World datelines

Brazil: Utility official attacked

ALTAMIRA — Painted and feathered Indians waving machetes and clubs slashed an official of Brazil's national electric company Tuesday during a protest over a proposed hydroelectric dam.

Mobs of Indians from different tribes surrounded Eletrobras engineer Paulo Fernando Rezende minutes after he gave a presentation to a gathering debating the impact of the Belo Monte dam on traditional communities living near this small, remote city in the Amazon region.

Rezende emerged shirtless, with a deep, bloody gash on his shoulder, but said "I'm OK, I'm OK," as colleagues rushed him to a car.

Britain: Gay Iranian can stay

LONDON — Britain said Tuesday that it is granting asylum to a gay Iranian teenager who fears that he could face execution if forced to return to his homeland.

Britain's Border Agency said it would allow asylum for Mehdi Kazemi, who traveled in 2005 to London to study English and while there learned that his lover in Iran had been charged with sodomy and hanged.

Germany: Fire at landmark

BERLIN — A fire Tuesday sent plumes of acrid gray smoke pouring from the roof of the Berlin Philharmonic's landmark home, where musicians and firefighters rushed to save precious instruments.

The blaze broke out beneath the roof of the building over the main concert hall, which seats 2,440 and is famed for its extraordinary acoustics. There were no injuries and the fire was brought under control after about five hours.

Iceland: Whale hunt begins

REYKJAVIK — Whale hunting season began in Iceland on Tuesday as the country's first whaling ship of the year set sail in defiance of a worldwide moratorium on the practice.

Despite condemnation from environmental groups and concerns by Iceland's foreign minister that a resumption of whaling could damage the country's popular whale-watching business, the government is allowing 40 minke whales to be hunted for their meat over the next six months.

India: Bad booze toll hits 90

NEW DELHI — Locally brewed liquor apparently tainted with lethal chemicals has killed another 20 people in southern India, bringing the death toll from the past four days to 90, police said Tuesday.