MALAYSIA WILL HOST AN EMERGENCY MEETING OF ISLAMIC NATIONS ON THURSDAY TO DISCUSS THE WAR IN LEBANON, THE JEDDAH-BASED ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE (OIC) SAID ON SUNDAY. OIC CHIEF EKMELEDDIN IHSANOGLU SAID THE MEETING OF THE SEVEN-MEMBER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WOULD BE HELD IN KUALA LUMPUR AT THE LEVEL OF HEADS OF STATE AND THAT OTHER MEMBER COUNTRIES WOULD PARTICIPATE. THE COMMITTEE GROUPS SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR, SENEGAL, YEMEN, TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN AND MALAYSIA. IHSANOGLU, IN A STATEMENT SAID THE MEETING HAD BEEN CALLED "IN VIEW OF THE UNRELENTING ISRAELI ASSAULT ON GAZA AND LEBANON AND THE DANGEROUS ESCALATION OF TENSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST". HE ALSO URGED THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL TO ACT FOR AN IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND LEBANON'S HIZBOLLAH GROUP. THE OIC, THE WORLD'S LARGEST ISLAMIC BODY, GROUPS 57 COUNTRIES.
