BRAZIL 2014 WORLD CUP - Emergency Test Evacuation of Stadium

Emergency services in Rio de Janeiro performed a test evacuation of the Maracana Stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup Saturday.

Police use tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters at a metro strike in Sao Paulo
A metro strike prompts protests in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, where the World Cup will kick off in six days

Military Police used tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades on protesters during a metro strike in Sao Paulo on Friday morning, June 6, local media reported.

Strong images were released by Media Ninja, an independent media organization which has accompanied popular protests in Brazil since the outbreak of demonstrations during the Confederations Cup last year.

In the video, protesters were approached by Military Policemen and threatened with guns, they then chased demonstrators out of the space with batons.

Subway workers in Sao Paulo were on Saturday to stage the third day of a strike that has brought chaos to the Brazilian city due to host the World Cup opener, as Fifa's vice-president urged authorities to make sure fans could get to the match.

Jim Boyce told the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper that the protests could cause difficulties for those trying to attend Thursday's opening match.

A public transport strike has caused traffic chaos in Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo, a week before it hosts the opening match of the World Cup.

Half of all underground stations were closed as transport workers walked out, demanding a 10% pay rise.

Angry commuters stormed the Itaquera station, nearest the stadium where Brazil will play Croatia on 12 June.

Police and other public sector workers say they will also strike in the next few weeks if their demands are not met.

This is the latest setback in Brazil's preparations for the World Cup, which have been criticised by the tournament's global organisers.

But Fifa President Sepp Blatter has called on the Brazilian people to do all they can to support the World Cup.

"We at Fifa, we are confident. It will be a celebration," Mr Blatter told reporters as he arrived in Sao Paulo amid the traffic chaos.

Commuters knocked down barriers set up by striking workers at the station closest to the Itaquerao stadium

"We need to go to work," shouted commuters before jumping on the tracks at the Itaquera station.

The state-owned underground company has offered a 8.7% pay rise, which was rejected by the unions which declared the strike for an undetermined period.

The authorities said they would sack staff if they failed to meet legal requirements and keep at least 70% of public transport services running.

"The government will not be complacent," said Sao Paulo state Transport Secretary Jurandir Fernandes.

"If we gave them a 10% rise, all other state workers would demand the same," Mr Fernandes told Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

Even some of Fifa's executives could not avoid the problems caused by the strike, as they sat in traffic jams for hours, trying to get across the city. evacuation match game games plans emergency simulation "sports injury" fifa security

400 'Robocop' style military police set to patrol the World Cup in Brazil next month closely resemble the cops depicted in Terry Gilliam's cult 1985 classic film Brazil, in which a totalitarian government rules a dystopian society with a bureaucratic iron fist.

Brazilian security forces are using undercover agents, intercepting e-mails, and rigorously monitoring social media to try to ensure that violent anti-government protesters do not ruin soccer's World Cup this year, official

Demonstrations in recent months have been much smaller than those last June when Brazil hosted a dress rehearsal tournament for the World Cup, shaking President Dilma Rousseff's government and contributing to an economic slowdown. vandalism of banks and paralyzed parts of major cities as a hard core of perhaps a few thousand protesters nationwide, some of whom wear masks and call themselves "Black Blocs," clash with police.