Hello and welcome to this edition of Business Weekly with me, Sasha Twining.

On this programme, we'll hear about the challenges facing Zambia, a country approaching a general election and struggling without the usual stream of tourists.

Plus, we'll talk about the booming business of mental health apps and the

toy manufacturer trying to point more girls towards tech and engineering careers. But first,

let me take you back a year and the devastating explosion that rocked the port of Beirut,

the capital of Lebanon. You may recall seeing pictures captured on CCTV cameras

of the huge blast, flames shooting high into the air as a warehouse exploded when a vast

stockpile of ammonium nitrate caught fire. More than 200 people died, thousands were injured,

and some 300,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

The families of the victims have accused authorities of stalling the official investigation into what happened.

Well, the wider context to this is the economy of Lebanon, already struggling even before the explosion and, of course, the pandemic.

The country is going through the worst economic crisis since its civil war of the 70s and 80s when long-running sectarian tensions

came to the fall. These days in the country, there are street demonstrations against the government

and allegations of corruption. There are frequent power outages and basic services have suffered.

The charity UNICEF says some 70% of citizens are at immediate risk of losing access to safe water.

The currency has lost more than 90% of its value in less than two years.

Alin Kamakan owns the Mayrig restaurant in Beirut.

Every day, the Lebanese pound is losing values against the dollar.

So whoever had in the bank money, it's worth nothing.

So everything is cash.

Everybody is, you want to buy meat, it's cash.

You want to buy a car, it's cash.

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