Britain has called for the UN Security Council to take action over the war in Yemen, as international pressure grows on both sides. 

“Now for the first time there appears to be a window in which both sides can be encouraged to come to the table, stop the killing and find a political solution that is the only long term way out of disaster,” said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. “The UK will use all its influence to push for such an approach.”

The Foreign Secretary’s renewed call to support an end to Yemen’s conflict followed a meeting with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, who has been trying to advance peace talks in the neglected conflict.

One of the Arab world’s poorest countries, Yemen has been caught in a devastating war since March 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition launched a massive military campaign to oust Iran-backed Houthi rebels and restore the country’s official government to power.

Three and a half years on, much of Yemen’s infrastructure is in ruins. Eight million of the country’s 28 million people rely on UN food rations to survive, and experts predict widespread famine.

The UK is one of the top arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia, after sales rose two-thirds in 2017. 

Mr Griffiths has pushed for a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen, the start of a UN-led process that could lead to an end to the conflict and eventual peace talks.

The Foreign Secretary said the time was right for the UK to discuss with its UN Security Council partners how to bolster this process, days after the US made a rare appeal for a ceasefire in the country. 

Renewed attention on the conflict has come amid widespread condemnation of Saudi Arabia and its powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is the chief architect of Yemen’s war.

MBS, as the crown prince is known, is suspected of ordering the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul one month ago.

Saudi Arabia and bin Salman deny his involvement. 

The incident has thrown a light on the crown prince’s broader foreign policy decisions, apparently bringing the widely forgotten conflict in Yemen back onto the global agenda.

A pensioner has begun a legal battle to be recognised as being 20 years younger than his actual age so he can go back to work and achieve greater success with women on Tinder.

Emile Ratelband, 69, argues that if transgender people are allowed to change sex, he should be allowed to change his date of birth because doctors said he has the body of a 45-year-old.

The entrepreneur and self-help guru is suing his local authority after they refused the amend his age on official documents.

Mr Ratelband’s case has now gone to a court in the city of Arnhem in the eastern Dutch province of Gelderland.

The case has caused controversy in his homeland, with the Dutch edition of Vice, a news website, asking, "Is Emile Ratelband disturbed or accidentally extremely woke?"

Mr Ratelband was born on 11th March 1949, but says he feels at least 20 years younger and wants to change his birth date to 11th March 1969.

Mr Ratelband said: "I have done a check-up and what does it show? My biological age is 45 years.

"When I’m 69, I am limited. If I’m 49, then I can buy a new house, drive a different car. I can take up more work.

"When I’m on Tinder and it say I’m 69, I don’t get an answer. When I’m 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position.

"Transgenders can now have their gender changed on their birth certificate, and in the same spirit there should be room for an age change."

The Dutchman said he is discriminated against because of his age, and that he encounters problems in society on a daily basis. The court is due to deliver a written ruling within four weeks.

He complains that companies are reluctant to hire someone the age of a pensioner as a consultant.

And he says his move would also be good news for the government as he would be renouncing his pension until he reaches retirement age again.

The judge said that he had some sympathy with Mr Ratelband as people could now change their gender which would once have been unthinkable.

But the court said there would be practical problems in allowing people to change their birth date, as it would mean legally deleting part of their lives.

The judge asked Mr Ratelband about the status of his early years, from 1949 to 1969, if his official birth date was put back.

"For whom did your parents care in those years? Who was that little boy back then?," the judge asked.

The court is due to deliver a written ruling within four weeks.

Chinese cities are launching a scoring system for dog owners where anyone found failing to care for their pets could be forced to pay a fine – or even have their dog confiscated.

The credit system is already being enforced in the Chinese city of Jinan, and requires anyone with a dog to register with the police – with only one dog permitted per person.

The licence starts with a dozen points and is embedded as a QR code on a dog’s collar.  

Points are then deducted for various infractions, such as walking a dog without a leash or tag, not cleaning up poo, or being reported for a disturbance. Owners are docked three points if dogs are walked without a leash, for example, which must be less than 1.5 metres in length and under the control of someone at least 18 years of age.

Dogs are not allowed to play in public water fountains, and they are banned from government buildings, public transport, schools, hospitals, parks, public squares, gyms, hotels restaurants, markets and shopping centres.

Repeat offenders can see as many as six points subtracted in one go, though owners can earn points back with good behaviour such as volunteering in kennels.

Losing all 12 points means saying goodbye to the dog, the most severe punishment authorities can levy. Once a dog is confiscated, owners must pass an exam about responsible pet ownership before being reunited.

Since the programme was introduced last year, 1,430 dog owners had been fined, according to state media.

Of those, 122 lost the full dozen points, and subsequently their dogs; most, however, passed the exam and got their pets back. Local police say the number of complaints lodged about dogs has dropped significantly.

Other Chinese cities are now also beginning to roll out the dog owner social credit programme, reported state media.

“With proper implementation [of the system] and training, the overall quality of the dog owners will be raised,” said Miss Hu, 35, a consultant in Beijing who owns a black Labrador retriever.

“It can reduce the risk of my dog being attacked by other dogs that are poorly kept,” she said, declining to give her full name. The programme might also lower “the number of stray dogs and unleashed dogs, and eventually the number of people bitten by such dogs.”

Dog bites have long been a concern in China, which has the world’s second-highest number of reported rabies cases in the world, according to the World Health Organisation.

But that has not stopped millions of Chinese from owning dogs, leading to a boom in the pet care industry offering everything from doggie spas to pet funerals.

The dog-owner social credit system is similar to the government’s nationwide social credit system launched in 2014.

The programme is being rolled out in phases, and is slated to be fully operational by 2020, though the government has provided scarce details about who is in charge of the system, how it works, and whether anyone can dispute the scores.

“By rating citizens on a range of behaviours from shopping habits to online speech, the government intends to manufacture a problem-free society,” according to a Human Rights Watch report released in 2017.

Additional reporting by Paula Jin

A 16-year-old girl who came to the US from Poland with dreams of becoming a model has accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault over the course of a decade, in a series of new court documents filed on Wednesday.

The unnamed woman is the tenth to join a class action suit, filed in Manhattan.

In the court documents, obtained by Sky News, it states that the teenager moved to the US in 2002, and first met Weinstein at an event hosted by her modelling agency.

They allege that a few days later, Weinstein took the teenager to his Soho apartment, where he "aggressively and threateningly" demanded sex.

"Weinstein threatened and pressured Jane Doe, saying that he had ‘made’ the careers of Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and that neither would be working without him."

The woman’s statement alleges that he "took off his pants and forcibly held Jane Doe while taking her hand and making her touch and massage him.

"As Weinstein forcibly caused her to touch him, Jane Doe continuously protested. However Weinstein’s demeanour became intense as if he were hunting prey."

The court documents state: "Weinstein made it clear that, by refusing his sexual demands, Jane Doe was giving up her opportunity to make it in Hollywood."

Jane Doe was able to leave the alleged encounter – but lawyers say she "endured nearly a decade of sexual harassment and emotional abuse at his hands" afterwards.

Her accusations come as Weinstein’s lawyers are reportedly meeting with insurance companies and prosecutors to discuss a "victims’ fund", to settle the civil claims against him.

The criminal case, currently processing through the Manhattan court, has not been affected.

The ten women in the suit all claim that Weinstein lured them to hotels and auditions under the guise of furthering their careers and sexually assaulted or raped them.

In September, a federal judge instructed three women — Melissa Thompson, Caitlin Dulany and Larissa Gomez — to consolidate their suit with six other class-action plaintiffs —Louisette Geiss, Katherine Kendall, Zoe Brock, Sarah Ann Thomas, Melissa Sagemiller and Nannette Klatt.

These new allegations form part of a broadened class action suit, which has been expanded to accuse a series of companies and individuals in Weinstein’s orbit for failing to stop his behaviour.

Filed on behalf of the ten women by law firm Hagens Berman, the suit says that the companies, which it calls the “Weinstein Sexual Enterprise,” were aware of the producer’s alleged illegal conduct and enabled it by threatening victims and paying them off.

One of the executives named is Michael Eisner, former chief executive of Disney, which bought Miramax in 1993.

The documents allege, according to Sky News, that "during the time Disney owned Miramax, Miramax paid settlements to multiple women who were victims of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment and abuse".

They say: "Based on Disney’s control of Miramax finances, Disney knew or should have known of these payments, which should have caused additional inquiry and investigation.

"Moreover, given that Eisner had assigned eyes and ears from Disney to watch over Harvey Weinstein – and those persons had knowledge of Harvey Weinstein’s conduct, Eisner and Disney knew or should have known of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment and abuse."

Mr Eisner has not yet publicly reacted to his inclusion in the class action, but after the allegations against Weinstein first emerged back in October 2017, he tweeted: "Fired Weinsteins because they were irresponsible, and Harvey was an incorrigible bully. Had no idea he was capable of these horrible actions."

Mr Eisner is among nearly 30 named defendants in the lawsuit, including Miramax, the Walt Disney Company, members of The Weinstein Company board, its employees, and Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Weinstein’s civil lawyer, Elior Shiloh, declined to comment.

His criminal lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told The Telegraph: “This claim is preposterous and eventually, just as others have been exposed to be liars, this uncorroborated allegation that is almost 20 years old will be shown to be patently false.”

An American pastor released from a Turkish prison on Friday knelt at Donald Trump’s feet on Saturday, praying for the US president during a gathering in the Oval Office. 

Andrew Brunson, a 50-year-old preacher from North Carolina, who has lived in Turkey for over 25 years, asked Mr Trump if he could pray for him.

“I need it more than anybody in this room,” the president replied.

Mr Brunson then knelt, asking God to give Mr Trump “the wisdom to lead this country into righteousness”.

He continued: "Protect him from slander, from enemies. Fill him with your wisdom, and strength, and perseverance."

Mr Brunson was detained in October 2016 and charged with links to Kurdish militants and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the cleric blamed by Turkey for a failed coup attempt that year.  He strongly denied any links to militants, and Mr Trump took up his case with gusto, demanding the preacher be released. His case became a bitter diplomatic row between Ankara and Washington.

Mr Trump said the pastor’s release marked a significant improvement in US-Turkish relations.

“This is a great step towards having the kind of relationship with Turkey that we want to have,” he said, emphasizing that the US had not made any payment or granted concessions to Turkey in exchange for his release.

"The only deal, if you can call it a deal, is a psychological one," he said. "We feel much different to Turkey today than we did yesterday. I think we have a chance now to have a really great relationship."

Flanked by Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, and John Bolton, the national security advisor, plus a phalanx of senators and advisors, Mr Trump paid tribute to the work of his team in securing his release. He also said the country was delighted he was home.

“Right now the whole world is a fan of yours,” he said.

Mr Brunson said he and his family still loved Turkey and the Turkish people, but added that he was unsure what he would do next.

“Spend time with our children, and then pray and see what God wants next for us," he said.

"In the future we will probably be doing some interviews, but this is just a time to thank this administration. We love this country. Last night we arrived in Germany, and the ambassador met us at 1:30am – I couldn’t believe it. He had a flag and I took it and very naturally kissed it."

His wife, Norine, added her thanks to the president, who jokingly asked who she voted for. She replied that she had voted for him.

"I sent an absentee ballot from prison," Mr Brunson added.

Leaders of Asia-Pacific nations failed to agree a joint communique after a summit for the first time on Sunday after police had to be called when trade tensions between the US and China boiled over in Papua New Guinea.

Insiders said the sticking point was US demands to include reference to reforming the World Trade Organisation and “unfair trade practices” – which Beijing took as an unsubtle dig.

When Chinese diplomats turned up unannounced to persuade Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister to back their wording, things turned ugly.

Rimbink Pato refused to meet them.

“Police were posted outside the minister’s office after they tried to barge in,” one source privy to summit negotiations told the AFP news agency, requesting anonymity.

Instead of a leaders’ declaration backed by the 21 members of the the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec), Peter O’Neill, prime minister of Papua New Guinea, said he would issue a chairman’s statement.

It marks the first time in Apec’s 29-year history that its members have not been able to agree.

“You know the two big giants in the room,” Mr O’Neill said diplomatically when asked which nations could not agree.

East-West tensions were on display from the outset of the summit, with the two blocs manoeuvring for influence.

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, was feted by PNG officials when he arrived on Thursday to pitch his Belt and Road initiative to Pacific island nations. The programme offers investment in infrastructure to less developed countries.

In response, Mike Pence, US vice president, warned smaller countries not to be seduced by Chinese money that comes with strings.

The US and its allies, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, countered with a $1.7 billion (£1.3 billion) plan to deliver reliable electricity and the internet to PNG.

China came away with at least one success. A Tongan official said it had signed up to the initiative and had been given a five-year deferral on loan repayments, as Chinese officials insisted they did not add to the burden on small countries.

The United States closed its busiest border crossing with Mexico for several hours on Monday, following a day of protests in the city of Tijuana against the arrival of the migrant “caravan”.

Queues at the Tijuana crossing stretched back for several miles as traffic into the US was blocked while new security barriers were installed, causing anger among the 110,000 people who enter the US every day.

An estimated 3,000 migrants have arrived in recent days in Tijuana, which sprawls into San Diego in southern California.

On Sunday several hundred Tijuana residents took to the streets to protest against the caravan, which set out from Honduras on October 13.

While many in Tijuana are sympathetic to the migrants’ plight and trying to assist, with a local priest handing out donated clothes at the weekend, some locals have shouted insults, hurled rocks and even thrown punches at them.

Carlos Padilla, 57, a migrant from Progreso, Honduras, told The San Diego Union Tribune that a Tijuana resident shouted “migrants are pigs” as he passed on the street recently.

“We didn’t come here to cause problems, we came here with love and with the intention to ask for asylum,” he said. “But they treat us like animals here.”

The cold reception contrasts sharply with the warmth that accompanied the migrants in southern Mexico, where residents of small towns greeted them with hot food, campsites and even live music.

“Out! Out!” they chanted, demanding that the caravan be diverted and worried about the impact of many hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers stuck in their city for months.

US border inspectors are currently processing only about 100 asylum claims a day at Tijuana’s main crossing to San Diego, and Juan Manuel Gastelum, mayor of Tijuana, said he estimates the migrants will remain in his city for at least six months as claims are processed.

He has called the migrants’ arrival an "avalanche" that the city is ill-prepared to handle, and has appealed to the federal government – which has already flown in food and blankets – for more assistance to cope with the influx.

“Some of them are a bunch of bums, smoking marijuana in the street, and attacking our families in Playas de Tijuana,” the mayor said last week, on Mexican television. “Who is leading them?”

Tijuana officials have converted a municipal gymnasium to hold 3,000 migrants, and the city’s privately run shelters have a maximum capacity of 700.

Alden Rivera, the Honduran ambassador to Mexico, visited the shelters at the weekend and appealed once again for the migrants to return to Honduras – a country with a murder rate around the same as Detroit and New Orleans.

He said 1,800 have been convinced so far to return to his country. A further 2,697 Central American migrants have requested asylum in Mexico, the Mexican interior ministry said, under a program that the country launched in haste on October 26 to speed the issuing of credentials needed to live, work and study in southern Mexico.

Donald Trump, the US president, who sought to make the caravan a campaign issue in the midterm elections, voiced his support for the mayor of Tijuana on Sunday.

He wrote on Twitter that, like Tijuana, "the U.S. is ill-prepared for this invasion, and will not stand for it. They are causing crime and big problems in Mexico. Go home!"