新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/27（打印版）

The Chinese government announces more tax breaks and financial support for small and micro- businesses...

The United Nations adopts a resolution on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, urging the international community not to forget wartime sacrifices or atrocities...

And four people have been rescued after a boat capsizes off the coast of southern China, but many remain missing...

In Sports: playoff basketball... the Guangdong Southern Tigers take on the Beijing Ducks tonight...

In Entertainment: Harrison Ford will reprise one of his iconic roles from the early 1980s...

Beijing will have snow tonight with a low of minus 2. Snow is in the forecast again tomorrow with a high of 4.

Shanghai will have rain with a low of 4. Tomorrow, the rain will be heavy with a high of 7.

Chongqing will have rain tonight with a low of 10. Tomorrow will see more rain with a high of 12.

China's central government is to offer tax breaks and direct financial support for millions of small and micro enterprises across the nation.

The favorable policies come as China is experiencing slower economic growth and faces increasing pressure to create jobs.

The State Council has decided that small and micro businesses with annual taxable incomes below 200-thousand yuan, around $32-thousand US dollars, will be eligible for a 50 percent reduction of their business income tax.

The measure is effective from Jan 1 of this year, to the end of 2017. During the same period, these companies will also pay tax at a rate of 20 percent, five points lower than other enterprises.

Vice finance minister Shi Yaobin says the government has additional support policies for the sector.

"We have earmarked a special fund to support small and micro enterprises. Last year 11.6 billion yuan was allocated to support those enterprises. This year we will still allocate the same amount of money despite the slowing growth rate for the national budget. Moreover, we are considering to set up another special fund and issue more favorable policies to further shore up the sector."

Official figures show small and micro businesses in China had over 10 billon yuan in business income taxes reduced or scrapped last year.

Shi Yaobin adds that the development of the sector is crucial for China's overall economic development.

"We aim to enhance the small and micro companies' capacity of taking risks by reducing their tax burden. We also want to encourage the public to start a business by giving direct financial support to the sector."

Analysts say the favorable policies aim to help the sector cope with the slowdown of the Chinese economy, after the growth rate sank to a 24 year low last year.

The policies are expected to boost economic growth and employment as nearly 80 percent of urban jobs are provided by small companies.

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution to commemorate the upcoming 70th anniversary of the end of the WWII, urging the international community not to forget wartime sacrifices and atrocities.

The resolution was adopted by consensus at the 69th session of the assembly. Its sponsors include China and nearly 40 other countries.

The assembly asked its president to hold a special solemn meeting in the second week of May in commemoration of all victims the conflict.

The resolution noted that this year will also mark the UN's 70th founding anniversary, calling upon all UN member states to "unite their efforts in dealing with challenges and threats to international peace and security, with the United Nations playing a central role."

A ferry carrying 19 people has capsized off the coast of Macao in southern China. Four people have been rescued.

Customs officials say the sunken ferry was a smuggling boat. It had a captain, two crew members, and 16 passengers.

China's supreme court is vowing to step up its efforts to punish criminals involved in the abduction and trafficking of women and children.

Du Guoqiang is deputy chief of the criminal tribunal under the Supreme People's Court.

"Abducting and selling children has led to the separation of many families and brings great psychological pain to the children and their families. The crimes also cause panic among the public, and the crime should be harshly dealt with."

Official figures show that courts across the country handled over 7,700 such cases between 2010 and 2014. Some 13-thousand people were punished and over 7 thousand of them were given sentences greater-than five years in prison.

In a typical case released by the supreme court, criminal suspect Lan Shushan was sentenced to death. Lan was convicted of abducting and selling one woman and 34 children between 1988 and 2008.

Officials have said that some of the kidnapped children in China had been sold for adoption or forced into prostitution.

Some Chinese families also buy trafficked women and children to use as extra labor or as brides for unmarried sons.

Observers say greater freedom of movement as a result of China's economic reforms has made it easier for trafficking gangs to operate.

This is the first time China has sent an entire infantry battalion for international peacekeeping.

"After the first 144 members arriving there, we will complete construction on a camp that will be our base. We will be receiving follow-up materials and equipment, as well as deploying follow-up units, together with the 36-members of the assembly unit that arrived in advance."

The UN invited China to dispatch a peacekeeping infantry battalion to join the UN mission in South Sudan in order to protect civilians and UN personnel and facilities.

The follow-up units of more then 500 people will arrive to South Sudan after the China's peacekeeping camp site is activated.

A Hong Kong woman convicted of abusing her Indonesian maid has been jailed for six years.

Law Wan-tung was found guilty earlier this month of causing grievous bodily harm, criminal intimidation, and failure to pay wages.

The case of the 24-year old maid came to the attention of the authorities when she returned to Indonesia in need of hospital treatment.

During the trial, the maid described being beaten and starved by her employer.

"I hope that my case will become a lesson to all employers not to hurt, not to assault their domestic workers, because after all we are all human beings, we have the same rights."

The case drew intense scrutiny in Hong Kong, where a significant number of families rely on domestic helpers.

The city's residents employ about 300,000 domestic helpers from other parts of Asia, mainly Indonesia and the Philippines.

The second round of talks between the U.S. and Cuba to restore diplomatic ties is set to be held in Washington.

This latest round comes two months after U.S. President Barack Obama's historic shift on Cuba policy in December.

"It is the second step towards a diplomatic relationship to open embassies and maintain contact and cooperation in certain areas of national interest for the United States such as areas to combat drug trafficking, terrorism, maritime, security."

Piccone also says that the U.S. could reopen its embassy in Havana as soon as late spring.

Havana insists that removing Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism is a key measure to restore diplomatic ties.

It's said that Washington has quietly taken steps to begin a more formal review of the issue.

A third round of U.S.-Cuba talks is expected to take place in March, just weeks ahead of a summit in Panama which is to be attended by the Cuban and American leaders.

The German parliament is debating a plan to extend financial aid to Greece by another four months.

The extension - approved by creditors last week in exchange for a series of Greek government reforms - needs to be ratified by Eurozone members.

Although some German MPs have expressed doubts about the deal, it is expected to be voted through easily.

"We have to bring Greece into a situation that finance markets trust them again and that Greece can act without any support, on its own again. It is called competitiveness. And for Greece, there is a longer road to go than for any other European country."

Germany, a key creditor nation, has advocated unpopular spending cuts and insisted that aid must come with strings attached.

Meanwhile, police and protesters in Athens clashed during anti-government demonstrations on Thursday.

They were the first such disturbances since Greece's leftist Syriza was sworn in as the main government party exactly a month ago.

Dozens of activists hurled petrol bombs and stones at police and set cars alight after a march involving hundreds of protesters.

The proposed bailout extension has also triggered dissent within Syriza itself.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has defended it, but some on the hard left have accused the government of going back on pre-election pledges.

Syriza swept to power in January by promising to renegotiate the country's debt and end austerity.

The head of the UN refugee agency has warned of the overwhelming refugee crisis in Syria at a UN meeting in New York.

"With the refugee situation growing more protracted and more desperate, almost two million Syrian refugees under 18 do risk becoming a lost generation. And many of the over 100,000 refugee children born in exile could face the risk of statelessness."

Guterres also says that Lebanon and Jordan have seen refugee populations grow exponentially as people continue to escape Syria's civil war.

Nearly 4 million Syrians are believed to have fled their country in the past four years.

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kyung- wha Kang highlights the challenges to the Security Council.

"For every one million dollars WHO cannot raise in Syria, some 227,000 people lose vital health services. And unless urgent funding is received before May 2015, a million children who are out of school will not be able to access alternative education options."

French President Francois Hollande is heading to the eastern Philippines as part of his two-day visit to the country.

The town of Guiuan (Ghi-wan) was hit hard by the massive Typhoon Haiyan in November, 2013, which destroyed nearly everything in its path and killed over 6,000 people.

Local residents are facing a great shortage of funds to reconstruct their homes and get their lives back to normal.

While visiting the town, President Hollande is expected to meet villagers and renew his call for action on climate change.

Adelz Mias-Cea, the regional coordinator of the UN Human Settlements program, has been assisting rehabilitation efforts in the disaster area.

She says President Holland will see first hand how local communities are affected and bring their story to global discussions.

"This visit by French President Hollande is a good opportunity for him to see and to reach out, and then voice out in global discussions and be able to tell what is happening in towns like Guiuan, to small municipalities who are facing extreme weather events, extreme weather changes that we are now feeling."

Hollande is due to host the UN climate conference in December aiming to strike a binding agreement to save the world from disastrous climate change impacts.

Three people have been killed in a rare shooting spree in South Korea, in a residential area south of the the capital, Seoul. The gunman then committed suicide.

It is the second such incident in three days. Shootings are rare in South Korea, which has strict laws on gun possession.

An 80-year-old man who lives near the location of this latest shooting says he is shocked by what has happened.

"I can't believe this kind of incident happened in my neighborhood. Most of the people in this town know them (the victims). It is a pitiful situation and I feel so sad."　

The victims include a policeman, one of the first officers to arrive at the scene, and an elderly couple in their 80's.

The parents of 43 missing Mexican students have led a march in Mexico City to call for a full investigation.

The students have been missing since the end of September after they were arrested by corrupt police officers for organizing a demonstration in the town of Iguala.

Felipe de la Cruz, father of one of the missing students and spokesperson for the parents, says fresh photographs have surfaced showing that the army also clashed with the students, before their arrests.

"We are sure that we will eventually find them (the missing students). There is evidence for that. Today photographs of the Mexican army surfaced, when the Attorney General always said that there was no evidence that the army had participated in the attack. And once again, the evidence is on our side."

The government claims the criminals had killed the students and burnt the bodies.

Forensic experts in Austria carried out DNA tests on bone fragments found in a bag in the suspected area where the killings allegedly took place and managed to identify one of the 43 students.

But relatives and independent investigators reject this official version of events.

First, let's have a look at the numbers across the Asian markets on this Friday evening.

The Japanese Nikkei inched up a fraction of a percent after the country reported faster growth in factory output but weaker retail sales.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai gold bourse is preparing to link gold markets in Hong Kong to strengthen China's gold pricing power and internationalize the use of the yuan.

The gold link will be similar to the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect set up last year.

The link will allow foreign investors to trade yuan-denominated gold contracts in Shanghai.

The exchange and the World Gold Council have agreed to launch more products on the international board.

China's top economic planner on Friday announced the retail price of gasoline would be raised by 390 yuan per tonne and diesel by 375 yuan per tonne.

China has a pricing regime which adjusts domestic fuel prices when international crude prices change by more than 50 yuan per tonne during a time span of 10 working days.

The adjustment that will come into effect on Saturday means retail prices will edge up for the second time this year.

China has issued licenses to operate 4G FDD wireless networks to China Telecom and China Unicom, two of the country's three carriers.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the news just hours ago.

China's largest carrier, China Mobile, has enjoyed explosive growth in 4G subscribers since its own license was approved in late 2013.

It said the company had over 100 million subscribers to the network at the end of January.

New stats suggest that the high-tech industry in China is helping drive the country's economic restructuring.

New analysis shows the high-tech industry grew 12 percent year on year last year, accounting for 10 percent of the country's overall industrial value-added output.

The rising expansion of the high-tech and modern service industries is leading some to suggest China's economy is now in a "middle to high end" stage of development.

For more on the high-tech industry's development, Beijing Hour's Paul James earlier spoke with Gao Shang, analyst with Beijing-based Guantong Futures.

According to information on the Central Government Procurement Center's website, IT products from IBM and Microsoft remain "active for purchase" but no Cisco equipment is allowed.

Smartphone and PC maker Apple is dropped from the list, along with Intel's security software firm McAfee and network and server software firm Citrix Systems.

Observers say more local brands will be added to the government procurement list in coming years to fill the void left by overseas competitors.

The launching of three new Free Trade Zones has been put off until late March.

According to the previous schedule, the three free trade zones planned in Guangdong, Fujian, and Tianjin were to launch in late February, and no later than March 1.

But the Dongfang Daily newspaper in Shanghai says the launching dates will be put off after the upcoming Two Sessions meetings.

During next month's meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, several new policies related to the free trade zones will be introduced.

Last December, China's State Council approved the setup of three new free trade zones to emulate the success of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, and to test reform policies on a larger area.

15 first tier cities will first start using new registration certificates, which will later be rolled out nationwide.

The registration will be filed electronically or in print and kept permanently, and the electronic version shall be backed up regularly.

Land and resources authorities will establish a platform to manage registration information that can be shared in real time and will be strictly confidential.

Insider says the new system will reduce some procedures so the process will be less time-consuming and the convenience will benefit people.

Chinese authorities announced a one year ban on the importation of carved ivory items starting from Thursday.

The ban only affects ivory acquired after the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora came into force.

The State Forestry Administration said the move is to protect African elephants, and the one-year timeframe is designed to assess the effects.

Wildlife protection advocates welcomed the step, saying the policy could actually make a difference for elephants in Africa.

Chinese authorities have issued a circular detailing effort to crack down on illegal activities in the rare earth industry.

The circular was issued after an investigation last December found enterprises allegedly involved in the illegal trade and manufacture of rare earth products under the guise of recycling.

The move is expected to consolidate the industry to better explore, produce and market the valuable resources.

Following a World Trade Organization panel ruling last March, China ended a quota system previously aimed at restricting exports of rare earths.

Several law firms in the United States are looking into alleged wrongdoing by 500.com, a Chinese online sports lottery operator listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

At least five law firms have reportedly joined the investigation to see whether 500.com violated the US Securities Exchange Act involving possible disclosure irregularities and insider trading.

The legal dispute came after some provincial governments in China suspended online lottery sales after the Ministry of Finance ordered the industry to carry out internal inspections.

Analysts say possible legal action by foreign law firms against 500.com underscores the uncertain regulatory environment in China.

A ferry carrying 19 people has capsized off the coast of Macao in southern China. Four people have been rescued.

Customs officials say the sunken ferry was a smuggling boat. It had a captain, two crew members, and 16 passengers.

One hundred and forty-four members of China's peacekeeping infantry battalion of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan have arrived in the country's capital of Juba.

This marks the first time China has dispached an entire infantry battalion for international peacekeeping. Previously China's peacekeeping forces were made up only of seperate units, such as engineering, transportation, medical, and guarding units.

Members of this battalion have skills that cover a wide variety of skill sets that observers say are important for the peacekeeping mission.

The resolution was adopted by consensus at the 69th session of the assembly. Its sponsors include China and nearly 40 other countries.

The assembly asked its president to hold a special solemn meeting in the second week of May in commemoration of all victims the conflict.

Afghan avalanches claim 216 lives, president calls for dispatching assistance

Chilly weather coupled with heavy snowfall and avalanches have claimed 216 lives, including women and children, across the mountainous regions of Afghanistan.

The Natural Disaster Management Authority adds that the vast majority of the victims are in Panjshir province. 182 people have been confirmed dead in that province alone.

Rescue operations have been ongoing, and humanitarian assistance has been dispatched to the affected areas.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has instructed concerned entities to dispatch humanitarian assistance to the affected areas on an emergency basis.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has named National Intelligence Service chief Lee Byung-ki as the new presidential chief of staff.

The 69-year-old is South Korea's former ambassador to Japan, and was nominated as the spy agency chief in June 2014. He was a career diplomat, but he has been involved in politics for a long time and served as deputy NIS chief in the late 1990s.

Meanwhile, President Park named former deputy head of the NIS Lee Byung-ho as the new chief of the intelligence agency.

The president also nominated a new presidential press secretary as well as three special advisors for political affairs.

Following a regulation on the abbreviated names of hospitals launched by China's National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Beijing-based China-Japan Friendship Hospital is now to be called the China-Japan Hospital, except on official documents or on occasions that require its full official name to be used.

Despite the fact that its full name remains unchanged, the dropping of the word "friendship", has provoked a host of negative online comments from both Chinese and Japanese netizens.

For some of the latter, the shortened name is a signal that Beijing is inclined to "defriend" Tokyo, and they say "friendship" should not have been used in the name of the hospital in the first place.

In fact, the new guideline has nothing to do with bilateral ties or politics. For a long time there have been no specific rules regarding the use of shortened names for major hospitals, and all the health authorities have introduced the abbreviated names of hospitals.

Singapore's National Institute of Education has crystallized the wisdom of teachers and launched a master's course in teaching Chinese to students from countries where English is the dominant language.

A former head of the NIE Asian languages and cultures department says Singapore has an advantage over other places when designing such a course.

The course in Teaching Chinese as an International Language started last month with 48 students. Three in four are from China with the rest from Singapore.

To get into the course, students must show proficiency in English, and have either a degree where Chinese is the medium of instruction, or a postgraduate teacher education qualification specializing in teaching Chinese.

A senior lecturer at NIE's Asian languages and cultures department said there is an increasing number of learners who are seeking to master the Chinese language.

A Croatian computer expert and entrepreneur has developed a free app that scans and solves equations, providing a step-by-step explanation.

The result, PhotoMath, is a free app that scans and solves equations, providing a step-by-step explanation.

It has been downloaded more than 11 million times since its introduction in October, and it was just updated on Thursday to take it to a high school level. An Android version is due in days.

The app is based on the same technology as an earlier app called PhotoPay that was introduced in 2012 by Sabol's company, which is also called Photo Pay. That app facilitates mobile banking, by scanning household bills and paying them instantly.

The developer said the PhotoMath averages about 1.5 million users every month and he had received scores of emails from grateful students, parents - and even teachers.

Australian researchers say they have created two jet engines using 3D printing in what is described as a world-first that has attracted the interest of major manufacturers and engineering firms.

An expert says the machines -- produced using the template of a gas turbine engine from French aircraft engine maker Safran, which supplies Airbus and Boeing -- demonstrated the potential 3D printing had to produce high-quality products.

3D printing was invented in the 1980s and employs lasers to "print" objects from metals or plastics according to a digital design.

There has been a recent upsurge in interest tied to patents on the original technology expiring -- opening the way for competition that will drive up quality and push down prices.

The 3D metal printers could also be used in the biomedical industry to create body parts or equipment.

It's been announced the film "Murmur of the Hearts," directed by Taiwan actress and director Sylvia Chang, is going to kick off this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival later next month.

The festival itself is set to run for 15 days and close with Hong Kong filmmaker Philip Yung's "Port of Call."

The opening and closing films for the Festival has been announced on Thursday in Hong Kong. As one of the most established and largest film festivals in Asia, Hong Kong International Film Festival offers audiences not only mainstream productions but also engaging the public in film culture.

Dr. Wilfred Wong is the Chairman of the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

"Our theme this year is 'The World Comes to Hong Kong", and indeed we will screen over 260 films from 56 countries and regions. 78 of the movies will be international or Asian premieres."

Sylvia Chang is an internationally recognized director, producer and actress, whose latest work Murmur of the Hearts tells a story about growing up and letting go. The cast includes Isabella Leong,Joseph Chang, and Lee Sinjie.

"Isabella Leong has not been filming for a long time, I gave her the script and asked her whether she liked it, she told me she did and agreed to play the role. So I think it is destiny that I could have her in my movie."

The closing film Port of Call is based on a true story, which looks the effects of a crime on the families of both the victim and the perpetrator. It stars popular leading Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok. The upcoming director Philip Yung says Aaron Kwok is more than handsome in the movie.

"Aaron Kwok has played in many criminal movies before and he always looks handsome. In the past, he played as a hero but he is becoming more low-profile and mature. In this movie, his character is warm and gentle. As a new director myself, I am grateful for his trust. "

Several world-renowned directors will visit Hong Kong for screenings of their films and hold public master class sessions. And a session will be established to encourage young filmmakers to showcase their work internationally.

The festival is Hong Kong's largest cultural event that reaches an audience of over 600-thousand.

First place Guandong Southern Tigers are playing at home to the Beijing Ducks. The game started at 19.30 and is still underway.

The Guandong Southern Tigers are under pressure for home wins because if Beijing can steal at least one game away from home, the defending champions will be in a good position to defend their title when the series moves back to Beijing for game 4.

LeBron James scored a season-high 42 points to help the Cleveland Cavaliers reach their 11th straight home win. Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder ache but returned in the fourth and scored 24 points.

Despite Russell Westbrook's triple-double of 39 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Phoenix Suns 113 – 117.

A big slate of games tomorrow in the NBA. Here's a few highlights to look out for.

US universities are pursuing LeBron James' 10 year old son and the NBA superstar is not happy about it.

James told a Detroit radio that his son has received scholarship offers from some colleges which have seen the child's basketball talents.

James said that colleges shouldn't be recruiting 10 year old kids and he wanted his son to be a child as long as he can be. He told the radio station that as long as his son loves to play basketball games, video games and doing his homework that nothing else currently matters.

Liverpool lost their first European penalty shootout as Bestikas knocked them out of the Europa league.

In the seventy second minute Bestikas' Arslan sent an impressive shot into the net from 18 yards to bring the score to one apiece.

The game then went into extra time but neither team could catch a break resulting in a penalty shootout. Liverpool have a great reputation for penalty shootouts having won all three of the previous European penalty shootouts including the final of the Champions league against AC Milan.

However Dejan Lovren's right footed shot was too high resulting in the match ending Bestikas 5 Liverpool 4.

Liverpool are now only left with the FA cup as their last realistic hope of a trophy this season.

It's Manchester United v Sunderland. Man United will be looking for a win to jump into fourth place on the table.

The International Olympic Committee Executive Board met in Rio de Janeiro yesterday to discuss preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games.

The meeting was chaired by IOC president Thomas Bach who said he was confident about the state of preparations for the Games after having met with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Following the meeting, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said Olympic officials could change the rule that obliges athletes to halt advertising campaigns during the Games in time for Rio 2016. The move was approved in Rio and the plan will be put before the next full IOC session in Kuala Lumpur in July.

"The IOC would, following session approval, allow generic, i.e. non-Olympic advertising, during the period of the games, which hasn't been allowed until now"

The move would alter rule 40 that states no competitor, coach, trainer or official who participates in the games may allow their person, name, picture or sports performances to be used for advertising purposes during the Olympic Games.

Novak Djokovic will play fourth seed Tomas Berdych. Play starts at 9pm Beijing time.

Djokovic is facing a tough match against the determined Berdych who became the eighth active player to record at least 500 match wins after he beat Simone Bolelli to book his place in the semi-finals.

Japanese world number five Nishikori downed Ukranian fifth seed Alexandr Dologopolov 6-4 6-4 to earn his place in the semi-finals while South African world number 15 Anderson dropped the first set but rallied for a 3-6 6-3 6-3 win over unseeded Serbian Victor Troicki to advance.

"Yeah he's been playing really well, we just played two weeks ago in Memphis so I try to, not get revenge, but try to play good tennis again and you know I've been playing really well today, this week, so hopefully I can have another good match tomorrow."

And today David Ferrer beat Bernard Tomic 6-4 3-6 6-1 to reach the semi-finals.

Harrison Ford will reprise his role as Rick Deckard in the Blade Runner sequel. Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve is also reportedly in talks to helm the Alcon Entertainment film.

The film is scheduled to start principle photography in the summer of 2016. Hampton Fancher, who co-wrote the original, and Michael Green have written the screenplay, which is based on an idea from Fancher and Ridley Scott.

The story takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original, which centered on a man (Ford) working as a blade runner who was tasked with chasing down machines called replicants.

Alcon Entertainment acquired the rights to Blade Runner in 2011 with the intention of making both prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller.

Kevin Spacey returns as master-manipulator politician Frank Underwood, in the third season of the hugely popular TV show "House of Cards."

Produced by Netflix, Season 3 picks up where season 2 left off with Frank in his new role as U.S. President.

To celebrate the launch of the new season, Spacey and his co-star Robin Wright were in London for a premiere at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square.

Spacey says that Underwood is the sort of character that often fascinates audiences.

"These are kinds of characters that audiences are fascinated by, so I don't think Frank is particularly unique in that way, it's a long, long line of audiences being fascinated by these kinds of figures."

Two episodes from the latest series are directed by Robin Wright who says that she hopes to do more in the future.

"That would be great. It's tough with being on the show and just time, we need more hours in the day to do it. But I love directing so much fun."

"House of Cards" Season 3 is released on Netflix today at 12 am, Eastern Standard time.

Hip-hop star Kanye West apologized to Beck after he loudly objected to the alternative rocker winning the Grammy for Album of the Year.

The statements of contrition come after West stole some of the limelight at the Grammys on February 8 by questioning the surprise honor for Beck's a melancholy album driven by acoustic guitar and strings.

West briefly rushed toward the stage at the Grammys and later told an interviewer that Beck should "respect artistry" by giving the prize to Beyonce.

West -- one of the most awarded artists with 21 Grammys over his career -- argued that the music industry's premier event should recognize top-selling musicians as they earn advertising revenue by performing at the televised gala.

But last week, West said that he finally heard "Morning Phase" while at a restaurant with Taylor Swift and enjoyed the album.

Beck, known for his eclectic mash-ups of genres, has won critical acclaim over his two-decade career but his fan base is far more niche than those of West or Beyonce.

Officials with Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. and the Westgate Las Vegas casino-hotel revealed details earlier today of plans for "Graceland Presents Elvis: The Exhibition - The Show - The Experience" expected to open April 23 - 59 years to the day when Elvis first performed in Las Vegas.

Some 2,600 sq. meters will house a rotating display of memorabilia and artifacts rarely seen outside Graceland's Memphis, Tennessee, property.

Plans include a revamped Elvis Presley sanctioned wedding chapel, too, inside the Westgate Las Vegas, with Graceland taking over its operations.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/27（在线收听）