• A court in Athens ruled yesterday that a camera-laden blimp used to help police with security during the Olympics can continue to fly above Athens. The court refused to grant an injunction to a human rights organization, which claimed the airship violated people’s privacy by taking photographs and monitoring conversations. The court ruled that the images taken by the airship’s cameras from a height of 500 meters lacked clarity and added that it was not equipped to listen in to people talking. The floating spy, as Athenians call it, has been deployed over Athens since before the start of the Olympics on Aug. 13. “Nothing is taking place that violates any laws of the country,” Greek Government spokesperson Theodoros Rousopoulos assured people earlier this month. He said Greece’s data protection agency, a private watchdog, had approved of the government’s security plan to safeguard the Games.

Gebrselassie ‘Too Nice’ to Win — Manager

• Haile Gebrselassie will sacrifice his chance of an unprecedented third successive Olympic 10,000 meters title in favor of an Ethiopian clean-sweep, his manager Jos Hermens fears. Hermens, who has guided Gebrselassie since discovering him almost two decades ago, told Reuters yesterday: “I think he’s too keen for his country to get a 1,2,3 in the race. He feels he’s the leader of the team. “He wants to win, absolutely, but I think he would sacrifice the gold for a sweep. “I’ve told him to be as selfish as he was in 1996 and 2000 but he just replied: ‘It’s hard. It’s for the whole nation.’ He’s too nice a guy.” The 31-year-old Gebrselassie, who also has a leg injury which has restricted his training before Friday’s race, lost to his young teammate and heir apparent Kenenisa Bekele at the 2003 world championships. Bekele, 22, then broke Gebrselassie’s 5,000 and 10,000 world records within a nine-day spell earlier this year.

Silver Causes for Indian Celebration

• India erupted with joy as shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore clinched their first medal at the Athens Olympics yesterday and their first ever individual silver. The medal, in the men’s double trap, lifted days of gloom over the country’s typically poor performance at the Games so far. “This is totally unbelievable,” said Vivek Shankar Mathur, a New Delhi foreign affairs student and ardent sports fan. “I was beginning to think that we’d end up empty-handed this time but Rathore has changed all that. Now we can hope for even more medals.” India have won eight Olympic hockey golds but none since 1980 in Moscow. Olympic sports hardly get any attention in cricket-crazy India but fans are often deeply disappointed by the dismal record at the Games of the world’s second most-populous country. Television channels suspended their regular programming to announce Rathore’s feat. “We were just praying that he remains mentally strong and stays calm,” his wife, Gayatri, told the Aaj Tak channel. “He has a lot of confidence and self-belief. That’s come through.”

Irish Walker Badly Injured in Car Crash

• Ireland’s 50-kilometer walk hope Jamie Costin is out of the Olympics after a car crash in which he suffered back injuries, broken toes and a hand injury yesterday. The 22-year-old had just dropped off his Polish training partner and Olympic champion Robert Korzeniowski following a training session when he was involved in a head-on crash with a truck. He is being transferred to the ‘Olympic family’ hospital in Athens. His family is being flown in by the Irish Olympic Council - who are also paying for the tickets - as they are very concerned. Ireland’s IOC member Pat Hickey said the treatment Costin had received on site had been superb. “I am very impressed with how the Greeks have dealt with this,” he told AFP. “Everything has worked very smoothly, when they examined him they assessed his injuries and if they had been more serious they would have brought him in by helicopter,” he added.

That Might Be a Boy

• US canoeist Matt Taylor’s wife Kieran, eight months pregnant, arrived here from the United States with a back-up plan ready in case she goes into labor with their third child while at the Olympics. “Then we’ve got a little Greek baby,” Taylor said. A hospital near Olympic Stadium would be the delivery site for the baby, whose sex is unknown to the parents. A special cool tent will be provided for Kieran to watch her husband compete. “It’s pretty monumental for her to be here,” he said. “I told her that she’s the real Odysseus for making this journey.”

Pedro All Smiles Now

• America’s Jason Pedro was all smiles after winning bronze in the judo 73kg class after deciding to come out of retirement after watching the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. “I remember that I was sitting that night telling my wife that I needed to go to the Olympics again,” said the 33-year-old. My medal isn’t gold but it still means a lot and when I get off the plane in Boston, I’ll still be wearing it along with a huge smile.”

Al Arabiya, MBC Provide Arabic Broadcast at Olympic Village

• Al Arabiya news channel and MBC are providing exclusive Arabic broadcast at Olympic Village. This follows the award of exclusive Arabic language broadcast rights to them within the Olympic Village that houses athletes and officials from all participating nations at the ongoing Olympic Games in Athens. Al Arabiya and MBC are telecasting through the CATV network that has been specially set up for broadcast at key locations including athletic venues, International Olympic Committee hotels and media premises. The Olympic Village is the heart of the games. It is home to about 20,000 athletes and officials including the Greek team and the International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.