Abawi said he received a diplomatic note from the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, confirming Sharafi had been released.

CNN: Kidnapped Iranian diplomat released in Iraq

His comments provoked a sharp diplomatic note from Colombia.

ECONOMIST: Colombia and its neighbours: Ripples of instability | The

But now, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has written to the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, agreeing that Washington should send a diplomatic note to Iraq through the ICRC to try to confirm whether Baghdad is ready to provide any new information.

BBC: US asks Iraq about missing pilot

One other diplomatic note today.

NPR: Israel's Olmert Has First Meeting with Egypt's Mubarak

Fisman and Miguel also found that countries where the U.S. is viewed unfavorably tended to accumulate more unpaid tickets than those where the U.S. is popular, and they note that diplomatic parking violations plummeted during the brief spike in international goodwill that the United States enjoyed just after September 11, 2001.

FORBES: The World's Most Corrupt Diplomats, As Told Through Parking Tickets [Map]

Western officials say they don't know what message Mr. Lavrov will relay to Mr. Assad, but note that Russia's veto has handed it a diplomatic beating in recent days that could cost it lucrative business contracts in Qatar and other Gulf countries.

WSJ: U.N. Vetoes to Inflame Syrian Conflict