Image caption Rupert Murdoch has been called on to reconsider his BSkyB bid

The closure of the News of the World has caught the attention of newspapers around the world, with many speculating on the wider implications of the phone-hacking scandal.

One Russian newspaper, part-owned by the owner of the UK Evening Standard and Independent, says that News of the World readers are as much to blame as Rupert Murdoch himself.

Chinese and German commentators suggest that the scandal points to a wider problem with the UK press and its relationship to power.

Australian papers focus on their former compatriot Rupert Murdoch, with one suggesting that News Corp shareholders had already been dissatisfied with the organisation's performance for some years.

Aleksey Polikovskiy in Russia's Novaya Gazeta (Part-owned by Alexander Lebedev):

With such a scale and tempo of snooping, every person on the British Isles could have been exhibited naked in their moments of love or grief in front of his countrymen. Certainly Murdoch is no more guilty than the two-and-a-half million people who rushed to the trough called the News of the World once a week in order to eat their fill. Everyone has his own freedom

Olga Dmitriyeva in Russia's Rossiyskaya Gazeta :

After the scandal involving the News of the World, Murdoch will no longer have the political influence he has enjoyed in Britain... A falling stone in the mountains may result in a great avalanche; Britain's most popular newspaper has fallen like this very stone

Financial Times, Deutschland:

British journalists - far more than German journalists - bend the truth, plagiarise competitors and break laws to get a story that sells ... It would be naive to believe that the demise of the News of the World will be a lesson to the British press.

Germany's Die Welt:

This isn't just about individual crimes. This is about the reputation of a political system in which the borders between business, the state and government threaten to become blurred. Now it's time to consider the common good, in particular the protection of citizens from the excesses of commercial profit grabbing.

Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung:

Under a feeling of invulnerability, a culture of lawlessness thrived in Murdoch's company, where his staff did not even shrink from gambling with the fate of abducted children. The British political establishment tolerated this state of affairs - and will now have to pay the price.

Li Wenyun in China's state-owned Renmin Ribao :

On the surface, Murdoch and his News Corp are the ones with the most to lose in this scandal. The scandal will directly affect the reputation and circulation of newspapers under News Corp... however, in reality, the British press itself has been hit badly

Guo Lin in China's Guangming Ribao :

Few people will fail to marvel at the ability of the UK media to expose material and dig out news from time to time. However, the recent re-emergence of the UK News of the World eavesdropping scandal has made people draw a big question mark. Emotions aside, it is difficult to condone, let alone admire, the professional ethics of some Western media

Mark Day in The Australian:

Murdoch has many enemies and the pack now senses his vulnerability and is turning on him. Expect a feeding frenzy of unprecedented fury.

Ian Verrender in Australia's Sydney Morning Herald:

Even before this latest scandal, however, Murdoch and his family have been the target of a festering discontent among some News Corp shareholders after several years of hugely expensive deals that have not delivered. Had he been running almost any other company, or been an outsider appointed to News Corp by the board, Murdoch's job would be on the line.

Irfan Husain in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper:

For a long time, Rupert Murdoch has been widely viewed by journalists as a giant squid sitting on the face of the media, starving it of oxygen... in a world where the rich and the powerful get away with everything, including bringing down the banking system, it is deeply satisfying to see one of the mighty fall, or at least stumble.

Editorial in India's Deccan Herald newspaper:

The implications for democracy of Murdoch's monopoly over the media have always been a matter of concern. With near complete control over news in many countries, Murdoch's publications destroyed articulation of diverse opinions ... The public must assert itself over unethical journalism as it did in the phone-tapping scandal. That can defeat Murdoch.

John Rapley in Jamaica's The Gleaner :

The best theatre is unfolding on the television news channels. At its heart is the humbling of one of Britain's most powerful, and most detested men: the media magnate Rupert Murdoch... With Murdoch and some of his executives being close to British Prime Minister David Cameron, this scandal will have a long shelf life.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.