MADRID – Spain’s National Statistics Institute says the number of births in the country rose in 2014, ending a five-year decline that coincided with the financial crisis. The institute said Monday 426,303 babies were born last year, 588 — or 0.1 percent — more than in 2013. The institute said …

MINEOLA, N.Y. – A New York judge says a lawsuit filed by the family of a Hofstra University student killed in an off-campus police shooting can move forward. Newsday reports (http://nwsdy.li/1Csfoq3 ) the judge ruled against Nassau County’s bid to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit. But the judge threw out …

SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni security officials say Saudi-led airstrikes and shelling by Shiite rebels have killed nine civilians. They said five civilians were killed Thursday when airstrikes targeted Shiite rebels, also known as Houthis, in a market in the northern province of Jawf. At least four civilians were killed when …

PATNA, India – Police say they are investigating the mob killing of a school director after two students were discovered dead in northern India. Nalanda district police Superintendent Siddhartha Kumar Jain said the mob attacked the boarding school’s director on Sunday after the bodies of two boys aged 10 and …

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s parliament has failed to elect its new speaker after two rounds of voting that were being watched for an early indication of the Turkish parties’ strength in the coalition-building process. Ismet Yilmaz, the ruling party’s candidate and the defense minister in the outgoing government, came first …

SAO PAULO – Brazilian police say six men were shot to death in a low-income working class district on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Authorities say gunmen barged into a bar Wednesday morning and opened fire, immediately killing three men. The gunmen then shot and killed three more men outside …

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Denmark’s Parliament on Friday elected Pia Kjaersgaard, retired leader of the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, as its speaker, a largely ceremonial post. First elected to the 179-seat Folketing in 1984, Kjaersgaard became deputy speaker three years ago. In 1995, she co-founded the party that became Denmark’s second …

LAKE CITY, Fla. – A 5-year-old Florida girl died after a sturgeon leaped into her boat along the Suwannee River and struck her. Wildlife officials said Jaylon Rippy died after being struck Thursday night. Her mother and 9-year-old brother were also injured and taken to a Gainesville hospital. Their condition …

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After more than a year of delays, a trial challenging Tennessee’s method for executing prisoners has begun. Steve Kissinger represents 33 death row inmates who say lethal injection is unconstitutional. In opening statements, Kissinger said the state’s use of prison guards to inject the drug creates a …

HELSINKI – Some 100 lawmakers, mainly from Europe, have condemned Russia’s actions in Crimea and Ukraine at a meeting honoring a 1975 accord seen as a milestone in reducing tensions between the East and West during the Cold War. Representing more than 50 countries, 96 lawmakers on Thursday condemned Russia’s …