D Tuesday, September 15, 2009 METRO 11 Sir Elton told he cant adopt child SIR ELTON JOHN could face a court battle over plans to adopt a Ukrainian toddler because he is not married. The singer wants to adopt a 14- month-old boy called Lev, who he met at an Aids orphanage. But Ukraines family, youth and sports minister Yuriy Pavlenko said this was not possible because parents should be no more than 45 years older than the child and Sir Elton is 62. Under the countrys laws, adoptive parents must also be married, and although Sir Elton and his partner David Furnish, 46, have been joined in a civil ceremony, the former Soviet republic does not recognise same-sex unions. A spokesman for Sir Elton said the singer had no comment to make on the news from Ukraine. Cigarette smuggling is costing shops 500m RETAILERS claim they lost almost 500million in sales last year because of black-market cigarette smuggling. Angry shop owners hit out at the Govern- ment, saying not enough was being done to target criminals importing cheap tobacco to be sold at knock-down prices. The 3,000-strong Retailers Against Smug- gling said around 4,000 jobs could have been created last year had sales not been hit by the illegal trade. Ras spokesmanWilliam Hanley said: What we are asking the Government to do is to bring in penalties that will deter criminals from getting involved in smuggling. The group said 40 per cent of retailers in- comes can be from tobacco, with a knock-on effect on other products. Mr Hanley claimed only a tenth of smuggled cigs are stopped Customs seized 54.4million worth last year and said 20-packs are sold on the street for as little as 4, against 8.50 in shops. By colm kelpie to boldly flow Schools pet lamb sent for slaughter A SCHOOL has caused uproar by letting pupils raise a lamb and then sending it off to be slaughtered so its meat can be raffled. Hundreds of people voiced their opposition to the killing of Marcus the sheep, including TV presenter Paul OGrady (AKA Lily Savage). But Lydd Primary School in Kent, England, defended the decision, saying the aim was to educate children at the school, which is in a farming community, about the food cycle. Headteacher Andrea Charman said pupils voted in favour of selling the lambs meat to raise money to buy more animals. Reptiles walked tall earlier than thought THE time it took reptiles to learn to walk upright a development which led to the evolution of mammals happened more quickly than originally thought, according to new research. This development was previously believed to have been a slow process taking 20- to 30million years. But Bristol University academics believe their study of 460 fossil tracks suggests reptiles started to walk with their legs tucked underneath their bodies like modern mammals shortly after a mass extinction 250million years ago. canadian billionaire Guy laliberte drops into a pool during an emergency landing practice at a training centre in Star city, outside moscow. laliberte, who owns cirque du Soleil, is set to become the worlds seventh and canadas first space tourist after being slated to travel on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the international Space Station at the end of this month Picture: Reuters Stopped: elton John wants to adopt lev but his plan is against Ukraine law index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html