SAO PAULO, June 9 — Police in Sao Paulo fired tear gas today to disperse around 150 protesters supporting a subway workers’ strike that has unleashed transport chaos in the Brazilian mega-city three days before it hosts the World Cup kick-off.

The protesters set fire to piles of garbage to block a central street in the Brazilian business hub, prompting police to fire stun grenades and then tear gas to disperse them. The demonstrators were backing a five-day-old strike by subway workers that has posed a major headache for the sprawling city of 20 million people ahead of Thursday’s opening match. — AFP