BBC News with Marian Marshall

European Union transport ministers have agreed to ease some other the restrictions on air travel which were imposed across Europe last week following the spread of volcanic ash from Iceland. After discussions by video conference, the EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas announced the decision to reporters in Brussels.

"New air control measures can come into effect from eight o'clock Tuesday morning. From tomorrow morning on, we should see progressively more planes start to fly and this is good news for Europe's stranded passengers, good news for airline industry and other sectors of this economy hard hit by this crisis."

In an effort to ensure safety, the EU wants to create three designated fly zones. One will remain entirely off limits because of the threat of volcanic dust; another will be open to all aircraft, while a third zone will be available for a limited service. In Germany, the two main airlines, Lufthansa and Air Berlin, were granted exemptions from the existing fly ban to allow them to bring home stranded passengers. A Lufthansa spokesman said they were expected to carry a total of about 15,000 people from the Far East, Africa and the Americas. Britain has announced that it's sending warships to help bring home British travelers.

The American military in Iraq has confirmed that the two most wanted al-Qaeda leaders in the country have been killed. The Iraqi government named them as Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. The Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said their identities had been confirmed by medical tests on the bodies. The two men were reportedly tracked down by an intelligence team west of Baghdad and their hideout destroyed by missiles. The US Vice President Joe Biden said the deaths showed that Iraq was now better able to look after its own security.