The European Union and the United Nations Development Programme have praised the progress of Malawi's Phase 3 National Birth Registration Campaign, according to UNDP Malawi. Following a tour of registration centres in Lilongwe, Vivien Rigler of the EU Delegation to Malawi stated the campaign is successfully providing legal identities to children. The initiative has registered over 3.5 million children nationwide out of an estimated 7.5 million eligible minors.
Update: Senior officials from the Southern African Development Community have convened in Salima for preparatory sessions ahead of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation, Channel Africa reports. The ministerial meeting, scheduled for July 16 to 17, is chaired by Malawi's Minister of Foreign Affairs George Chaponda and will focus on regional conflict prevention and democratic governance.
Update: Humanitarian groups are accusing the Malawi High Commission in Pretoria of neglecting citizens fleeing anti-immigrant violence in South Africa, AllAfrica reports. In a recent petition directed to High Commissioner Stella Ndau, aid workers claimed the diplomatic mission is sheltering over 100 displaced Malawians per day in a bare basement without adequate food, bedding, or sanitation. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports that South African authorities have processed over 53,000 foreign nationals for deportation or repatriation in a recent crackdown, with Malawians making up the vast majority at nearly 72 percent of the total.
In other diplomatic news, Malawi's Ambassador to China, Allan Joseph Chintedza, joined envoys from several African nations at the Linyi China-Africa Economic and Trade Dialogue in Shandong province, according to China Daily. During the visit, Chintedza toured industrial sites and stated that the city's construction and manufacturing sectors align with Africa's development agenda.