News In Brief

Police, troops fend off call for strike in Chile

Chilean President Augusto Pinochet deployed thousands of riot police and some Army units to keep antigovernment protesters from forcing a nationwide work stoppage Tuesday. A national strike called by leftist labor leaders and a Marxist political coalition failed to shut down Santiago's industrial belt. They are pressing for higher wages and democratic reforms.

On Monday, Mr. Pinochet banished 140 people to internal exile, threatened to impose a state of siege, and warned against any attempt to limit his chance of staying in power until 1997.