The News of the World, Rupert Murdoch's embattled British tabloid¹, will lay off 200 workers and shut down publication after its Sunday edition.

鲁珀特·默多克旗下的小报《世界新闻报》因陷入窃听电话丑闻，将于本周日出版最后一期，随后关闭，两百名员工将遭解雇。

A security guard stands at the entrance to News International offices in Wapping, London, July 7, 2011.
The stunning²（极好的，令人晕倒的） announcement from Murdoch's son James came as the paper was vilified³（诽谤，中伤） for reportedly hacking⁴ into the cell phones of crime and terror victims - and paying off London police for inside information.

"Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad," said James Murdoch, "and this was not fully⁵ understood or adequately pursued."

All revenue generated by the final ad-free edition will go to a "good cause," Murdoch wrote in a Thursday memo⁶ to the staff. The paper, long a London institution, sells nearly 3 million copies per week.

The laid-off workers can apply for new jobs inside Murdoch's massive worldwide media operation.

The latest blow to the 168-year-old paper was a published report that the tabloid（小报） had collected the telephone numbers of slain⁷ British troops.

Although it was unclear if those phones were hacked⁸, the backlash（后座，侧隙） against the newspaper was immediate⁹.

"If these actions are proved to be verified, I am appalled¹⁰," said Gen. David Richards, head of the British armed forces.

The tabloid issued a statement saying it would be "absolutely appalled（惊骇的） and horrified¹¹" if the war veterans or their families were targeted.

The stunning allegations of corruption¹² and illegal hacking led advertisers to start abandoning the newspaper, owned by Murdoch's News Corp.

Police said as many as 4,000 people were targeted by the tabloid.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday that an investigation¹³ into the sordid¹⁴（肮脏的，卑鄙的） mess was coming. The News of the World is Britain's best-selling Sunday newspaper.

Police are probing allegations that the newspaper hacked into the cell phones of teen-age murder victims, family members of people killed by terrorists, politicians and celebrities¹⁵.

The Times of London, another Murdoch publication, reported that arrests of reporters suspected of hacking were expected in the next few days.