HLUTTAW SESSIONS:- PYITHU HLUTTAW: New Year Greeting Message from U Win Myint, Speaker of Pyithu Hluttaw...AMYOTHA HLUTTAW: New Year Day Message from Mahn Win Khaing Than, Speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw.....OTHER DOMESTIC NEWS: President?s New Year Message...Sitagu Sayadaw sends New Year Message...New Year Greeting Message from Dr. Bhaddanta Nanda Marla Bhivamsa...Volunteers for Literary Conference 2017 honoured...New Year Greetings from Vice President U Myint Swe for 2018...New Year Greetings from Vice President U Henry Van Thio for 2018...New Year Message of Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on January 1, 2018...New Year wishes by religious leaders...New Year Greetings by celebrities...New Year weather forecast...Peace Commission working towards achieving more progress...Peace makers? New Year wishes...Prices of shrimp paste high in domestic market...31st convocation ceremony of Yazin University of Veterinary Science held...More village-owned fishponds for Maungtaw region...Thandwe District Association (Yangon) holds annual gathering...Children?s literature festivals to be held...YBS-16 express bus catches fire on Yangon-Mandalay expressway .....EXTERNAL RELATIONS: Union Minister inspects Myanmar International Radio...Dream World Lighting Festival launches in Mdy...More than 1,000 tons of watermelon likely to be shipped to Hong Kong this FY...MOLIP shows approval for Chinshwehaw as International Land Border Checkpoint...Coconut export to Thailand up by 15 per cent this year...China increases import of corns from Myanmar...Myanmar Real Estate Services Association requests the gov?t to slash income tax...Businesspersons request gov?t to reduce lending and deposit rates....."OPINION": "Meaningful Independence".....ARTICLE: "Pledging Allegiance to the Flag" - By Yone Phyu Lay