Airline loses Israeli bodyguard's guns

WASHINGTON - With so much at stake for both leaders, little was left to chance in meetings this week between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United States President Barack Obama.

Things got off to a bad start when American Airlines workers at New York's J.F.K. Airport lost a suitcase belonging to the Israeli delegation while transferring baggage on to the plane flying them to Washington DC.

The suitcase belonged to an agent of the Israeli security service, Shin Bet. American Airlines finally tracked it down nearly 4830km away at Los Angeles International Airport, where some of its contents had gone missing - specifically, four Glock 9mm handguns. It was not clear yesterday how many guns vanished, though the Los Angeles Times suggested that three had been found safely.

None of this seemed destined to alter the outcome of the leaders' meeting which was so artfully choreographed to convey rediscovered mutual respect, and to save face on all sides, that that one Washington Post correspondent felt compelled to call it the "Oil of Olay summit".

- Independent