Pass and vaccination on the menu of a new Health Defense Council on Wednesday

Surge in cases in the West Indies, vigilance in the south, implementation of the health pass and evolution of vaccination: the executive, once again under pressure, meets on Wednesday during a Health Defense Council, chaired by Emmanuel Macron by videoconference from Brégançon. This Council of Ministers mobilized in the field against the Covid-19 epidemic, in the heart of summer, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jean Castex will attend from Carcassone, where he comes to visit the Hospital Center. Sébastien Lecornu (Overseas) will connect from Guadeloupe, where he flew on Tuesday. Olivier Véran (Health), like Alain Griset (SME), joins him the Head of State at Fort Brégançon (Var) before going to Martinique in turn on Thursday. Priority of the Council: the "extremely serious" health situation in Martinique and Guadeloupe, spokesperson Gabriel Attal repeated on Tuesday evening. In the afternoon, 231 caregivers and 70 firefighters took off from Paris for the two islands.

Foot: Paris celebrates its new king Messi

Messi is Paris. The Argentine superstar received a royal welcome in Paris on Tuesday, during his first day as a PSG player, which he takes to a new sporting and economic dimension. Upon his arrival in the afternoon at Le Bourget airport, the striker, dressed in a "Here, it's Paris" t-shirt, greeted, all smiles, from a window, fans who were cheering. At the same time, PSG posted a short 13-second video on social media full of references to the striker's career, such as his six Ballons d'Or and the Argentine flag. Messi, 34, then passed the traditional medical examination prior to the signing of his contract, before making a quick visit to the Parc des Princes at the start of the evening.

IN SHORT

Ethiopian and Eritrean troops raped hundreds of women and girls in the war-torn Tigray region, forcing some victims into sexual slavery and mutilation, according to an Amnesty International report released on Wednesday.

Facebook has dismantled a Russian disinformation operation that sought to discredit the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines, including seeking to make it appear that the former "turned vaccinated people into chimpanzees".

AS Monaco qualified for the Champions League play-offs on Tuesday, the last obstacle before the group stage, thanks to their 3-1 victory at home against Sparta Prague and will face Shakhtar Donetsk in the next round.