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- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
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- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
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- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
UK regulator probes 'sexist, misogynist' article about top MP
Britain's press regulator on Monday said it had received a slew of complaints over a newspaper article likening a leading woman opposition MP to the femme fatale character in "Basic Instinct".
The Mail on Sunday alleged Angela Rayner deliberately tried to distract Prime Minister Boris Johnson during debates in parliament by crossing and uncrossing her legs.
It quoted an unnamed MP from Johnson's Conservative party comparing the Labour deputy leader to Sharon Stone's character in the 1992 film.
In one scene, Stone, who is not wearing underwear, crosses and uncrosses her legs to flummox detectives during an interrogation over a murder.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation said it had received 5,500 complaints about the article, which triggered complaints of sexism and misogyny from all parties.
IPSO said it was exploring possible breaches of the Editors' Code of Practice relating to accuracy, harassment and discrimination.
"We are dealing with these under our normal procedures," it added.
Rayner called it "gutter journalism" while Johnson quickly tweeted that he respected her as a parliamentarian, despite their political differences.
On Monday, Johnson -- facing questions about his own future after being fined for attending a lockdown-breaking birthday party -- said it was "the most appalling load of sexist, misogynist tripe.
"I immediately got in touch with Angela and we had a very friendly exchange.
"If we ever find who is responsible for it, I don't know what we will do, but they will be the terrors of the earth," he said, quoting "King Lear", a Shakespeare play about the loss of power.
House of Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he would meet the editor of the Mail on Sunday to discuss the "misogynistic and offensive" article.
It is "demeaning, offensive to women in parliament and can only deter women who might be considering standing for election to the detriment of us all," Hoyle told the House of Commons on Monday.
- Complete opposite -
Tory MP Caroline Nokes said she had contacted Hoyle to ask if the author of the report should have his parliamentary pass withdrawn.
The Mail article described Rayner, 41, as "a socialist grandmother who left school at 16 while pregnant and with no qualifications before becoming a care worker".
She is in many respects the opposite of Johnson, 57, who was educated at the expensive Eton school and Oxford University and is perceived by many as being a member of the privileged elite.
As deputy leader of the opposition Labour party, Rayner regularly clashes with Johnson in parliament.
The Mail on Sunday article quoted an unnamed MP as saying that Rayner "knows she can't compete with Boris's Oxford Union debating training, but she has other skills which he lacks".
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the article "shines a spotlight on the sort of rubbish that female MPs... have to put up with on a daily basis".
Rayner "doesn't need to use her sex to win an argument or put the prime minister off," she said.
"She does it by the strength of her argument, and to suggest otherwise, it's just disgusting and it doesn't do justice to the brilliant women we have in parliament from all sides," Reeves told the BBC.
The Sunday Times reported that three cabinet ministers and two of their opposition counterparts are currently facing sexual misconduct claims.
They were among 56 MPs referred to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, which was set up in the wake of the "MeToo" scandal.
The weekly said about 70 separate complaints had been made, including making sexually inappropriate comments and more serious wrongdoing.
C.Amaral--PC