Pope guarded by 5,500 officers after death threat

Five thousand policemen and 500 bodyguards have been deployed in Slovakia to guard the Pope, after authorities received a warning the pontiff would be killed on the visit.

Police with bomb-sniffing dogs have been sweeping through churches and authorities have said they are investigating the warning.

Pope John Paul II has just embarked on the four-day tour, his third visit to the country.

Slovakia's president and prime minister and cheering well-wishers waving small Vatican flags greeted the pope as his plane touched down at Bratislava's airport.

Among the crowd were gay and lesbian activists protesting what they contend is a growing intrusion of the church in public and private life.

John Paul, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and crippling hip and knee ailments, has appeared short of breath and his voice has been weak during recent public appearances. He has remained seated in a throne-like chair wheeled by aides.

Organisers are expecting up to half a million to attend open-air papal Masses in the capital, Bratislava, the central city of Banska Bystrica and the eastern city of Roznava.