Rome - Al-Qaeda has become the world's "first terrorist nuclear power without demonstrating possession of a single nuclear weapon," according to US expert Brian Jenkins.

A senior advisor at the US think-tank, the Rand Corporation, Jenkins was commenting Wednesday on remarks made this week by US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief, Michael Hayden, that al-Qaeda is "the CIA's top nuclear concern."

"The CIA director based his assessment on intentions rather than capabilities," Jenkins, author of a new book Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?, said in an interview with Rome-based news agency Adnkronos International (AKI).

Washington - The world's largest restaurant chain McDonalds is growing fat on lean times, reporting Wednesday an 11 per cent rise in third quarter profits compared to the same period last year.

Cheap one-dollar cheeseburgers and other dollar-menu items brought in more consumers who are stretched by higher food costs at grocery stores and other restaurants, according to the company's statement.

Earnings rose to 1.19 billion dollars, compared with 1.07 billion dollars a year ago, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said.

San Francisco - The so-called Google-phone went on sale for the first time in cities across the US Wednesday, offering the strongest competition yet to the dominance of Apple's iPhone.

German-owned carrier T-Mobile began offering the G1, made by Taiwan's High-Tech Computer (HTC), in cities where T-Mobile's 3G service is available, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle. The company made its first retail sale of the G1 Tuesday evening in San Francisco.

Along with 3G support, the G1 features a touch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, and GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Washington - An emergency summit of leaders from the world's 20 leading economies will be held on November 15 in the US capital to tackle the ongoing financial crisis threatening to plunge the world into recession, the White House announced Wednesday.

President George W Bush has been on the telephone inviting leaders from the Group of 20, a bloc that includes advanced and developing economies, to Washington to "review progress being made to address the current financial crisis," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Kabul - US-led coalition forces mistakenly bombed an Afghan national army position in Khost province early Wednesday and killed at least nine soldiers, while more than 40 militants and three police were killed elsewhere in the country, officials said.

The airstrike occurred in Sayedkhail district of the south-eastern province of Khost when a coalition convoy was returning from an operation, the US military said in a statement.

"Initial reports from troops on the ground indicate that this may be a case of mistaken identity on both sides," the statement said.