Briefly

FRANCE

Macron's rating falls to record low: Poll

French President Emmanuel

Macron's approval rating has fallen to only 25 percent, returning to its lowest level since he took office in 2017, a survey has shown. A poll carried out by Toluna-Harris Interactive for French news channel LCI showed on Friday that Macron's approval rating dropped by four points from November, matching the historic low previously recorded in October 2025.By contrast, approval ratings for Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu remained broadly stable. The poll found that 34 percent approved of Lecornu's performance, down one point from the previous month but largely unchanged since September.

GUATEMALA

15 killed as bus falls into ravine

An intermunicipal bus veered off a road in Guatemala and fell into a deep ravine, killing 15 passengers and injuring at least 15 others, authorities said on Saturday, and declared three days of national mourning. The accident happened Friday night outside the town of Totonicapan along a route known as the Interamerican Road. Officials said it took rescue workers more than two hours to recover the corpses from the crash site and rescue injured passengers. Fifteen people were still being treated for injuries at local hospitals.

JAPAN

15 injured in knife and chemical attack

A man was arrested after stabbing eight people and injuring seven others with what was believed to be bleach at a tire factory in central Japan on Friday, officials said. There was no immediate explanation of his motive. Eight people were taken to hospitals after being stabbed by the man with a knife at a factory of the tiremaker Yokohama Rubber Co in the city of Mishima, in the Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo, according to the Fujisan Nanto Fire Department.

Agencies - Xinhua