A Kuwaiti daily newspaper is reporting that the captors of two Italian hostages in Iraq have agreed to free the women, as early as this week, for a $1 million ransom. The women, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, have not been seen since they were kidnapped on Sept. 7. The women worked for the group A Bridge to Baghdad, a humanitarian group opposed to the US occupation. The report has not been independently confirmed. Last week a message appeared on the Internet that claimed the women had been executed but the Italian government cast doubt on that claim. Meanwhile there has also been no word on British hostage Kenneth Bigley though British Muslim leaders and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have called for his release. Two of his fellow contractors from the U.S. were executed last week.