Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati mistook an aide to Giorgia Meloni for the Italian Prime Minister herself when a delegation from Rome arrived in Beirut on Wednesday.
Mr Mikati was waiting on the tarmac at Beirut airport for the Italian leader to descend the stairs from her plane.
As one of Ms Meloni's delegation descended ahead of her, Mr Mikati greeted her with a kiss on each cheek, apparently thinking she was the Italian Prime Minister.
He was quickly informed that he had instead greeted Ms Meloni's personal assistant Patrizia Scurti, who looks somewhat similar to her.
The Italian Prime Minister exited the plane soon after, and was greeted with a handshake and a kiss on each cheek by Mr Mikati.
Ms Meloni is in Beirut amid the continuing cross-border conflict on Lebanon's southern border between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
At a meeting with Mr Mikati, the Italian Prime Minister gave a "clear message regarding the need to avoid any risk of escalation along the border with Israel", her office said. She also visited the Italian detachment at Unifil, the UN peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon.
Mr Mikati reiterated his condemnation of an Israeli strike on south Lebanon on Wednesday which killed seven paramedics.
The expanding hostilities in south Lebanon have raised fears of an all-out conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, as long as the war in Gaza continues.
Hezbollah says it is launching attacks on Israel in support of its embattled ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
This month US envoy Amos Hochstein was in Beirut in a bid to broker a ceasefire on the Lebanon-Israel border and an agreement on contested border points.
Among the Israeli demands are that Hezbollah withdraw its fighters north of the Litani River, a demand the Iran-backed group has rejected.
Hezbollah has said it will not stop fighting until there is a ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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