Is There a Life Line?

The new Lebanese government has been in place for a week, but with the economy still spiraling, Lebanese people lack confidence anything will be done in the short term to relieve the extreme economic crisis. Mohamed El Aassar, Middle East journalist with Fortune Magazine, tells the BBC's Rebecca Kesby how the country’s economy got to be in such a dire state. Reporter Houshig Kaymakamian outlines exactly who makes up the new Lebanese government, and why Lebanese people don’t trust them to enact any meaningful reforms. Beirut restaurateur Aline Kamakian describes daily life trying to run a business in the country, and economist Diana Menhem explains just how dangerous the present moment is, and what needs to change.

Producer: Frey Lindsay.

(Picture: The first batch of Iranian fuel oil arrives in the city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon on September 16, 2021. Picture credit: Sleiman Amhaz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)