SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

Tripoli, 09/02/2004 (SPS) Mr. Malainine Etghana, Saharawi representative to Libya, participated on Tuesday to the meeting of African agriculture and waters experts, which is expected to prepare for the meeting of the ministers of the continent, planed for this 11th February in Tripoli (LIBIA).

SADR will be represented to the ministers' meeting by the Secretary General of the Ministry of development, Salama Youssef, it was indicated.

It should be recalled that African Union heads of States and Governments' summit in Maputo (July 2003) had decided to organise an extraordinary summit of the organisation in Libya around the end of current February, to be especially devoted to defence, agriculture and water. (SPS)

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SPS
SADR/MARATHON
The 4th edition of Sahara Marathon will start this 23 February, according to the organisers

Chhid El Hafed, 09/02/2004 (SPS) The 4th edition of Sahara Marathon wil start this 23 February with the participation of more than 200 athletes from different nationalities, and who will have to run exactly for 42,159 Km that separate the Wilaya of El Aaiun from Smara, announced the organisers.

This international sportive event that started for the first time in February 2001 as an initiative of some American, Spanish, Italian and German personalities in collaboration with the ministry of culture and sports, had already gathered thousands of athletes and participants from many nationalities in the Saharawi desert.

Organised each year in turn by these different nations, Italia is sponsoring the 2004 Sahara Marathon, which will also include semi-marathon race, 10 and 5 Km races between the Wilayas, as done in the past.

A super marathon of more than 200 Km was organised last year by the German committee of Sahara Marathon, started from the wilaya of El Aaiun to Dakhla.

Asked about the goals of this annual encounter, the minister of culture and sports, Mariem Salek, indicated that it aims at ''encouraging sports in the desert to cultivate athletes? endurance and mostly to promote international cultural exchanges in favour of the diversity of the participants, coming from different zones of the planet''.

''We will unify our voices and efforts, having in mind the noble ideals of sports, for a more tolerant world, more peaceful, more fair and human'', she said.

Former ministers, deputies, figures of culture, politics and businessmen, had participated in the previous editions of the marathon, and their participation is expected by the organisers for this year too, it was indicated.

The first edition of Sahara Marathon 2001, organised by the American, Jeb Carney, in collaboration with US Western Sahara Foundation, was won by the Algerian, Aouil Rabeh. American congressman, Joseph Pitts, gave the starting sign to this edition.

The second edition, Sahara Marathon 2002, was won by the Italian, Castelleno Villenzo (42 years old), while his wife, Rosa Maria Manari, won the first place of women.

It should be recalled that the third edition of this event, in 2003, was won by the Spanish, Jorge Obeso Matinez, while the first from women was again the Italian, Rosa Maria Manari. (SPS)

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