A humpback whale stranded on Germany's Baltic Sea coast freed itself overnight after days of rescue efforts, biologist Robert Marc Lehmann said on Friday. The whale had been stuck in shallow waters off Timmendorfer Strand since early on Monday, drawing heavy media attention.

Authorities on Friday arrested seven bodyguards suspected of being involved in the assassination earlier this month of a popular mayor in west-central Mexico who they were supposed to be protecting. The Associated Press saw at least five of the suspects arrested by state and federal authorities in Uruapan on Friday, steps away from the site where Mayor Carlos Manzo was killed during Day of the Dead festivities on Nov. 1. An official familiar with the operation said all seven had been bodyguard

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is seeking a solution with Belgium on the issue of the provision of Russian funds to support Ukraine. On Thursday, Merz said that he was taking the Belgian government's concerns seriously.