NEWS OF THE DAY

Ecuador earthquake: A magnitude 6.0 temblor struck along the coast of Ecuador on Sunday in the same area where a much stronger quake left hundreds dead last year. President Lenin Moreno said there were no reports of fatalities or major damage from the quake, which jolted many Ecuadoreans who were still in bed shortly after 6 a.m. It was felt in 12 provinces across the country. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, with a depth of 15.5 miles, was centered around the town of San Vicente. Last year’s magnitude 7.8 quake along the Pacific coast killed more than 600 people and injured thousands.

Capsized boat: At least 13 people died and two were missing Sunday after a South Korean fishing boat collided with a refueling vessel and capsized, the coast guard said. Seven people were rescued and the two missing included the boat’s captain. The 9.8-ton fishing boat capsized after colliding with the 336-ton refueling vessel in waters off the port city of Incheon. The refueling vessel did not suffer damage.

Afghanistan attack: A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle struck Sunday outside a soccer stadium in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least six people and wounding 13, an official said. Among those killed in the attack in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, were a woman and a child, according to Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor. Khogyani said the attack took place shortly after a pro-government rally ended at the soccer stadium. The rally had been packed with supporters of President Ashraf Ghani. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but a local affiliate of the Islamic State group is seeking to expand its footprint in Afghanistan.

Bomb scare: German authorities said Sunday that a suspicious package containing nails that led to a bomb scare at a Christmas market in Potsdam was part of a blackmail plot against a delivery company. Brandenburg state Interior Minister Karl-Heinz Schroeter said the package was part of a scheme to extort millions of euros from delivery company DHL. It was delivered Friday to a pharmacy on the same street as the market in Potsdam and later destroyed in a controlled explosion. Officials said the package’s sender was still at large and that an online company in Frankfurt an der Oder had received a similar package last month.

Human trafficking: A government spokesman says France doesn’t plan a military intervention in Libya but supports the creation of an African force to help fight against human traffickers. Benjamin Grivaux said Sunday on CNews television that “an intra-African force must be able to intervene,” after recent footage of a migrant slave auction in Libya drew global horror and condemnation. He said France and other European countries can help with intelligence and logistics. Grivaux said the details will be discussed at a meeting between African and European leaders in Paris on Dec. 13.

Iran port: President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated on Sunday a newly built extension to the country’s main Arabian Sea outlet, the strategic Chabahar Port on the Gulf of Oman, which more than triples its capacity and poses a challenge for a port under construction in neighboring Pakistan. The $340 million project was constructed by a Revolutionary Guardaffiliated company, Khatam al-Anbia, the largest Iranian contractor of government construction projects. It brings the capacity of the port to 8.5 million tons of cargo annually, from the previous 2.5 million tons.

Chronicle News Services