President Hipolito Mejia has decorated Noble prize winner, former Polish President, Lech Walesa and former President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica with the heraldic order of Christopher Columbus, rank of golden cross. Walesa is scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra today. Walesa and Arias are visiting for the launching of Diario Libre, the country’s first free newspaper. Omnimedia is the publishing branch of the La Nacional, Bancredito and Tricom financial and telecommunication group. The Diario Libre is a sister publication to Rumbo, Mujer Unica, Madre Unica, Novias, La Casa, Buena Vida, Cocina, Golf, Aqui Santo Domingo and Sucesos magazines. The executive editor will be Anibal de Castro, former editor of Ultima Hora afternoon newspaper, founder and editor for many years of Rumbo Magazine. The company has plans to distribute 100,000 newspapers in select homes, on OMSA buses and where there are large numbers of people. Another financial group that publishes the Listin Diario, announced it would launch a competitor, the El Expreso, also with free distribution. This newspaper would be edited by Virgilio Alcantara, former executive editor of Hoy newspaper and a former press director during the Leonel Fernandez administration.
