Syria hit by diplomatic defection as UN battles divisions

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's ambassador to Iraq defected on Wednesday in protest over President Bashar al-Assad's violent suppression of a 16-month uprising as the U.N. Security Council remained deadlocked over the next steps in the crisis. "I declare that I have joined, from this moment, the ranks of the revolution of the Syrian people," Nawah al-Fares said in a video statement posted on Facebook