In brief: Car bomb at Syria mosque kills 14, injures 50

BEIRUT – A powerful car bomb exploded Friday outside a mosque in a pro-government district of central Syria, killing 14 people in the latest violence to hit the war-shattered city, state-run Syrian television reported.

The bombing occurred as worshippers left the Bilal al-Habshi mosque on the edge of Akrama after attending Friday prayers, the report said, and also wounded at least 50 people.

The area, populated mainly by Alawites, members of President Bashar Assad’s minority sect, repeatedly has been targeted by car bombs.

Opposition activists also reported the blast. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion killed at least nine people, adding that the number likely would rise.

Good Friday celebrants missing after capsizing

KUPANG, Indonesia – A boat loaded with people in a Good Friday procession capsized in high waves off eastern Indonesia, leaving dozens of people missing and at least seven dead, police said.

Rescuers and fishermen saved 30 injured people who were rushed to a hospital, local police spokesman Lt. Col. Okto Riwu said. The fishing boat was designed to hold only 30 people but had more than 70 aboard.

It was participating in a Good Friday ceremony that involves parading a Virgin Mary statue at sea before the passengers headed into Larantuka town in East Nusa Tenggara province for prayers and processions.

The rescuers were continuing to look for more survivors. The seven dead bodies pulled from the water included three children and a nun.