World datelines

RIO DE JANEIRO — A regional human rights commission will investigate whether Rio de Janeiro state police abused hundreds of prisoners by maintaining substandard conditions in an overcrowded jail, Brazilian activists said Friday. In June, five Brazilian rights groups claimed that more than 400 inmates were being held in a lockup built to hold 120.

Colombia

BOGOTA — President Alvaro Uribe on Friday withdrew his offer to negotiate a humanitarian prisoner exchange with leftist rebels after blaming the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for a car bomb that wounded 23 people. Uribe condemned the attack in a speech at the military university in Bogota where the blast took place.

Finland

LAHTI — Russian President Vladimir Putin defended his government's tough stance on Georgia and dodged EU leaders' demands Friday that he commit to a legally binding energy charter that would guarantee better access to Russia's oil and gas fields. The 25 EU leaders met with Putin over dinner following a one-day summit in Finland on energy.

Geneva

The United Nations refugee agency said Friday it had received reports of at least 38 civilians killed in attacks in southern Sudan and was suspending its operation helping Sudanese refugees return from neighboring Uganda. Ron Redmond, spokesman for U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, said the reports indicated "unknown gunmen" had killed the civilians.

Japan

TOKYO — The number of babies born in Japan rose for the seventh straight month in August, the government said Friday, raising hopes for an upturn in the country's plunging annual birthrate and declining population. Japan's birthrate in 2005 stood at a record low of 1.25 babies per woman in her lifetime, far below the 2.1 rate needed to keep the population steady.

Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Special prosecutors have arrested a former commander of Mexico's now-disbanded secret police in connection with the 1974 disappearance of six alleged guerrilla members, officials said Friday. Jorge Bustos, a commander with the defunct Federal Security Directorate, was arrested Thursday in Mexico City and sent to a local jail where he's awaiting charges.

Poland

WARSAW — Poland's first Progressive rabbi since World War II was installed Friday in a ceremony filled with lively music and solemn remembrance of those who perished in the Holocaust, community leaders said. Rabbi Burt Schuman, a New Yorker with Polish roots, was installed at Beit Warszawa.

Spain