London ( CNN ) -- Rupert Murdoch launched a new British tabloid Sunday to replace his disgraced News of the World , seven months after the best-selling Sunday paper was shut down over a phone-hacking and bribery scandal . The `` new '' newspaper is n't entirely new -- it 's a Sunday edition of Murdoch 's Sun tabloid , which had been a six-day-a-week paper until now . Its leading editorial on launch day took a defensive tone in discussing the closure of the News of the World . `` The Sun has been a tremendous force for good , '' its editors insisted . `` It is worth reminding our readers , and detractors , of that as we publish our historic first Sunday edition . '' The parent company of both tabloids , News International , `` closed our sister paper the News of the World over the phone hacking scandal . Since then some of our own journalists have been arrested , though not charged , over allegations of payments to public officials for stories , '' the editors said . `` We believe those individuals are innocent until proven guilty , '' they said . The first edition of the Sunday tabloid sets a tone like that of its weekday sister , leading with the story of a television presenter 's difficult childbirth and putting a scantily-clad picture of singer Kelly Rowland on page three -- a slot occupied by topless models during the week . Nelson Mandela 's hospitalization at the age of 93 makes page 8 , under the headline `` Nelson Tum Op '' and above a picture of actress Kate Winslet in a low-cut dress accepting an acting prize . Under Murdoch , News of the World specialized in undercover investigations and salacious stories that earned it the nickname `` News of the Screws . '' But revelations last year that it had paid for the hacking of voice mail messages to murder and terrorism victims and fallen troops , as well as celebrities and politicians , forced the paper to close . Police are running three separate investigations -- into phone hacking , e-mail hacking , and police bribery -- and two parliamentary committees and an independent inquiry are also probing British press practices . Murdoch testified before one of the panels of lawmakers last year , calling it the `` most humble day of his life . '' A former spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron , ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson , is among those arrested . No one has been charged . The Sunday Sun launched with a print run of 3 million , far more than any daily newspaper sells in Britain , but well below the 4.75 million sales for the last issue of News of the World , according to its publisher . News of the World was 168 years old and among the best-selling newspapers in the world when it closed .
The Sun on Sunday started after News of the World closed in disgrace . News of the World was at the center of a hacking and fraud scandal . The paper strikes a defensive tone talking about the scandal in its editorial . It 's trying to replace what was the best - selling paper in Britain .