Syrian leader Ahmed Sharaa said on Sunday the country was confronting attempts to drag it into a civil war, as violent clashes continue.In a video speech, Sharaa said "remnants of the former regime" had no choice but to surrender immediately.

Syria's leader vowed on Sunday to hunt down the perpetrators of violent clashes pitting loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad against the country's new Islamist rulers and said he would hold to account anyone who overstepped their authority.The clashes, which a war monitoring group said had already killed over 1,000 people, mostly civilians, continued for a fourth day in Assad's coastal heartland.In a speech broadcast on national television and posted on social media, Ahmed Sharaa, whose rebel movement toppled Assad in December, accused Assad loyalists and foreign powers that he did not name of trying to foment unrest.

A small plane with five people aboard crashed on Sunday into the parking lot of a retirement community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, authorities said.There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries.Images shown on local TV stations showed the plane in flames atop parked vehicles with at least three cars on fire.

Former central banker Mark Carney won the race to become leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party and will succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister, official results showed on Sunday.