A former News of the World reporter, who blew the whistle on the paper's phone hacking scandal, has been found dead at his home in London, police said.

Sean Hoare, 47-year-old, was found dead early Monday at his flat in Watford, north of London, according to a police statement.

The death was currently being treated as unexplained, but was not thought to be suspicious, said the statement. Full story

"I have taken this decision as a consequence of the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met's links with News International at a senior level. In particular in relation to Mr Neil Wallis who as you know was arrested in connection with Operation Weeting last week."   Full story                                     

                                -----------  Former Britain's Metropolitan Police chief Paul Stephenson

LONDON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper arm News International, was released on bail early Monday following her Sunday arrest over phone-hacking scandals, police said.

Brooks was bailed to appear at a London police station in late October, the Metropolitan police said in a statement. Full story

Brooks, 43, went to a London police station by appointment and remains in custody on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption allegations. Full story

NEW YORK, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Les Hinton, chief executive officer of Dow Jones, resigned on Friday, as the phone-hacking scandal made him the target of criticism.

In his resignation letter, he apologized to those who were hurt by the actions of the News of the World and said he was "ignorant" of what happened and felt it was proper for him to resign from News Corp, the parent of Dow Jones. Full story

"No. I'm not going to say anything further, I just said that, as the founder of the company, I was appalled to find out what had happened, and I apologized, and I have nothing further to say." 

                                   -------------- Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation Chiarman & CEO

"My resignation makes it possible for me to have the freedom and the time to give my full cooperation to all the current and future inquiries, the police investigations," the former editor of the News of the World said in a statement. Full story

 LONDON, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and his son James bowed to pressure and agreed on Thursday to appear before British lawmakers probing a phone-hacking scandal that has rattled the Murdoch media empire.

The decision, marking a reversal of their previous refusal, came hours after the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the House of Commons formally summoned them to attend. Full story

NEW YORK, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in New York began to investigate reports that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation sought to hack the phones of victims of the 9/11 terror attacks, Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The investigation was opened Thursday morning and will try to determine whether employees of News Corp. illegally accessed the private calls, voice-mail messages, or call records of 9/11 victims or their families, the report said. Full story

"We believed that the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation would benefit both companies, but it has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate,"

"News Corporation remains a committed long-term shareholder in BSkyB. We are proud of the success it has achieved and our contribution to it."    Full story                                    

                              ---------------------   News Corp Deputy Chairman Chase Carey

LONDON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- A public inquiry into the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World, a best selling Sunday newspaper to be closed after this Sunday, would be staged, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced Friday.

Cameron said a judge would be appointed to run an independent inquiry into how the scandal was allowed to happen, looking at the ethics and culture of the press in the meantime. Full story