Here are the top stories for Lebanon today:

Speaker Berri denies Lebanon is ” bankrupt”

Lebanon’s parliament  Speaker Nabih Berri slammed Wednesday rumors about Lebanon being on the verge of bankruptcy, National News Agency reported. “Lebanon is not bankrupt and the rumors that are being spread do not reflect reality,” Berri said during his weekly meeting with members of parliament in the capital Beirut.Berri assured that the monetary situation in Lebanon is stable and under control and achieving a proper state budget will restore confidence in the country and its economy.

Brazil’s ambassador to Lebanon and his wife killed in a car accident in Italy

Brazil’s ambassador to Lebanon and his wife were killed in a car accident Wednesday, the Brazilian Embassy in Beirut announced. “The Embassy of Brazil in Beirut is deeply sorry to inform the passing away of Ambassador Paulo Cordeiro de Andrade Pinto and his wife, Vera Lucia Ribeiro Estrela de Andrade Pinto, in a tragic car accident in the south of Italy on Wednesday, 8th of May,” a post on the embassy’s Facebook page read.

Pictures in Italian media of the crash showed the car Pinto was in crushed against a barrier after what appeared to be a head-on collision with a tractor trailer.

Italy pledges 1.7 mil. Euro to UNHCR to support health care for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the Government of Italy signed a EUR 1.7 million (USD 1.9 million) agreement to support secondary health care for vulnerable Syrian refugees in Lebanon.The agreement was signed by the Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon,  Massimo Marotti and the UNHCR Representative in Lebanon Mireille Girard in a ceremony at the Italian Embassy in Beirut.