With less than a month to go before the World Cup, thousands of cops in 14 Brazilian states are holding a one-day strike over pay.  Authorities were quick to play down any risk of major disruption, but it’s raising more worries about Brazil’s readiness to host the tournament.

The strike affects several World Cup host cities, including Sao Paulo were the tournament is to begin on 12 June, and Rio de Janeiro where it is scheduled to end on 13 July.  Civil police in those cities are demanding pay hikes of up to 80 percent.  Military and federal police are holding off any job actions until after the World Cup.

Meanwhile, British tourists are being warned to look out for a potential threat at the World Cup, though not Brazilian in origin:  Potentially violent Argentinean gangs.  Resentment over the Falklands War has been growing in Argentina.  And UK police say they’ve been warned by their Brazilian counterparts about an unknown number of Argentinean troublemakers who’ll cross the border and seek out England supporters

“I still think that could generate some issues for us,” said Britain’s police lead on football, deputy chief constable Andy Holt.  “Certainly it was a concern raised to us by the Brazilian authorities when we were out there that, given the shared history we thought that would not be a confrontation we would welcome and we will do all we can to avoid it.”