PM UNVEILS REPUBLIC MONUMENT IN KIRTIPUR Kathmandu, 26 April: Prime Minster Dr Baburam Bhattarai Thursday unveiled a Republican Memorial in Kirtipur. The PM unveiled the monument after laying the foundation stone of a government-built structure to commemorate the declaration of a republic inside the former Narayanhiti Royal Palace,now a national museum. Nnnn VULTURE POPULATION UP IN KOSHI TAPPU Kathmandu, 26 April:: The population of various rare species of vulture has reportedly gone up at the Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, thanks to the increasing area under wetland and increase in the number of the Simal trees in the reserve where the vultures are said to roost, RSS reports from Itahari. According to the game scouts at the Reserve, the increase in vulture population is also attributable to the decreasing use of Diclofenac, a veterinary drug used for relieving the pain in domestic animals, around the reserve. Conservation officer at the Reserve, Ashok Ram said there are two patches of forest full of Simal trees in the reserve which are the main roosting places for the vultures. According to Ram, nine species of vultures are found in Nepal and of these three species, namely the Himali Khairo, Seto Dagor and Raj Giddha species, are found in the Kosi Tappu Reserve. Thirty-six vulture nests were found in the Reserve as per a recently-conducted count. It is estimated that the vulture population in the Reserve is well over 1,000. Nnnn NEW CAVE, PROBABLY COUNTRY’S LONGEST, FOUND IN GORKHA Kathmandu, 26 April: A new cave has been discovered at Kaule Bhangar, Bungkot in Gorkha District, RSS reports. It takes half an hour to walk to the far-end of the cave, said Krishna Bahadur Ale, a local. The cave was found only some days back and as many as 100 visitors have been coming for watching it daily. It is estimated that this may be the longest cave in the country. Nnnn PAKISTAN PM GILANI CONVICTED OF CONTEMPT OF COURT Kathmandu, 26 April: Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was convicted of contempt of court by the country's highest court but avoided a jail term, state television reported, AFP reports from Islamabad. The PM was charged for refusing to obey an order to write to the authorities in Switzerland to ask them to re-open corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Gilani on Thursday was sentenced to be detained in the court until the hearing adjourned, state broadcaster Pakistan Television reported, and shortly afterwards emerged smiling and waving to supporters. He had faced a maximum sentence of six months in jail in a case that has fanned political instability in a country already troubled by Al-Qaeda and Taliban violence. nnnn