Malaysia's ruling National Front coalition retained its 56-year hold on power by winning a simple majority of 112 seats in the 222-seat national parliament in polls May 5, the country's Election Commission said, AFP reported.

The airspace in northern Israel has been closed until May 9 due to an Israel Defense Forces directive issued May 5, Israel News reported.

Libya's General National Congress passed the Isolation Law on May 5, barring anyone who held a senior position under ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi from working in the new administration, Reuters reported.

Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a member of former President Bill Clinton's Cabinet, said U.S. President Barack Obama is leaning toward aerial strikes in Syria rather than a ground invasion, Israel News reported May 5, citing Richardson's interview on U.S. television network ABC.

According to Lebanon's Hezbollah-affiliated Almayadeen television channel, senior Syrian officials have said the Syrian military has deployed missile batteries aimed at Israel, Israel News reported May 5.

An explosion at the opening of a new Catholic church in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha killed at least one person and wounded 57 more, police said, Reuters reported May 5.

Egypt has condemned Israeli strikes in Syria, saying that the strikes violate international law and will only further complicate matters, The Daily Star reported May 5.

Iranian Gen. Masoud Jazayeri has said Iran will not allow Israel to harm the security of the region, and that a response will be made to the Israeli aggression in Syria, Ynet news reported May 5, citing Jazayeri's statement on Iranian television station Alalam.

A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Qatari officials in Mogadishu on May 5, killing 8 Somalis, officials said, Reuters reported.

Clashes in Dhaka between Bangladeshi police and Islamist protesters under the banner of Hefazat-e-Islam left at least one person dead and dozens injured May 5, Xinhua reported.