Commuter train in Japan derails

　　TOKYO: A commuter train derailed after colliding with a car at a railway crossing in central Japan during the morning rush hour yesterday, killing the car's driver and injuring at least 21 people on the train, police said.

　　The front two cars of the eight-car commuter express train came off the tracks near Inazawa city. The injured, including the train driver and his assistant, were taken to nearby hospitals, but their condition was not immediately known, he said. The cause of the accident was under investigation.

　　2 Al-Qaida suspects free on bail

　　MADRID: Two al-Qaida suspects who allegedly shot video of U.S. landmarks and passed the tapes along to leaders preparing for the Sept. 11 attacks have been freed on bail, officials said Wednesday.

　　The men posted the $146,550 bail on Monday, hours after it was set, the Department of Penitentiary Institutions reported. They and one other man had previously been held in preventative custody - meaning no bail was set.

　　The third suspect, Abdalrahman Alarnaot Abu-Aljer, remained in custody.

　　Georgia agrees to handover rebels

　　TBILISI: Georgian officials said Wednesday that they had agreed to hand over 13 Chechens detained over the summer to Russian authorities.

　　The news came as Georgian border guards said they had detained four gunmen trying to cross from Georgia into Russia.

　　Russia has long been demanding that Georgia turn over the 13 Chechens, but their extradition is unlikely to alleviate the Kremlin's concerns about Pankisi Gorge. Moscow claims that the gorge is a base and supply line for rebels in the breakaway Russian region of Chechnya, and says Georgia isn't doing enough to crack down on the insurgents.

　　Yemen arrests 12 terror suspects

　　SAN'A: Yemeni authorities have rounded up 12 men suspected of links to the al-Qaida terror network, a security official said Wednesday.

　　The men were arrested this week after their names came up during investigations of other al-Qaida suspects.

　　The 12 might have information on several alleged members of the terror network who are still at large, the official said on condition of anonymity. He did not elaborate any further.