Europe's ash crisis coming to an end
Top news: Britain's Heathrow airport became the last major European hub to reopen on Tuesday night, ending -- for now -- an unprecedented six-day closure of the continent's airspace by ash from Iceland Eyjafjallajokul volcano.
Airlines are believed to have lost more than $1.7 billion to the crisis, which lasted twice as long as the closure of U.S. airspace after the 9/11 attacks and resulted in more than 100,000 cancelled trips.
Eyjafjallajokul continues to erupt -- and scientists have no way of knowing how long it will continue, but winds are now blowing the ash west, away from the continent. Restrictions remain in place over parts of Britain, Ireland, and France but the cloud is expected to leave the continent completely by Wednesday night.
Questions are now being raised -- particularly by struggling airlines -- over whether the blanket bans were necessary and whether governments owe carriers compensation for the closures. Giovanni Bisignani, director of the International Air Transport Association, said at a news conference in Berlin: "For an industry that lost $9.4 billion last year and was forecast to lose a further $2.8 billion in 2010, this crisis is devastating," Bisignani said. "Governments should help carriers recover the cost of this disruption."
Unsolved cases: The Committee to Protect Journalists cited 12 countries where journalists' murders have not been solved -- including Russia, Mexico, and India -- on its new Impunity Index.
Airlines are believed to have lost more than $1.7 billion to the crisis, which lasted twice as long as the closure of U.S. airspace after the 9/11 attacks and resulted in more than 100,000 cancelled trips.
Eyjafjallajokul continues to erupt -- and scientists have no way of knowing how long it will continue, but winds are now blowing the ash west, away from the continent. Restrictions remain in place over parts of Britain, Ireland, and France but the cloud is expected to leave the continent completely by Wednesday night.
Questions are now being raised -- particularly by struggling airlines -- over whether the blanket bans were necessary and whether governments owe carriers compensation for the closures. Giovanni Bisignani, director of the International Air Transport Association, said at a news conference in Berlin: "For an industry that lost $9.4 billion last year and was forecast to lose a further $2.8 billion in 2010, this crisis is devastating," Bisignani said. "Governments should help carriers recover the cost of this disruption."
Unsolved cases: The Committee to Protect Journalists cited 12 countries where journalists' murders have not been solved -- including Russia, Mexico, and India -- on its new Impunity Index.
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-By Joshua Keating | 
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FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images
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