DOMESTIC NEWS: New flight service from Yangon to Pathein operational...President attends Christmas gathering at Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker’s residence...Cash donation ceremony for Eternal Peace Pagoda held in Yangon...People celebrate Christmas in Yangon...Pilgrims throng Bagan-NyaungU Archaeological zone...Tatmadaw refutes TNLA statement claiming gunfire exchanged...Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu provides cash assistance to displaced people...Maungtaw Tsp security officers seize illegal drugs from runaway suspects...Fake 10,000-Kyat notes confiscated in Tamway, North Okkalapa townships...Domestic investments top K18,000 bln as of Nov-end; real estate sees largest fund inflows...Myanmar Investment Commission’s work in October and November 2018...Republic of the Union of Myanmar Office of the President Press Release No. 29/2018 2nd Waning of Nattaw, 1380 ME (24 December 2018)...71st Anniversary Independence Day National Objectives...Myanmar Daily Weather Report (Issued on Tuesday 25 December 2018).....EXTERNAL RELATIONS: Myanmar-Bangladesh conduct coordinated patrol...Regional trade rises to $1 bln in first month of current fiscal year...U Kyaw Zeya concurrently accredited as Ambassador of Myanmar to the Kingdom of Spain...Emerald Bay project to launch in 2019...IKBZ promotes road safety with dash cams.....OPINION: "Building a democracy which guarantees rights for all citizens".....ARTICLES: "Independence - our national heritage" - By Maung Khine Mar (Athet Min Hla)