Zambia to vote in elections, a southern African country rich in critical minerals

LUSAKA, Zambia -- LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Zambia holds an election Thursday to decide if President Hakainde Hichilema will get a second five-year term as reward for his economic recovery plan in the southern African nation that's one of the world's top copper producers but was recently mired in a debt crisis.Zambia defaulted on sovereign debt repayments to China and other nations in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing attention to the unsustainable burdens faced by some developing countries.Hichilema was elected a year later, and Zambia has restructured more than $12 billion in debts to other countries and private creditors under his leadership while reining in inflation and stabilizing the currency.His long-term economic plan involves a pledge to more than triple Zambia's copper output to 3 million metric tons a year by 2031 — a staggering rise that could put Zambia ahead of the United States and China in terms of global producers of the in-demand critical mineral.Hichilema won a presidential election in 2021, having lost in five votes before that stretching back to 2006. The 64-year-old is a former financial services executive but also has a background in farming an...