(Continued from page 26)

and in a campaign ad released last week, he credits U.S. servicemen who helped in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
• ___

• BEIRUT (AP) -- The head of the U.N. observer mission in Syria said Monday he will emphasize "the suffering of the Syrian people" during special envoy Kofi Annan's visit, which

comes just days after a gruesome weekend massacre that killed more than 100 people.
• The mass killings Friday in the west-central area of Houla -- punctuated by amateur videos showing rows of bloody children killed in the attack -- prompted sweeping international criticism of the regime of President Bashar Assad, although differences emerged from world powers over whether his forces were exclusively to blame.
• "Today, I look very much forward to Annan's visit, I look forward to be able to covey my impressions of the Syrian people," Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the head of the unarmed U.N. observer mission, said in Damascus. "Also to share with him that the suffering of the Syrian people is something that they don't deserve."
• Annan was expected in Syria on Monday, as activists reported a fresh bombardment in the central city of Hama.
• Syrian troops shelled several neighborhoods in Hama until the early hours of

(Continued on page 28)