WORLD BRIEFS

ISRAEL: German poet declared non grata

Israel declared Guenter Grass persona non grata Sunday, deepening a spat with the Nobel-winning author over a poem that criticized the Jewish state and suggested it was as much a danger as Iran. The dispute with Grass, who late in life admitted to a Nazi past, has drawn new attention to strains in Germany's complicated relationship with the Jewish state. In a poem called "What Must Be Said" published last Wednesday, Grass, 84, criticized what he described as Western hypocrisy over Israel's nuclear program.

IRAN: Confidence going into new talks

The Iranian line blaming the West for trying to trample on its "nuclear rights" appears little changed, signaling that critical negotiations could begin this week where the impasse left off. Iranian officials displayed a hint of confidence going into Friday's talks. They believe Tehran may have beaten back the toughest Western demands for a complete halt to uranium enrichment, the key issue of the standoff, and some bargaining room could open for new proposals. "They have not gained anything through confrontation with Iran," said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the parliament's committee on national security and foreign policy.

PAKISTAN: Search for 135 under avalanche

A team of U.S. experts was sent Sunday to help search for 135 people buried a day earlier by an avalanche that engulfed a military complex in a mountain battleground close to the Indian border. At least 240 Pakistani troops and civilians worked at the entrance to the Siachen Glacier with the aid of sniffer dogs and heavy machinery, said the army, struggling to dig through 80 feet of snow, boulders and mud.

FRANCE: Child killed as floor falls at Mass

A floor collapsed in a building where an Easter Mass was being held Sunday, killing a 6-year-old and seriously injuring four other people. The two-story house was used by an evangelical group in Stains, near Paris. A 2-year-old child and a 42-year-old woman were in critical condition. The congregation, mainly from the Haitian community, was in the second floor when it collapsed under them.