Obama's car breaks down

It was a tale of the unexpected yesterday when an armoured limousine
supposed to beused to convey visiting US President Barack Obama in
Israel broke down in Israel after being filled with the wrong type of
fuel.


Israel's Channel 2 reports that the car had been waiting for the
arrival of the entourage of the US leader when it was filled with
diesel instead of petrol.


A replacement limousine had to be flown in from neighbouring Jordan,
according to Maariv newspaper.


Obama, who is making his first visit to Israel since taking office,
was welcomed at Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv, by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres.


It is believed the limousine had left the airport some two hours
previously and had broken down on its way to Jerusalem where Obama was
due later.


The owner of a local tow-truck company, MotiMatmon, told Britain's
Daily Telegraph that theUS Consulate in Jerusalem had asked him to
recover the vehicle.


"They told me that this was Obama's car," he was quoted as saying.
"They didn't say what had happened to it. They just said it had got
stuck. Only the mechanic was there when I arrived. The driver had left
in another car.


The whole thing was very funny."
Matmon said the limousine was being repaired at a garage in Jerusalem.