposition at home on both occasions, and are in ninth place in the table.
Opponents Munster are third, but will arrive in Wales having lost their unbeaten home record this season after a 12-18 defeat by to leaders Connacht on Saturday.
Coach Anthony Foley has made 10 changes to that beaten side, with centre Denis Hurley in as captain. Niall and Rory Scannell will become the first brothers to start together for Munster in the Pro12.
Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones says the return of captain Thomas is a "big relief" as they look to arrest a run of three straight defeats.
"He has been appointed captain for his leadership and maturity," said Jones.
"We have missed those qualities in our side dreadfully.
"Elliot Dee has played very well and has shown the promise time and time again but at this stage we need to have Rhys back in."
The are three changes to the replacements' bench from Friday's 32-13 loss in Edinburgh as Rhys Buckley, Ed Jackson and Charlie Davies come in.
Dragons: Carl Meyer; Tom Prydie, Adam Hughes, Adam Warren, Ashton Hewitt; Dorian Jones, Sarel Pretorius; Boris Stankovich, Thomas Rhys Thomas (capt), Brok Harris, Matthew Screech, Rynard Landman, Lewis Evans, Nic Cudd, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Rhys Buckley, Phil Price, Lloyd Fairbrother, Cory Hill, Ed Jackson, Charlie Davies, Jason Tovey, Ross Wardle.
Munster: Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino; Ronan O'Mahony, David Johnston, Denis Hurley (capt), Simon Zebo; Rory Scannell, Tomas O'Leary; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan; Dave Foley, Mark Chisholm; Shane Buckley, Dave O'Callaghan, Robin Copeland.
Replacements: Kevin O'Byrne, James Cronin, Mario Sagario, Billy Holland, Jordan Coghlan, Cathal Sheridan, Tyler Bleyendaal, Gerhard van den Heever.
Referee: Gary Conway (IRFU)
Assistant referees: Leighton Hodges, Daniel Jones (WRU)
Citing commissioner: John Charles (WRU)
TMO: Tim Hayes (WRU)


The government is to write to UK embassies in countries where dog meat is consumed urging them to step up efforts to push for an end to the trade.

Foreign Office Minister James Duddridge made the commitment in a Commons debate as MPs described the industry as "inhumane" and "disgusting".
Labour MP Rob Flello said other countries' traditions could not be a "smokescreen" for "barbaric" practices.
He called for action to stop an annual dog meat festival in south-west China.
The Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin in Guangxi province sparked huge protests in June, when 10,000 dogs were said to have been slaughtered. However, residents and vendors in Yulin said the animals were killed in a humane way.
Speaking during a backbench business debate in the Commons, Mr Flello said: "I don't believe that it is generally the role of this House to tell societies abroad what they should and shouldn't do based on Western sensibilities.
"But we cannot allow for tradition to be used as a smokescreen for practices that are barbaric, cruel, inhumane, disgusting - pick any word you can possibly pick and it will not come close to what we are discussing here today."
Dogs help humans "in many, many ways," he said: "But what dogs are not for is for the barbaric, disgusting, cruel, vicious, evil of putting them on somebody's plate in the most horrible ways that this House in its worst nightmares could ever imagine."
Conservative MP Simon Hoare expressed sympathy for Mr Flello's motion but but warned against telling other countries what to do.
"If we go down a cultural imperialist route, as desirable as the outcome might be, I am tempted to think that there would be a very fierce backlash against that," he added.
Promising to write to all ambassadors in the area to review what they are doing about the trade, Mr Duddridge said the government was committed to improving animal welfare around the world, including working with the Chinese administration, and was able "to have these difficult discussions across cultural divides".
He added: "We will continue to raise these issues in the most effective way possible - which isn't always megaphone diplomacy but sometimes speaking louder on these important issues is needed and where it is needed, we are prepared to speak."
Mr Flello's motion calling for "an immediate end to dog meat trade cruelty" and supporting the Humane Society lnternational's campaign "to end the dog meat trade by working with government officials", was agreed by the MPs but is not binding on the government.


Almost two tonnes of illegal hand-rolled tobacco - enough to make two million cigarettes - was seized in Wales during the summer of 2015.

Nearly 500,000 illegal cigarettes were also confiscated during Operation Fetch.
The goods were found by tobacco detection dogs working with trading standards officers from across Wales.
Health Minister Mark Drakeford said the clampdown on illegal trading would help safeguard public health.
The Welsh Government said smoking was the biggest single case of early death in Wales, with almost 6,000 deaths annually, and the sale of illegal tobacco undermined work to reduce smoking rates.
It added it also compromised current tobacco control measures such as age-of-sale legislation, labelling and the ban on having tobacco on display in shops.
Mr Drakeford said: "I am very concerned about illegal tobacco because its affordability and availability threatens the health of children, making it so much easier for them to access tobacco. It also eliminates the price incentive for smokers to quit the habit.
"This is not a Robin Hood crime. It is criminality which deprives the public of vital revenue which is used to fund essential public and health services, including tackling the damaging impacts of tobacco itself but its effects extend far beyond that."
Matthew Cridland, chairman of the Wales heads of trading standards, said figures showed 15% of tobacco used in Wales was illegal - the equivalent of one million cigarettes being smoked a day.
"We want to work with all tobacco control partners to address not only supply but also demand for illegal tobacco and trading standards will continue to vigorously pursue all those who distribute and supply this product," he added.


A 72-year-old man has told rescuers how he battled crocodiles with a spanner and spark plugs after watching his friend drown in northern Australia.

The pair were catching mud crabs when one of the reptiles capsized their 3m (10ft) "tinny" boat at Leaders Creek in Darwin on Tuesday morning.
One man drowned after getting trapped trying to get back on to the boat.
The other fisherman managed to smash one of the animals on the skull with a spanner during the three-hour ordeal.
Air ambulance Careflight spokesperson Ian Badham recounted the survivor's experience, saying the crocodiles kept coming back at him during the "terrible tragedy".
Read more: What are the world's deadliest animals?
The man hid in mangroves before the changing tide eventually helped him climb back up onto land. Professional crabbers heard the man's screams and came to his aid.
They took him and the body of his friend to a boat ramp. Once other fishermen managed to reach air ambulance services he was treated for severe shock, dehydration and exposure before being released on Wednesday morning.
The two men had been on holiday from Bendigo in Victoria.
A 2015 inquest into the death of a man who was taken by a crocodile during a fishing trip in Kakadu warned that smaller boats posed a greater risk.
Last month a Northern Territory mayor called for a cull after a camper described waking up to find a crocodile had entered his tent and was biting his foot.
The population of saltwater crocodiles in northern Australia is estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000 adults.


A teenager who was killed in a shooting which also saw a 22-year-old man seriously injured has been named.

Although formal identification has not yet taken place, the Met Police said it was confident the 19-year-old who died was Joseph Burke-Monerville.
The teenager from Islington was shot in Hindrey Road, Clapton, east London, at 20:20 GMT on Saturday. He died several hours later in hospital.
Police have made no arrests and have yet to establish a motive.
They said the two men were shot while sitting in a parked car. A third man, aged 19, was also in the vehicle however he was not injured.
Mr Burke-Monerville, who according to his Facebook page was studying forensic science at London Metropolitan University, had no links to gangs, Scotland Yard believe.
Officers are appealing for two suspects seen running from the area.
One is a black man while the other is light-skinned, possibly of Asian or Turkish appearance, said the force.
The men were seen making off on foot from Hindrey Road where they headed towards the Pembury Estate.
A spokesman said: "At this very early stage we must retain an open mind regarding the circumstances of the incident and any motive."
A resident, who did not wish to be named, said she heard three gunshots.
The woman, aged 70, said: "I heard the shots - one, two, three.
"I was on the phone to my son and he told me to not to dare look out the house.
"It's been a lot better around here recently. There hasn't been anything like this for many years."
Another resident, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years, said: "With this happening now, I don't think people will feel safe.
"There have been shootings here before but this is the first murder."
Mr Burke-Monerville had spoken on Facebook of his excitement about a planned holiday to Magaluf on the Spanish island of Majorca next week, which he said would be "a week 'off' stress".
He wrote that he had previously attended Aloysius' Roman Catholic College in Highgate, north London, and Wesley High School in Otukpo, Nassarawa, Nigeria.
Tributes poured into social networking sites as friends expressed their shock at the shooting.
Friend Timothy Timi-Kehinde Gbadeyan wrote on Facebook: "I always hear about gun crimes, never thought my brother will ever be a victim. RIP Joseph Burke-Monerville."
Michaela Georgiou Francis described the killing as "disgusting", adding that people like Joseph didn't "live that life".
"Such a wonderful loving young man," she added.
"He was gonna do amazing things. His smile will charm the angels. Neva forgotten.x"
Meanwhile, Antoinette Williams wrote on Twitter: "RIP Joseph Burke-Monerville, you will truly be missed, may your soul rest in perfect peace."
Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.


It doesn't take long to understand why Yang Hua is so thin.

Mr Yang is a delivery man, working long shifts for one of China's busiest courier companies.
Dwarfed by a huge canvas sack filled with envelopes and boxes, he moves as quickly as he possibly can from one floor to another in the office buildings where he works.
Mr Yang delivers packages to the office buildings located on a single block in downtown Beijing. It doesn't sound like much, but it's a job that, quite literally, keeps him on the run.
If a customer calls to complain about a late delivery, Mr Yang's company fines him 100 yuan ($16; ??10), almost all of his daily wages.
The fear of losing money on the job means he rarely slows down, rising at 06:00 to collect packages from a central warehouse and working until 19:00 in the evening.
"I can't even stop for a meal," he explains, without slowing his pace. "If you want to talk to me, we have to talk on the go."
Yang is a front-line worker servicing China's booming courier industry - a sector that has emerged to service China's obsession with online shopping.
Chinese courier services will deliver an estimated 12 billion parcels this year, according to the government's postal bureau, putting China on course to surpass the US as the world's biggest delivery sector.
The vast majority of courier packages contain items ordered online. China has few brand-name bricks-and-mortar stores, giving millions of online retailers the opportunity to flog products at highly competitive prices.
The sheer size of China's online retail sector is staggering. Last month, on 11 November, the country marked Singles' Day - a relatively new holiday that was invented a few years ago to give unmarried people an excuse to spoil themselves a little.
On that day this year, Chinese shoppers outdid themselves, buying $9bn (??5.8bn) worth of products on the country's biggest shopping platform, Taobao.
Chinese web retailers need little excuse to set up new shopping events. Right after Singles' Day, huge discounts were offered on Black Friday, originally an American shopping event, and 12-12, on 12 December, another numerically pleasing date.
Christmas Day is a shopping holiday in China too.
So, it's no surprise the courier industry is expanding. Almost all of the orders logged on Taobao are sent through independent couriers, like ZTO, the company that employs Mr Yang.
The chief executive of ZTO, Lan Bushi, looks exhausted in the wake of Singles' Day. He's only been sleeping four or five hours a night since China's peak online shopping period began.
"On a normal day, we handle seven million packages," he explains. "Suddenly, it's gone up to more than 20 million a day."
"We're operating 24 hours a day non-stop. People change shifts but the machine keeps running. We're fighting time," he adds.
Delivery trucks leave the courier hub and fan out across the city.
Individual couriers like Mr Yang hand-deliver about 100 packages a day.
Each package drop-off requires a customer's signature, stretching out the delivery process.
Recipients slowly amble over to Mr Yang to half-heartedly scratch their initials on his delivery form. He fidgets as he waits for them, desperate to move on so he can deliver as many packages as possible in a day.
"I make just enough money to provide food for my family," he shrugs. He has no choice but to hurry.
In addition to his wife and mother living in his rural village, Mr Yang has two daughters - one is 20 and one is five. When he mentions the five-year-old, his face breaks into a big smile.
But there is little time for chatter. As soon as the last package in his sack is handed over, he rushes out of the building, and over to his delivery bicycle to retrieve the next round of packages.
No time to stop while China's eager online shoppers are at their computers, placing new orders.


Police are hunting up to six men who launched a "violent and unprovoked" assault on another man in his South Queensferry home.

Detectives said at least one of the men had a weapon and the householder suffered "painful injuries" in the attack on Sunday afternoon.
They forced their way into the house in William Black Place at around 15:40, after their victim answered the door.
The men escaped in a blue Vauxhall Astra VXR and a large black vehicle.
Their victim was treated for injuries to his head and body at St John's Hospital in Livingston before he was discharged.
Police Scotland said officers from the violent crime reduction unit were pursuing various lines on inquiry.
They issued detailed descriptions of two suspects:
DC Ross Nicol said: "This was a violent and unprovoked assault that left the victim with painful injuries that are fortunately not believed to be life-threatening.
"I'm satisfied this was an isolated incident and there is not thought to be any threat to other members of the community.
"Our inquiries are at an early stage, however we understand the vehicles that the suspects used may have been in the area prior to the incident.
"I want to hear from anyone who saw these vehicles or who saw any suspicious behaviour."


Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) have unseated the Social Democrats in a key state election, exit polls say.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU is projected to win 34.5% of votes in North Rhine-Westphalia, compared with 30.5% for the Social Democrats (SPD).
It was seen as a test for Mrs Merkel ahead of September's general election.
The SPD has run the state - Germany's most populous - for most of the post-war period. Party leader Martin Schulz said it was a "hard day".
Voters were choosing candidates for the state legislature, whose leadership may now change from its current SPD-Green coalition.
The SPD's vote is said to be down by 8.6 percentage points on the last election there in 2012, while the CDU vote is up by almost the same amount.
Mr Schulz had predicted a victory there would make him the next German chancellor - but the victory for Mrs Merkel's party will now give her a boost as she seeks a fourth term.
The first exit polls also predict 12% for the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP); 6% for the Greens; 7.5% for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD); and 5% for The Left.
"This is a hard day for social democracy," said Martin Schulz, visibly shaken. It is also difficult day for him personally. North Rhine-Westphalia is his home state and traditionally an SPD stronghold.
So although the concrete issues that shaped this election were primarily regional - such as schools, transport and security - this state also matters nationally. It is seen as a bellwether for national elections.
There was a boost in his poll ratings and a surge of excitement when Mr Schulz announced earlier this year that he would challenge Mrs Merkel - it became known as the "Schulz effect".
His plan was to win over voters with a down-to-earth approach. But policy proposals have remained vague, and critics say the folksy charm has started to wear thin.
Now that his party has lost three regional elections in a row, the polls are down and the Schulz effect may have vanished as quickly as it came.
The result could also mean the worst election result for the SPD since 1947, Die Welt newspaper reports.
Polls before the vote had suggested the CDU and SDP were neck-and-neck.
But the CDU's campaign - which targeted voters' frustration on issues such as traffic congestion, rising crime and education - appears to have swayed voters.
It promised to improve security, with longer prison terms for offenders and more funds for the police.


Two terraced houses have been gutted and one damaged close to a bonfire in the Shankill area of Belfast.

12 July 2016 Last updated at 12:16 BST
Firefighters said at this stage it looked like the fires at Hopewell Square may have been caused by burning embers carried through the air.
Investigations are continuing.


In the main market of Qalqilya there is still the smell of spices and all the hustle and bustle that I remember from my first visit to the West Bank town 10 years ago.

But attitudes towards democracy and enthusiasm for elections have dramatically changed here since then.
"We used to hear a lot about democracy from all around the world," says Ahmed, a stallholder, as he bags stalks of dried thyme.  "But we found the theory works better than the practice."
In 2005, after the Palestinian Islamist militant group, Hamas, participated in elections for the first time, it took over several local councils, including Qalqilya.
Voters we met in the town back then said that the former officials from the mainstream, secular Fatah faction had been corrupt.  They expected a religious party to be cleaner and do a better job of providing basic services.
For similar reasons, Hamas went on to win a decisive victory in the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 - winning 74 of the 132 seats.
Turnout was high at 78% and international monitors said the vote was largely free and fair.
But the result was met with dismay by Israel and Western donors - which prop up the Palestinian Authority (PA).
They refused to deal with Hamas politically unless the group renounced violence and its commitment to the destruction of Israel.  Funds to pay for vital services were stopped or diverted.
While a new unity government was briefly set up a year later, it was soon dismissed amid bitter infighting between Fatah and Hamas.
This led to the political bifurcation of the West Bank - where Fatah reasserted its authority - and the Gaza Strip - where Hamas ran a rival administration.
"We're only allowed democracy if the West likes our choices," comments one Qalqilya shopper as he reflects on this troubled political history.  "They supported us when we went to the ballot boxes but did a u-turn when Islamists won."
When I visited the Qalqilya municipal offices back in 2005, my BBC team came across British diplomats as they struggled to deal with the changing political reality and met new Hamas officials.
However, the Hamas era here did not last long.  Locals quickly lost faith in the movement, which had little political experience and little outside support.
Now a Fatah mayor is back in charge.  People in Qalqilya voted for Othman Dawood in the last local elections that took place in the West Bank in 2012.
Yet he complains that his powers to tackle his town's economic hardships are restricted.
"We're a democratic society.  It's in our blood," Mr Dawood says.  "We have long had different political factions and ideologies.  There are public consultations.  But in the end we cannot have a real democracy under Israeli occupation."
The mayor points to a large map on the wall that shows Qalqilya virtually encircled by the separation barrier that Israel has built in and around the West Bank.  The barrier in general is made up mainly of chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, but in some areas consists of 8m- (25ft-) high walls.
Israel says the barrier is needed to protect it from Palestinian attackers but it also restricts the movements of ordinary Palestinians and cuts them off from profitable agricultural land.
"The biggest disagreement between the Palestinian political factions is about how to end our conflict with Israel and establish an independent Palestinian state," Mr Dawood says.  "Hamas wants a military solution, Fatah a negotiated solution.  We are divided and this makes us weak."
Although a new unity deal was struck between Hamas and Fatah last April, so far their technocratic government has failed to pave the way for promised elections across Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the latter annexed by Israel in a move not recognised internationally.
Many ordinary Palestinians have become cynical about the entire political process and the ability of any faction to effect meaningful changes on the ground.
Adding to this is the sense that most of their leaders now have questionable mandates to govern.
Mahmoud Abbas won a four-year presidential term in elections in 2005 - a vote that was boycotted by Hamas.  He later extended this for a further year and has since relied on the powerful umbrella group the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for recognition as president.
Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council - the Palestinian parliament - saw their terms expire in 2010.
The head of the Palestinian Central Election Committee, Hisham Kuhail, says his body remains ready for new polls - if only arrangements can be made.
"For any upcoming election there must be internal agreement - between Fatah and Hamas to co-ordinate in the West Bank and Gaza," he says.  "Then we must rely on the Israelis making concessions in East Jerusalem."
In 2006 Israel banned Hamas, which it regards as a terrorist organisation, from campaigning in East Jerusalem and blocked its inclusion on ballot papers in the sector.
"Every year we renew the electoral roll," Mr Kuhail goes on.  "We remain 100% ready for any call."


During the month of Ramadan Muslims fast from dawn until sunset - that means eating nothing while it is daylight.

Children, pregnant women, the sick, the elderly and travellers don't have to fast.
The Qur'an, the holy book followed by Muslims, was first revealed during the month of Ramadan.
This summer Muslims in the UK are facing the "longest" Ramadan in 33 years, as the holy month coincides with the summer solstice, meaning long days of fasting.
At this time of year daylight can last about 16 to 19 hours, depending on your UK location.
The month of Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, prayer, doing good deeds and spending time with family and friends.
At the end of the fast, special meals are served and families and friends get together to break the fast. Many Muslims also go to the mosque to pray.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Because Islam uses the lunar calendar (based on the cycles of the moon), the month of Ramadan comes around 11 days earlier each year, so it isn't a fixed date in the Western/solar calendar.
The festival to celebrate the end of Ramadan, and fasting, is called Eid al-Fitr.
Often children are given presents and new clothes.


Chris Coleman says Wales have nothing to fear at Euro 2016 after their historic opening victory over Slovakia.

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Hal Robson-Kanu's late goal gave them a 2-1 win in their first match at a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup.
With a game against England, who drew 1-1 with Russia, in Lens on Thursday, Wales have a golden opportunity to reach the knockout stages in France.
"We don't need to fear anybody. If we are ourselves it can be enough to get what we want," said Wales boss Coleman.
"It was unbelievable. I'm so delighted for our supporters - we've waited a long time.
"We'll enjoy these moments in this competition if we do what we did today. That's what it's all about.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. Sometimes you are afraid of the unknown, but we just have to go about our business."
The match against Slovakia was one for which Wales had waited 58 years, catharsis for a nation wearily accustomed to failure, be it agonisingly narrow or simply abject.
Those decades of disappointment were purged in a spine-tingling rendition of the national anthem, which seemed to have a profound effect on the Welsh players, with Gareth Bale visibly moved.
"You have experiences in football that you think you might not be able to top that," said Coleman.
"It happened against Belgium at the Cardiff City Stadium when our supporters started the national anthem. I didn't think you'd be able to top that but you walk out today and seeing the sea of red, they were everywhere.
"When the national anthem was being sung before the kick-off, that was absolutely incredible.
"You really have to keep your focus and detach yourself a little bit. It's very difficult not to get carried away."
With 16 of the 24 teams in the expanded European Championship qualifying for the second round, Wales have realistic aspirations of reaching the knockout stages.
With England having failed to beat Russia on Saturday, Wales' opening-game victory means they top the group by two points ahead of their eagerly anticipated match with Roy Hodgson's side on Thursday, 16 June.
Their final group game is against Russia in Toulouse on Monday, 20 June.
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However, Coleman remains cautious.
"I said before the game, whatever happens today if we got three points, one point or no points, it didn't matter about the result because you're not guaranteed anything," he added.
"We got the three points which is fantastic, but more important was the performance."
It was no surprise Bale, who scored seven of Wales' 11 goals in qualifying, was the man to claim their first goal of the competition.
The Real Madrid forward had stressed before the Slovakia encounter that Wales are not a one-man team, and the performance in Bordeaux demonstrated how Welsh success is as dependent on their commitment and team ethic as it is the form of Bale.
Robson-Kanu impressed in his substitute appearance, while Joe Allen held the midfield together with a commanding display.
There was also a first international start for Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward, in for the injured Wayne Hennessey.
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"It was such a blow for Wayne. We always talk about the outfield players," said Coleman. "We don't talk about the goalkeeper but he's a big reason we're sitting here.
"He's devastated, but we were not in a position where we could take a chance with him.
"But Danny Ward stepped up and he's only got two caps, and to come into that atmosphere and perform like that, I thought he was outstanding."
Coleman did not want to add to the hyperbole over the England game.
"We are the underdogs. England are a top-10 team, and they are used to high pressure situations," he said.
"They have been there before, we haven't, but that could work to our advantage."


At least 12 people have died and many villages been submerged after heavy rains caused severe flooding in southern Thailand.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected with water levels reaching "roof-high" in some areas, Thailand's interior ministry said.
Transport services, including flights, have been disrupted and rescue efforts are under way to reach those stranded.
The unseasonal downpour is expected to continue for at least two more days.
The flash floods have also damaged hundreds of schools and toppled power cables across southern Thailand.
Residents in villages across the region are using inflatables, such as rubber rings, to cross submerged roads.
Meanwhile, the airport in Nakhon Si Thammarat province has been forced to close after the area received a record 162mm (6.4 in) of rain on Friday, officials said.
An official for Thailand's Meteorological Department told AFP news agency that the situation was "very bad", adding that it was still "raining heavily" in the south.
In response to the crisis, the Thai navy has stationed its largest ship in the South to act as a floating command centre, dispatching aid using helicopters and small boats.
Last month, aerial footage showed flood damage to parts of southern Thailand with only rooftops visible above the flood waters. Supplies were being delivered to residents by boat.
The downpour in Thailand is unseasonably heavy for this time of year, with the country usually dry between November and January.
It comes at an unfortunate time for the Thai economy, which relies heavily on tourism, with this being peak holiday season.
In 2011, devastating floods in southern Thailand displaced thousands of people in more than a third of the country's provinces, resulting in more than 600 deaths.


People caught eating rare wild animals in China could be jailed for up to 10 years, state media report, under new measures passed on Thursday.

Those who knowingly buy wild animals illegally hunted could also face a sentence of up to three years.
There are 420 species of animals considered endangered by the government, including giant pandas, Asian black bears and pangolins.
The practice of eating wild animals or their products has fuelled poaching.
Repeated crackdowns failed to stem such activity and, according to the  Xinhua news agency, many buyers of rare animals were walking away unpunished.
Lang Sheng, deputy head of the legislative affairs commission of China's National People's Congress, told lawmakers earlier this week: "Buyers are a major motivator of large-scale illegal hunting."
Those who eat rare animals or their products in China and other parts of Asia believe the practice helps to strengthen the body or ease symptoms of illnesses.
The rules came into force as a new interpretation of China's criminal law was approved by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the roasted scales of the pangolin are thought to help detoxify the body and relieve palsy, while the animal's meat is considered a luxurious delicacy.
Bear bile is thought to help treat various ailments. Animal rights organisation Animals Asia claims at least 10,000 bears are being kept in farms in China and milked for their bile.
Some consume or serve these products for "ostentatious reasons" such as displaying social status and respect for guests, according to a study quoted by a recent United Nations report on illegal wildlife trade in East Asia and the Pacific.
The same report also found that China is the largest consumer market for wildlife in the region.


A US cruise ship has docked in the Cuban capital, Havana, after sailing from Florida - the first such crossing in more than 50 years.

The Adonia sailed from the port of Miami carrying some 700 passengers.
Cuba and the US restored diplomatic relations last year. But several Cold War-era restrictions on travelling and trading are yet to be lifted.
The cruise trip only went ahead after Cuba scrapped a ban on its citizens entering or leaving the island by sea.
Cubans waved as the ship arrived and hundreds of passengers stood at the railings taking pictures.
Under a perfect blue sky, the white vessel docked at Havana's colonial-era old town.
The US company operating the cruise, Carnival, had been given permission by both governments to sail ships between Florida and Cuba.
A Cuban government rule stipulated, however, that Cubans could only enter or leave by plane.
The restriction meant it could not take bookings from Americans of Cuban origin.
After protests by Cuban-Americans and threats of legal action, Carnival said it would have to postpone its cruises unless the entry policy was changed.
The Cuban authorities lifted the ban just over a week ago.
Before the Cuban Revolution brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959, cruise ships and ferries were a common way to cross the Florida Straits.
Since Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced in December 2014 that they had agreed to mend relations, tourism in Cuba has reached record numbers.
The cruise ships are expected to bring thousands more visitors to the communist-run island in the coming months, says the BBC's Will Grant.
The Adonia will sail every other week from Miami to Cuba, said Carnival.


Emmy-winning screenwriter Hal Kanter, who wrote films including Elvis Presley's Blue Hawaii, has died at 92.

The cause of death was complications from pneumonia, his daughter Donna  told the Los Angeles Times.
He wrote Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movie Road to Bali, released in 1952, and also adapted Tennessee Williams' play The Rose Tattoo for the screen.
He also wrote scripts for the Academy Awards broadcasts, for which he won two of his three Emmy awards.
Writing for the Academy Awards was his longest-running job, spanning more than 30 years.
Kanter won another Emmy for The George Gobel Show in 1955.
He also wrote and directed another Presley movie, Loving You, and wrote the screenplays for Bob Hope's Bachelor in Paradise and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis' Money from Home.
Kanter was also behind the TV show Julia, which aired from 1968-71.
It was the first sitcom to star an African American actress as a professional rather than a domestic.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, writer Doris Kanter, his three daughters and a granddaughter.


The UK Government has hit back in a row over the appointment of a Welsh representative to the new BBC board.

Broadcasting Minister Matt Hancock said Welsh ministers gave "no good reason" for blocking the UK Government's nomination of businesswoman Carol Bell.
Mr Hancock called Welsh ministers' veto "unreasonable" and "very unfortunate".
He said the Welsh Government's representative previously agreed the UK government's choice was "appointable" and had sat on the interview panel.
The row has left an empty chair on the board.
Without naming Dr Bell, Mr Hancock told his Labour shadow Kevin Brennan in a written parliamentary answer: "We hope the Welsh Government will withdraw their objection, which is entirely unreasonable.
"A new competition will be run as soon as possible."
Mr Hancock said :"The Welsh minister for lifelong learning and Welsh language [Alun Davies] wrote to the secretary of state for culture, media and sport stating that the Welsh Government was unable to endorse the preferred candidate, despite the Welsh Government representatives having deemed the candidate as appointable at interview.
"This is very unfortunate, and no good reason has been given."
Last week, Mr Davies described UK ministers' handling of the matter  a "textbook example" of how not to deal with such things.
Dr Bell, a former member of S4C's governing authority, has said she will not be commenting on the matter.


A sinkhole up to 20ft deep has appeared in Neath Port Talbot, leading to the closure of a main road.

Police have sealed off Cimla Road, in Neath, following the discovery at the bottom of Cimla Hill.
Although the hole is 1.5ft (0.5m) wide on the surface, Neath Port Talbot council said the void underneath was about 20ft wide.
The authority said the road would remain closed for the "foreseeable future" while it is repaired.


One in three councils in England has not replaced a single home sold through the Right to Buy scheme since 2012, according to the charity Shelter.

It said just 8% of councils had built enough to replace half of their stock sold through the scheme, which allows council tenants to buy their homes.
The charity said there was a danger of some areas having no affordable homes.
The government said it was committed to building 275,000 affordable new homes over the course of this parliament.
Right to Buy was first introduced in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher's government and was given a boost in 2012 when discounts for tenants were increased to Â£75,000.
In this year's Queen's speech the government announced the scheme was being extended to 1.3m housing association tenants in England.
Shelter, which looked at provisional figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government, said just two of the 166 councils in England listed as selling properties through Right to Buy had succeeded in replacing more than 100% of the properties sold.
Under existing policy, the government has promised that each home sold after 2012 would be replaced.
The charity's chief executive Campbell Robb warned the problem of not enough council homes being replaced was only likely to get worse, leaving some areas with no affordable homes.
"At this rate they'll soon be black-spots across the country where no-one on a normal income can afford to live," he said.
1. North Kesteven 187%
2. New Forest 128%
3. Waverley 89%
4. Barking and Dagenham 88%
5. Winchester 81%
6. Ipswich 80%
7. Tandridge 79%
8. Castle Point 71%
9. Hounslow 64%
10. South Cambridgeshire 59%
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, said many council housing programmes were hampered by complex rules and restrictions on the use of receipts from sales of homes.
LGA housing spokesman Peter Box said: "It is imperative that councils are given the powers to replace housing sold through Right to Buy quickly and effectively as part of the Spending Review.
"Councils need to be able to retain 100% of receipts from sales while Right to Buy discounts should be set locally so they reflect the cost of houses in the area."
Mr Box said the LGA estimated this would allow councils to replace 50,000 homes sold over the lifetime of the next Parliament.
The government said nearly 40,000 new homeowners had been created since it increased discounts for council tenants in 2012.
A spokesman added: "Councils are continuing to fulfil the requirement to deliver one for one replacements within three years, and over 3,000 replacement homes have already been delivered across England.
"We have been absolutely clear that if councils do not deliver one for one replacements for the additional homes sold under Right to Buy the government will."


Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers has said there was an "open and candid" exchange of views on the existence of paramilitary organisations during the inter-party talks.

Ms Villiers said significant differences remain between the political parties on the issue.
However, she said there was an acceptance that a broad approach was needed.
She said the talks would focus on welfare on Tuesday.
"While significant differences still clearly exist between the parties on what the right answer is, there is an acceptance that we need a broad approach which engages right across society if we are to see an end to paramilitary activity and an end to the control these organisations seek to exert over parts of the community," Ms Villiers said.
The secretary of state left the Conservative Party conference in Manchester and returned to Belfast for the talks.
On Sunday, she said a deal must be done in the coming weeks as the talks cannot continue until Christmas.
Last week, Prime Minister David Cameron set the end of October as a deadline.
Read more on how the crisis unfolded


Petitions from 86 MPs backing a new national funding formula for England's schools have been given to the Commons.

The MPs said under the current system, the best-funded areas received up to Â£6,300 per pupil, while the worst-funded got an average of Â£4,200.
The MPs, led by former Education Select Committee chairman Graham Stuart, want a fairer system.
The move followed the chancellor's promise last week that the government would consult on a new funding rate.
In his Spending Review at the end of November, George Osborne said the consultation would take place in the new year.
The petitions had been signed by thousands of local constituents from across the country.
Mr Stuart, Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, presented the petitions with MPs from his own and other parties on Tuesday evening.
Mr Stuart said: "Tuesday's presentation was intended to showcase the strength of feeling that exists up and down the country that levels of school funding cannot continue to be arbitrary and unfair.
"The current system hits rural and urban areas alike and the campaign does not divide along party lines.
"I am very grateful to everybody who has signed the petition in Beverley and Holderness and all those across the country.
"It's great that ministers have now committed to consult on how best to implement a new national funding formula but we will not let up until fair funding is delivered to schools in our constituencies."
Mr Stuart has called for change on this issue since he was elected in 2005 and is the vice-chairman of the F40 campaign, which calls for school funding to be overhauled.
More recently, he led a parliamentary debate on the issue in Westminster Hall.


More than £7m of government funding is to go towards supporting Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup sailing team base in Portsmouth.

Sir Ben said the funding for a British America's Cup entry would enable the project to "push forward".
Last month Portsmouth City Council approved plans to build the £12m team headquarters at Camber Docks.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the project would "deliver a real sporting and economic boost to the UK".
It is initially expected to employ 90 people.
But it is hoped the project will create many more jobs in the long term for the city, where 900 jobs are being lost after the British defence company BAE decided to end its shipbuilding there.
A four-time Olympic sailing gold medallist, Sir Ben is aiming to raise £80m to lead a British team to victory at the 35th America's Cup, likely to be held in the US in 2017.
•First staged in 1851 off the Isle of Wight in England. Won by US yacht America
•No British team has won it, but Sir Ben Ainslie is hoping to change that with his new team
•Racing is boat-on-boat, called match-racing
•Takes place roughly every three to five years
•The winner decides the rules and venue of the next event
•As holders, Oracle Team USA have revamped the format. Qualifying rounds have been streamlined and will start in 2015. The finals are likely to be in June 2017
•The boats will be smaller and cheaper, and a quarter of each crew has to be from the team's home nation
Prime Minister David Cameron described the attempt as an "exciting and historic challenge".
"It will not only build on Portsmouth's global reputation as a centre of marine and maritime excellence but will also deliver a real sporting and economic boost to the UK," he said.
"It is a great example of our long-term plan - creating jobs as well as opportunities for young people to develop their skills through apprenticeships."
Sir Ben said: "We will inspire more young people to get involved in the sport, along with supporting the growth of the marine sector in the Solent area to match the country's F1 innovation hub."
The Portsmouth base is set to a be focal point for the design and construction of the team boats and will also provide sports science and fitness facilities as well as a visitor centre.
Construction work is due to start immediately, with a planned completion date in May 2015.
The oldest international trophy in world sport, the America's Cup was first held off the Isle of Wight in 1851, although a British team has never won it.
In a dramatic end to the last race in 2013, Sir Ben helped turn round a 8-1 deficit and won the trophy for Oracle Team USA.
The Ben Ainslie Racing team is pledging to bring the event back to UK waters if they win.


A 70-year-old man has died in an apparent hit-and-run in north London.

The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened at 01:35 BST on High Road, at the junction with Seven Sisters, in Tottenham.
His next of kin have been told, the Met said.
A 36-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of failing to stop at the scene and causing death by dangerous driving.
He is in custody for questioning.
Road closures are in place and parts of the pavement between the High Road and Stonebridge Estate are also closed.


North African neighbours Algeria and Tunisia have both been convulsed by widespread rioting and fatal clashes with police in the past few days.

The timing of the riots raises the question of whether they are part of the same trend.
If they are, that could send a chill wind through governments elsewhere in the Arab world, where people have many of the same grievances.
George Joffe, a specialist in North African affairs at Cambridge University, sees certain shared characteristics, but no common cause.
"Both countries' governments are extremely insensitive to popular sentiment, both countries have seen a dramatic rise in food prices," he said.
"But [the riots] are not related, in that they started for very different reasons. I don't see a link."
"It's simply the case that in both countries, people lead miserable lives," he added.
The main thing the two cases have in common is demography.
In both Algeria and Tunisia, high birth-rates have led to an explosion in the number of young people of job-seeking age.
At the same time, the economies of both countries - while outpacing growth in developing economies in the past few years - have not grown fast enough to meet the demand for jobs.
Algeria and Tunisia also shared the method people used to express their unhappiness: young people taking to the streets, throwing petrol bombs and stones at police, and ransacking buildings.
This may be because in both countries there is only limited political discourse and no vibrant opposition through which people can channel their grievances.
But here the two sets of protests diverge.
In Algeria, it was a limited flare-up of built-up frustration about tough living conditions with no far-reaching political implications.
In Tunisia, the unrest is turning into a challenge to the rule of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
"It's the first time there's been a major disturbance of this kind in Tunisia, and it's a warning to the president of the danger of creating a totally unnecessary dictatorship," said Mr Joffe.
"He needs to think very carefully about how he proceeds with his policies from here," he added.
In Tunisia, the protests' initial focus was youth unemployment and police heavy-handedness, but animosity towards Ben Ali, who has run the country since 1987, has turned into a constant theme.
A video circulating on social media websites used by opponents of the Tunisian government on Monday showed a group of men trying to set fire to a poster of Ben Ali - similar to the ones which hang in every shop and public building in Tunisia.
Discussion threads about Tunisia on Twitter, another social networking tool, are full of rhetoric aimed at the president.
"Ben Ali, do you see the wave that will sweep you away?" said one post. "Ben Ali must be held accountable," said another.
A third post said: "Let us turn the protests/uprising in Tunisia into the first socio-political revolution powered by social networks."
Next door in Algeria, very few of the rioters articulated any political demands; they were just angry about sharp rises in the price of sugar and cooking oil.
The government, with deep pockets from the export of oil and gas, quickly said it would curb price rises, and since then the rioting has tapered off.
Algeria has already had its "people power revolution" - the year after Ben Ali took office.
Then, days of intense rioting in the capital led the authorities to loosen controls on society and the economy, allowing private newspapers and multi-party elections for the first time.
That flowering of freedom quickly degenerated into a conflict between security forces and Islamist rebels which killed 200,000 people, according to some estimates, from which Algeria is still emerging.
After that experience, few Algerians have any appetite for any more political transformations.
By contrast, Tunisia has been a model of stability and has only had two heads of state since independence from France.
Some of the young Tunisians clashing with police over the past few days feel it is their turn to try a revolution.


An inquiry into the role of trustees at a Hampshire school charity has found they acted properly in the wake of a pupil's allegation of rape.

The allegation triggered a number of inspections at Stanbridge Earls School for children with special needs, near Romsey, which has now closed.
It was criticised for excluding the pupil after her rape claim.
The Charity Commission concluded trustees "made reasonable decisions" in managing the school's charity.
The school trust, set up in 1964, provided boarding and day education for boys and girls aged 10 to 19 with special educational needs.
In January 2013, it was accused of failing to protect a pupil who claimed to have been raped twice by fellow students.
An education tribunal found the school discriminated against the pupil by excluding her.
An unannounced Ofsted inspection in February 2013 uncovered serious care failings, and the Department for Education (DfE) rejected an action plan drawn up by the school.
The commission's inquiry looked at how trustees handled the overall administration, governance and management of the charity, including how they responded to issues raised by Ofsted and the DfE.
The inquiry report found the trustees' actions were "satisfactory".
The way the school handled the sexual abuse allegations was a separate matter not within the remit of the commission.
The trust is currently in administration.
The school announced it would close after an "insufficient" number of pupils were registered for the following term.
The report highlighted that, while trustees were working towards improving child safeguarding, the school's financial future hung in the balance "as a result of the style of coverage by the press and media" over the allegation and the tribunal's decision.


The director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said an urgent solution is needed to Irish border issues after Brexit.

Carolyn Fairbairn spoke after meeting business representatives in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
She said: "Firms are making decisions now, they need to know now what sort of border solution is going to be found."
The operation of the Irish border is one of the most sensitive Brexit issues.
Political leaders in London, Dublin, Brussels and Belfast have all said there should be "no hard border" and "no return to the borders of the past".
However, so far there have been no firm proposals on how to achieve that when Northern Ireland is outside the customs union and single market and the Republic of Ireland remains inside.
The UK's Brexit Secretary David Davis said more time was spent on Irish issues on the first day of the Brexit talks compared to any other subject.
The Republic of Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has suggested that Northern Ireland will require a "unique status".
He told the Irish Independent: "If we're going to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, there needs to be some relationship with the customs union and common market that allows Northern Ireland to be able to operate the way that it does today."
Meanwhile, officials from HM Customs and Revenue are in Belfast for a series of meetings with business groups.
It is understood they are beginning a fact-finding process about border trade issues.


England Under-21s enjoyed a thrilling win over their German opponents on Monday, giving the strongest indication yet that Gareth Southgate's side are building momentum ahead of this summer's European Championship.

The fact they came back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 without some of their more recognised players, such as Tottenham's Harry Kane or Manchester United's Luke Shaw, underlined the new-found spirit in the squad.
It's a far cry from two years ago when Stuart Pearce took his squad to Israel and watched them lose all three Euro 2013 games with a disjointed group and reports of attitude problems among some players.
Contrastingly, Southgate says he has no doubts about his team's character. An exciting crop of players has enjoyed an unbeaten qualifying campaign, so there is a sense they could be real contenders in the Czech Republic in June.
But as Pearce experienced in 2013, the biggest problem could be whether Premier League clubs allow their players to be released.
So why should the likes of the Premier League's top scorer Kane, Shaw and perhaps even Everton's Ross Barkley be allowed to play for the Under-21s this summer if they have already played for the senior team?
There is a careful balancing act to be performed by Southgate when it comes to picking his 23-man squad.
Former England striker Gary Lineker said it would be a "national disgrace" if England's best youngsters did not appear at the European Championship, yet consideration must also given to the players who have helped Southgate's team qualify.
The former Middlesbrough boss has said there might be only two vacant places in the squad. "I know whoever goes is totally committed," he said. "There won't be any loafing around, there won't be any lads who feel it's a chore to go."
England could flood their Under-21s team with an impressive cast of players who have already competed for the seniors: Kane, Barkley, Liverpool's Raheem Sterling, Manchester United's Phil Jones, Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and even his club-mate Jack Wilshere, whose birthday is on the deadline for the oldest players allowed to compete in the tournament.
But even though senior manager Roy Hodgson has softened his opposition on players returning to the Under-21s having represented his team, it seems as if Southgate will stick with those who have helped his side qualify.
That could rule out Barkley, whose form has dipped this season after appearing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and has not played for the under-21s since. Derby's Will Hughes is likely to be his replacement.
But it would include Kane, who scored six goals in eight games during qualifying, so long as his club allows him.
Alongside the 21-year-old Spurs striker, Norwich winger Nathan Redmond and Manchester United's Jesse Lingard, on loan at Derby, have added thrust to the England Under-21s attack. Southampton's James-Ward Prowse and Chelsea's Nathaniel Chalobah, on loan at Reading, have been steady influences in midfield.
In defence you can add in Everton's John Stones, Tottenham's Eric Dier and West Ham's Carl Jenkinson. In attack there is West Brom's Saido Berahino and Burnley striker Danny Ings, so there is plenty of Premier League experience that Southgate can rely on.
Historical evidence suggests that teams who have success at the Under-21s Championship, enjoy further riches down the road.
Germany, who won the 2009 tournament after beating England 4-0 in the final, had five players in their squad who were also involved when the senior side won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Italy, who are the most successful side in the European Under-21s Championship's history, picked five players in their 2004-winning squad who went on to compete in the 2006 World Cup win in Germany.
Although Spain's success at under-21s and senior level has occurred concurrently, the 2011 European Under-21s triumph featured midfielders Juan Mata and Javi Martinez before they went on to win the European Championship with the seniors in 2012. The fact they had already been selected in the 2010 World Cup winning squad showed their willingness to drop down to the younger category a year later.
As England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who also played in the Under-21s, said recently: "We have all seen the blueprint of Germany and you can't look past that. It's quite inspirational and I'm sure Gareth Southgate will be alluding to that when he is drawing people to play for the Under-21s side."
Success breeding success is not a concept solely associated with other European nations.
As many as 13 of Southgate's potential England Under-21s squad could be made up of players who won the European Under-17s Championship in 2010.
That squad consisted of Berahino, Chalobah, Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland, Everton's Luke Garbutt and Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson, who are all likely to picked this summer.
Whether it's playing every few days in pressure games, coming up against unfamiliar tactics or styles, or even penalty shoot-outs, there is much to be gained by playing opposing countries in tournament conditions.
"Tournament football is our Achilles heel," says Pearce, who cites Shaw as an example of a player who was taken to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil without previously representing the Under-21s at the Euros.
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, one of Pearce's squad two years ago, said at the time: "It's not that we didn't try hard enough. It's maybe we weren't used to playing in tournament games under so much pressure. We didn't expect all that quality."
It will be hoped that the current group use their experience to avoid the same naivety.
So if it appears that there is everything to be gained from a players' perspective, why the opposition from the clubs? It is no coincidence that the highest-profile players have drawn the most resistance.
England's record on this issue does not set a great example.
Two years ago, Pearce complained that up to 13 players withdrew from his squad, whether through injury or "apathy".
And the former England Under-21s boss warns that if Barkley is not selected he would be stuck in "no-man's land" between the two England teams, despite Everton boss Roberto Martinez insisting his player needs a "proper break" this summer.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino feels that Kane could also suffer from burnout after scoring 19 Premier League goals this season to help boost his side's Champions League charge. And yet the club's post-season tour of Malaysia and Australia has highlighted other potential agendas.
Former England defender Danny Mills rejects the notion that 21-year-old players need to rest, and says that pressure on young players can add to the indifference that Pearce has witnessed.
"Pochettino will put Kane under enormous pressure as all big clubs and managers do," Mills said. "But look at the Germans and Spanish - they always play under-21s tournaments.
"We have to create a culture where players want to play."
Fortunately for Southgate, that appears to be changing and it comes at a time when changes to a more possession-based style appear to be bearing fruit at the age-group level.
Leading the way is Kane, who has become a poster boy for those reforms and has said he wants to play for England whenever he can.
Although Pochettino's concerns are obvious, he also recognises the importance of competing for your country as he did in earning 20 caps for Argentina.
"Maybe I'd prefer that Harry has a month's holiday after the season to rest," he said. "But we realise we need to support the national team and to take the best decision for us all."
If Southgate can persuade Pochettino that the interests of the Premier League's top scorer are best served by playing for England this summer, he will have a great bargaining chip for any other refuseniks who have been less impressive this season.


Scotland's opposition leaders are to reaffirm their support for the United Kingdom in speeches in London.

Former first minister Alex Salmond has suggested a decision on an independence referendum could come within weeks.
Tory leader Ruth Davidson is to call on the SNP to focus on education rather than independence in a speech at the London School of Economics.
And Labour's Kezia Dugdale will set out her vision of a federal UK at an event at University College London.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described the coming weeks as "really critical", as the UK government moves towards triggering Article 50, the first step in the formal process of leaving the European Union. Prime Minster Theresa May has stated her intention to do this by the end of March.
Ms Sturgeon has put forward proposals for a differentiated deal which would keep Scotland in the European single market even as the UK leaves, but said she is "facing a UK government that is not willing to compromise".
And she said that "time is running out" for a UK-wide Brexit deal to be agreed, sparking speculation of a fresh referendum in the autumn of 2018.
At the LSE, Ms Davidson will accuse the SNP of being "asleep at the wheel" over education, which Ms Sturgeon has outlined as her number one priority for the current parliament, due to its focus on independence.
She will say: "Constitutional division has taken precedence over education reform.
"If the first minister now says she wants an 'absolute focus' on education, why is she considering another referendum campaign which will inevitably distract her from that goal?
"How can education be 'the priority' for her, if she plunges us back into another all-consuming fight over Scotland's place in the UK?
"If she spends the next two years fighting over a second referendum, how will her government have the time to deliver the changes in education she says she wants?
"She says she wants a second referendum. I say, Scotland's children won't get a second chance."
Elsewhere in the city, Ms Dugdale is to underline Labour's firm opposition to a second independence vote, while promoting her vision of a federal UK.
She is expected to tell an event at University College London of plans to formally adopt federalism as a Scottish Labour policy at the party's upcoming spring conference.
She will say: "We are firmly opposed to a second independence referendum. We believe that together we're stronger. Today our country is deeply divided, not just by constitutional politics but by economic inequality.
"So to restore faith in our politics, build a more united society and create an economy that works for working people, I believe that we need to create a more federal UK.
"There should be a people's constitutional convention, made up of citizens from across the United Kingdom, which should report before the next UK general election. I believe we need a new Act of Union to save our union for generations to come."
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie has written a blog on his website accusing the SNP of "selling out Remain voters", saying it appeared the party was backing away from supporting full membership of the EU.
He said: "The SNP will use the Remainers to seek another independence vote, but sell them out for the support of independence-supporting Brexiteers to break up the UK."
The Scottish Greens meanwhile support independence, and have urged Ms Sturgeon to press ahead with legislation for a second referendum in light of the Brexit vote.
Ms Sturgeon was asked about the matter of a second referendum during her final Holyrood question session before the current parliamentary recess.
The first minister told MSPs: "I have a duty to stand up for the interests of this country and to do everything that I can to make sure that the Tories do not get away with taking Scotland off a hard-Brexit cliff edge.
"On the question of a second independence referendum, I have been clear about my determination to find compromise; it just so happens that I am facing a UK government that is not willing to compromise with me.
"I have also said that I am determined to ensure that Scotland will not be dragged out of the EU and off that hard-Brexit cliff edge against its will. My mandate for that was in the manifesto that I was elected on just under one year ago."


There is a "real and present danger" of Russia trying to destabilise the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, the UK defence secretary says.

Michael Fallon said he was worried about "pressure" from Russian President Vladimir Putin on the ex-Soviet states, which are Nato members.
Russia might use tactics there similar to those it used in Ukraine, he said.
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander told the BBC he too had "very real concerns" about the situation.
Mr Fallon's comments came after PM David Cameron called on Europe to tell Russia it faced economic and financial consequences for "many years to come" if it did not stop destabilising Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence has said RAF jets were scrambled on Wednesday after two Russian military aircraft were seen off the Cornwall coast.
Speaking to journalists from the Times and Daily Telegraph during a flight to Sierra Leone, where British troops are helping tackle the Ebola outbreak, Mr Fallon said: "I'm worried about Putin.
"I'm worried about his pressure on the Baltics, the way he is testing Nato."
He said Nato must be prepared for aggression from Russia "in whatever form it takes" - because Russia was likely to use covert tactics such as those he said it had used to annex Crimea and during the current Ukraine conflict.
Russia has denied helping pro-Russian separatists, but it has been repeatedly accused of sending weapons and troops and using propaganda to inflame tensions.
Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent
The comments from Defence Secretary Michael Fallon are an indication of a fundamental shift in the Nato perception of the crisis in Ukraine.
Nato governments clearly believe that what began as a localised Ukraine problem that strained ties with Moscow has now become a Russia problem, and a Russia problem that is likely to persist for some time.
Ukraine is thus seen as a manifestation of a much broader policy shift on the part of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Fallon's belief that there is indeed a potential threat to Nato territory - in particular the Baltic Republics - is widely shared; hence Nato's desire to underline in the most emphatic terms that its security guarantees to its members will be honoured in full.
Mr Fallon went on: "When you have jets being flown up the English Channel, when you have submarines in the North Sea, it looks to me like it's [the situation is] warming up," he said.
Mr Cameron warned that rebels in eastern Ukraine were using Russian military hardware, pointing out: "You can't buy this equipment on eBay, it hasn't come from somewhere else, it's come from Russia and we know that."
He added that one of the principles of Nato - which is made up of 26 European countries as well as the US and Canada - is that an "attack against one or several members is considered as an attack against all".
Elsewhere, Admiral Lord West, a former First Sea Lord and Nato commander, said it was important Nato "stands united at this dangerous and difficult moment".
It could not afford to let a line in the sand be crossed if Russia interfered with the Baltic states, he said.
The UK Joint Delegation to Nato tweeted that Russia had deployed the country's "most advanced anti-aircraft artillery system" in Ukraine.


District nurses are "over-worked" and there are "real concerns" about the pressure they are under, the Royal College of Nurses has warned.

The number working in Wales has fallen 42% in recent years, but the workload had increased tenfold, it has claimed.
And the union has also said district nurses would prefer to have more time to spend with each patient.
The Welsh Government said the number of nurses working in the community had increased overall.
Peter Meredith-Smith, associate director of employment relations at RCN Wales, said: "We do have concerns as to whether there is enough investment in the nursing workforce within our community services to ensure the highest quality of care to Welsh citizens.
"We also have real concerns about the pressure being experienced by frontline nurses working in community settings.
"They are, without doubt, over-worked and have less time to spend with each patient than they would wish to have."
BBC Wales' new political programme on S4C, O'r Senedd, spoke to Sian Lewis - a district nurse in Cardigan - who said her team's caseload had "doubled" over the past 10 years, seeing about 50 patients a day.
"Trying to fit 50 people into a day means we're busy and we have to drive quite quickly from one to another," she said.
"People's expectations are huge and sometimes we can't meet those expectations because we're so busy."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "Health boards are keen to develop a more effective skills mix at local level, using highly-experienced district nurses to direct, lead and advise community nursing teams.
"As a result, the overall number of nurses providing community services has increased by 17% over the past six years."
Last week, Health Secretary Vaughan Gething announced Â£95m to train more healthcare professionals, including district nurses.
I spent a morning with Sian Lewis, a district nurse in the Cardigan area.
She told me things were "much busier" now than when she first started working in the community 10 years ago.
"Paperwork is more of a thing now and the patients have all got older so there's more of them with chronic conditions," she said.
There was a warm welcome waiting when she arrived at Tom and Muriel James' home.
Mr James, 92, said he would be in a home if it was not for the district nurses and his wife called them "angels".
Ms Lewis' visits mean the couple can avoid having to go to hospital or their GP surgery.
There is a political push to reduce pressure on other parts of the health service by providing more care in the community.
But that, of course, places greater strain on those nurses who travel from one home to another and whose caseloads are not limited to the number of beds on a hospital ward.
Hywel Dda University Health Board, which is responsible for NHS care in the area, said it had developed a number of "new and exciting" services to support district nurse teams and these all work in an "integrated way to provide the highest level of community care".
"The health board is very proud of the quality of the work accomplished by our district nurses and we wish to reiterate our gratitude on behalf of our patients and partners," said a spokesman.
O'r Senedd is on S4C at 22:00 GMT on Tuesday 28 February