Fitting criticism for Rupert Murdoch

Hacked off with Murdoch

There is little surprise that the UK parliamentary committee charged with investigating allegations of phone-hacking and bribery by tabloid newspapers has come down hard on News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch.

Their report said the 81 year old was "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company" and said three key News International executives had misled the country's parliament.

Both Murdoch and his son James, the former executive chairman of News Corp's UK newspaper division, News International, have claimed they didn't know the full extent of what was happening.

However, no matter the size of a company, even one as big as News Corp, is that a just defence? Of course the boss cannot know everything that every employee is doing, but someone should. The boss is also the man charged with building a culture for his firm that ensures it acts within the bounds of decency - and, importantly, people feel free to report practices that overstep the mark.

It is clear from what happened at the now defunct News of the World that this was not the case at News International. And the reputation of the media as a whole has suffered because of this.

Murdoch himself told staff after the report was published on Tuesday that "we certainly should have acted more quickly and aggressively to uncover wrongdoing".

So why didn't they? Was it negligence? Indifference? Either way, such poor leadership is indeed unbefitting of a man whose media empire spans the globe.

Grave statistics

It is hard not to be shocked by the report in 7DAYS that revealed 27,000 years of lives are lost annually on Abu Dhabi's roads.

We all know how dangerous driving can be in the UAE, with people from more than 200 countries, each with their own standards of driver education, behind the wheel.

However, when you add up all the years lost by people dying early, it really hits home.

Sadly, though, it may not deter those who continue to speed, undertake and tailgate, despite the fact that one day they may well become part of the statistics themselves.