Security will be tight in Germany when Pope Benedict XVI and an expected 1 million young Catholics celebrate World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne. Roughly 8,000 police officers and private security personnel are assigned to protect the six-day festival August 16-21, the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Friday. Cologne’s police chief Klaus Steffenhagen said despite “no concrete evidence of a threat,” security would be at a very high level for the festival. During the pope’s recreational boat trip on the Rhine, all Cologne bridges will be closed and air space over the city will become a no-fly zone, the newspaper said. The pope is expected to preside over a prayer vigil August 20, and hold the closing mass of the festival a day later. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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