Steam train chugs through London's Tube

TOURISTS waiting for their train to Madame Tussauds in London have been treated to an unusual sight: a 19th century steam engine chugging down the tracks.

Officials sent the Met Locomotive 1, built in 1898, down London's Metropolitan Line to mark the 150th anniversary of the Tube network, the world's oldest.

Hundreds of train fans, costume-wearing enthusiasts and curious onlookers gathered at platforms and bridges across the city to watch as the locomotive travelled non-stop from Kensington Olympia station in the west to Moorgate station in central London.

London Mayor Boris Johnson was among the invited passengers aboard the historic black-and-red locomotive. He said the trip was "romantic", describing "thick clouds of white steam going past and then bits of soot coming through from the engine".

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Beijing choked by third day of smog

BEIJING has endured a third day of pollution at hazardous levels, as authorities warned a thick cloud of smog may not lift from the Chinese capital until the middle of the week.

While those venturing outside wore face masks, dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei went one step further, posting pictures of himself on Twitter in a gas mask.

As the dense smog shrouded large swathes of northern China, flights were cancelled and traffic delayed as visibility was reduced to 100 metres in some areas.

The dangerously poor air quality was highlighted by a steady stream of news broadcasts on state television, many of which warned residents against venturing outside.

The pollution also provoked China's huge number of microbloggers to take to the internet, with some high-profile web users calling for a re-evaluation of China's rampant modernisation.

Rapid economic growth has led to a dramatic increase in the consumption of coal and clogged city streets with cars.

"The foreign media is laughing at us. I agree with their laughter," said Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-run Global Times newspaper on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

"This is a warning to the Government and Beijing's citizens. We have to think about what kind of modernisation we want and how to manage it."

Hu said the pollution issue would be on the front page of his newspaper on Monday.

Beijing-based Ai, 55, an outspoken critic of China's communist government, posted three pictures of himself on Twitter standing against a white background wearing a gas mask, his beard frizzing out beneath. But he did not make any verbal comment.

Beijing's municipal environment warning centre issued its second alert in two days, warning people to avoid outdoor physical activity.

The centre also urged government officials to set an example to other residents, by not using their cars.

Air quality in Beijing showed small airborne particles with a diameter small enough to deeply penetrate the lungs at a reading as high as 993 micrograms per cubic metre on Saturday evening, the warning centre said.

The World Health Organisation says the figure for such particles, known as PM2.5, should ideally be no more than 25 micrograms per cubic metre.

High levels have been linked to health problems including respiratory disease, heart disease and lung cancer.

Official PM2.5 figures have only been monitored in China's major cities since the beginning of last year.

The lack of official data makes it difficult to compare the recent smog with previous cases of pollution, said Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.

"But it is interesting to see that residents have been warned about the dangers of pollution by official media," Ma told AFP.

"This has never happened before, and is a result of the transparency that we now have with the figures."

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Small retailers clear way for extra hours

The state's small traders association has withdrawn its long-held opposition to deregulating retail trading hours in Queensland as retailers struggle with a slower economy and increased internet shopping. Source: The Courier-Mail

SHOPS are a step closer to deregulated hours, with the state's small traders association reversing its opposition to a push to allow retailers to open when they want.

The United Retail Federation (URF) has withdrawn its long-held opposition to deregulating retail trading hours in Queensland and has called on the Government to "consider the best path towards deregulation".

The sudden about-face could hand major retailers, such as Coles and Woolworths, a key advantage in their battle for extended trading hours.

It comes as retailers struggle with a slower economy and increased internet shopping.

Under the current system, applications are assessed individually by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) on a case-by-case basis.

While the Newman Government has consistently said it was not reviewing the system, in which applications are individually assessed by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC), the change of heart by the URF - which is understood to represent hundreds of shops - could give the case to lift trading hours restrictions a significant boost.

The group claims to be the peak representative of corner stores and independents and had staunchly opposed any relaxation to trading hours.

But late last month, it suddenly reversed its position, calling on the State Government to forge ahead with deregulation.

The National Retail Association, which represents some of the biggest retailers, is preparing a fresh push to relax trading hours, with up to eight separate applications to extend opening hours across the state scheduled to be heard by the QIRC so far this year.

NRA deputy chief executive officer Bianca Seeto said the URF had previously been the main opponent in applications for extended trading hours and their opposition had been taken into consideration in the final judgment.

Ms Seeto said Queensland's trading hours regime was complicated and outdated. "It is pretty silly to operate under all these different regimes, even in south-east Queensland.

"In one suburb you might be able to trade until 5.30pm on a Saturday and others it might be 6pm," she said.

"That is because there have been individual decisions that have dictated that as opposed to legislation."

Applications include a proposal to extend trading hours in inner-city Brisbane, New Farm, Toowong, the Townsville CBD, Ipswich and Hamilton.

URF general manager Bruce Mills described the group's change of position as an "historic move" given its previous long-term opposition to deregulation and a response to internet shopping, which was a major challenge for retailers.

"The United Retail Federation will today be calling on the Queensland Government to consider the best path towards the deregulation of retail trading hours across southeast Queensland and put an end to the uncertainty and confusion surrounding when shops can and can't be open to their customers," Mr Mills said.

The policy shift came after the group split ways with the Metcash IGA brand late last year.

Metcash IGA - which has more than 1000 stores - has vowed to continue its battle against what it described as an "onslaught" of extended trading applications by major retailers this year.

"The independent sector contributes greatly to local domestic economies and creates jobs," IGA state board chair Roz White said.

"These applications for extended trading hours are just another nail in the coffin."

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Acclaimed actor Bille Brown dies aged 61

Bille Brown. Actor. Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Picture: Angelo Soulas Source: The Australian

ACCLAIMED Queensland actor Bille Brown has died after a year-long battle with bowel cancer.

The star of stage and screen kept his illness a secret from even his closest friends and many were surprised when he was rushed to the Holy Spirit Hospital a week ago.

He is survived by his sister Rita who was by his bedside in the final days of his illness, along with Brown's great friend and fellow actor Geoffrey Rush.

Despite his ailing health, Brown hosted his own 61st birthday celebrations at his bedside on Friday.

His family released a statement yesterday celebrating the performer's achievements.

Bille Brown as the eccentric Bruscon in The Histrionic. Picture: Tony Gough

"Bille Brown AM was a celebrated actor, acclaimed playwright and an honoured Australian," it said.

"He was a larger than life character, with an infectious and warm personality. Bille had the utmost respect of his peers and a huge heart.

"Bille fought a courageous fight with cancer for twelve months, but as a very private man, he did not let the disease stop him from performing and creating. Many were not aware of his condition. His passing deeply saddens us. We thank the arts community for their support at this sensitive time.

"We wish to thank the staff at The Holy Spirit for the love, respect and care given to Bille during this difficult time."

Pictured (L-R) Josh Price, Bille Brown (centre), Edwina Wren. The Histrionic at Malthouse Theatre. Picture: Jeff Busby

Born in Biloela in 1952, Brown honed his craft as an actor at the University of Queensland alongside Rush before both actors began their careers with Queensland Theatre Company.

He enjoyed a stage career here and in the United States and London where he caught the attention of John Cleese who cast him in Fierce Creatures, a sequel to the hit film A Fish Called Wanda.

He went on to star in Oscar and Lucinda opposite Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes, The Dish and Singularity opposite Josh Hartnett and Neve Campbell, part of which was shot in Brisbane in 2010.

He performed opposite Rush in the 1998 production of The Marriage of Figaro which opened QPAC's Playhouse and in 2002 Queensland Theatre Company named their home studio after him.

His list of film and television credits were immense but it was his work in the theatre where Brown really made his name.

He worked with every major theatre company in Australia and even starred in the Australian production of the Monty Python musical Spamalot.

He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the '70s, '80s and '90s touring their works throughout Europe and starred opposite Ian McKellen on Broadway in the play Wild Honey.

During his career he won a multitude of awards and in 2011 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

The family will hold a private funeral ahead of a public memorial to be held in conjunction with QPAC.

Full details of the memorial will be released in the coming days.

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French strike Islamist bases in Mali

THE French air force has struck the northern Malian city of Gao, which had been controlled by the al-Qaeda offshoot MUJAO, destroying Islamist bases and forcing the insurgents to flee, residents say.

"There were dozens of strikes in and around Gao. All Islamist bases have been destroyed," a resident told AFP by phone.

Another witness said all Islamist fighters had been forced to flee by the air strikes.

Meanwhile witnesses said French fighter jets also struck a camp used by Islamist militants in Lere, about 150 kilometres north of Konna, a key central town that government troops recaptured with French aerial backing on Friday.

"The Lere camp, which was abandoned by the Malian army and had been used by the Islamists, was completely razed by air raids," a local official said, speaking from Mauritania where he took refuge.

Several other refugees said French air raids also struck weapons and ammunition depots used by Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), a group whose leaders are connected to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

France has said its intervention was to stop a southward advance by Islamist insurgents that threatened the capital Bamako.

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Depardieu slams Russia protest movement

FRENCH actor turned Russian national Gerard Depardieu has accused President Vladimir Putin's opposition of lacking vision and defended the Kremlin's treatment of the Pussy Riot protest punks.

Depardieu received a Russian passport at a January 6 dinner with Putin that followed a bitter and very public fight with the French authorities over a disputed new tax on the super-rich.

The screen star has denied seeking to profit from Russia's flat 13 per cent tax on incomes and has never specified whether he intends to live in Russia long term.

But he has been feted as a hero by Russian state media for offering the Kremlin a chance to highlight the benefits of its policies in the face of broad criticism of Putin abroad.

Both Putin and Depardieu refer to each other as friends and the French actor offered a severe criticism of those who oppose the Russian leader's 13-year rule.

"The Russian opposition has no program - it has nothing," he told Rossiya state television's weekly analytical program in comments carried by local news agencies.

"Unfortunately, the masses are stupid. Only the individual is beautiful," Depardieu was quoted as saying in remarks translated to Russian from French.

Russia's first mass post-Soviet rallies emerged a year ago in response to a fraud-riddled December parliamentary poll in which the ruling party barely hung on to power.

The opposition held a series of subsequent protests that reached up to 120,000 people at their height.

But Putin's thumping presidential return in May cast a pall over the movement and just over 20,000 turned out for a march held on Sunday in protest against a new law banning adoptions by American families.

Depardieu said the opposition had "very smart people" such as former chess champion Garry Kasparov in its ranks.

"But that is good for chess and not much else," said the star of films such as Cyrano de Bergerac and the Asterix & Obelix series.

He also heavily criticised the anti-Putin protest stunt that the Pussy Riot all-female punk band performed last year in Russia's main cathedral.

Two band members are serving two-year sentences in Russia's notorious manual labour camps.

Depardieu almost directly repeated Putin's argument that the band members would have been treated much more severely had they gone to an Arab country and performed in a mosque.

"Imagine if these ladies walked into a mosque; they would not come out alive," said the actor.

"But when I say such things in France, I am considered an idiot."

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France on alert over Mali backlash fears

FRANCE is in a state of high alert with military action against Islamic radicals in Mali and Somalia triggering fears of a backlash on home soil.

Armed troops patrolled rail and subway stations in Paris and security around airports and public buildings was stepped up as Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian admitted the authorities were monitoring suspected Islamic militants based in France.

"The terrorist danger is permanent, it is not a new thing," Le Drian said on Sunday. "But we have to be very careful and take every precaution necessary in what is a very sensitive situation."

Le Drian acknowledged there were Islamic radicals based in France who are thought capable of becoming involved in terrorist actions, but he stressed that these individuals were subject to tight surveillance.

The existence of a home-grown Islamist threat in France became clear last year when Mohamed Merah went on a shooting spree in and around the southern city of Toulouse, killing three French paratroopers, a Rabbi and three Jewish schoolchildren before being killed himself in a police siege.

The Merah killings were followed by the dismantling, in October, of a suspected Islamist "terrorist cell" that prosecutors described as the most serious internal threat the country has faced since the Algerian-based GIA carried out a string of deadly bombings in the 1990s.

It was a splinter group of the GIA that evolved into what is now known as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the main organisation pulling the strings in northern Mali.

The increased security came as French warplanes bombarded Islamists in central Mali for a third day and in the aftermath of a botched commando raid in Somalia to free a French intelligence agent held there since 2009.

One French soldier died in the operation, another is missing presumed dead and the Paris authorities have also said they believe the hostage has been killed.

At least 17 Islamist guerillas were killed in the operation, according to French sources, and witnesses said at least eight civilians were caught in the crossfire.

In Mali, the army claimed that up to 100 Islamist fighters were killed during the liberation of the central town of Konna on Friday.

Ansar Dine, one of the Islamist groups which controls the north of Mali, and al-Shabab, al-Qaeda's local franchise in Somalia, have both warned that France will face retaliation over these deaths.

"In the end, it will be the French citizens who will inevitably taste the bitter consequences of their government's devil-may-care attitude towards hostages," al-Shabab said in a statement.

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