Bratislava - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Slovakia Thursday for her first visit to the ex-communist country that went independent 15 years ago and became an economic success story.

The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, came off a trip to Slovenia, a smaller country to the south that once was part of Yugoslavia.

Amman - Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi announced Thursday that the government would guarantee all bank deposits in the country until the end of 2009.

"All bank deposits, without any ceiling, will be guaranteed by the government until the end of 2009," Dahabi told board chairmen and general managers of local commercial banks whom he met at the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ).

Dahabi and CBJ governor Umayyah Touqan assured the bank executives that the country's banking system was not experiencing any liquidity shortage or any credit crisis.

London - About half the dogs and a third of all cats in Britain are too fat, a veterinary charity warned Thursday.

Worse: most pet owners don't notice that their four-legged friends are packing too many pounds.

According to the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, only a fifth of cat owners are aware that their pet has a weight problem. That applied to only a third of dog owners.

Since so many dogs and cats are overweight, pet owners have unrealistic perceptions of the ideal weight and shape for their pet, said veterinarian Sean Wensley.