Senator urges NoW hacking probe in US

A US senator calls for a federal investigation into whether reported hacking by the British media giant News Corporation reporters has extended to American citizens. The 168-year-old News of the World, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, published its last edition on Sunday after the British police revealed nearly 4,000 cases of privacy violations by the paper's staff. "I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated," BBC quoted Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee Jay Rockefeller as saying on Wednesday. “The reported hacking by News Corporation against the range of individuals -- including children -- is offensive and a serious breach of journalist ethics and there will be serious consequences if News Corporation targeted US citizens too,” he added. Other papers owned by Murdoch have also faced phone-hacking allegations. Meanwhile, News Corporation scrapped its bid on Wednesday for a full takeover of TV giant BSkyB -- in which it already owns a 39.1 percent share -- since new phone-hacking reports about the News of the World emerged last week. Shares in News Corporation have fallen 14 percent since July 4, wiping about USD 5 billion off the company's value.