Syria's deputy oil minister Abdo Hussameddin reportedly defects

The deputy oil minister would be the highest-ranking official to abandon Bashar Assad's regime. Meanwhile, peace envoy Kofi Annan urges a political solution to the crisis. Syria's deputy oil minister reportedly defected from the government of Bashar Assad on Thursday, and a high-level international peace envoy seeking a cease-fire in Syria warned against further "militarization" of the bloody