Philippine President Says Russian Submarine 'Worrisome'

The Russian submarine, pictured on November 28 by the Philippine military. Handout / AFP
The Russian submarine, pictured on November 28 by the Philippine military. Handout / AFP
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Philippine President Says Russian Submarine 'Worrisome'

The Russian submarine, pictured on November 28 by the Philippine military. Handout / AFP
The Russian submarine, pictured on November 28 by the Philippine military. Handout / AFP

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Monday described as "very worrisome" the presence of a Russian attack submarine off the country's coast in the disputed South China Sea.
The UFA 490 submarine was spotted 148 kilometers (92 miles) west of Cape Calavite on Thursday, the Philippine military said.
"Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), of our baselines is very worrisome," Marcos told reporters.
The Philippines dispatched a plane and a warship to the submarine, where the crew said they were awaiting good weather before proceeding to Russia's Vladivostok, the Philippine Navy said in a Monday statement.
Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesman for the navy in the South China Sea, said the incident is "not alarming".
"But we were surprised because this is a very unique submarine," he told AFP.
The 74-metre (243-foot) long vessel is armed with a missile system that has a range of 12,000 kilometers, according to Russia's state-run TASS news agency.
The submarine was last seen in Philippine waters on Sunday, Trinidad said.
Russia's embassy in Manila and the Philippine foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AFP requests to comment on the matter.



Suicide Blast Near Kabul Government Offices Kills Attacker, One Other

An Afghan boy sells boiled eggs along a path near Qargha lake on the outskirts of Kabul on February 10, 2025. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
An Afghan boy sells boiled eggs along a path near Qargha lake on the outskirts of Kabul on February 10, 2025. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
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Suicide Blast Near Kabul Government Offices Kills Attacker, One Other

An Afghan boy sells boiled eggs along a path near Qargha lake on the outskirts of Kabul on February 10, 2025. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
An Afghan boy sells boiled eggs along a path near Qargha lake on the outskirts of Kabul on February 10, 2025. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

A suicide bomber killed one person and wounded three in an attack near government offices in Kabul on Thursday, an official spokesman said, the second explosion in Afghanistan this week.
The attacker was also killed.
Security guards had identified him and shot him as he approached the intended target, the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, detonating the explosives, Reuters quoted the Interior Ministry as saying.
No group has taken responsibility for the attack, which took place in a busy part of the capital housing administrative and government offices, and foreign embassies including the US Embassy. That site has been vacant since American and other foreign forces withdrew from the country in 2021.
The Taliban took over the country in 2021 and said it would restore security to the war-torn nation. But attacks have continued, many of them claimed by the local arm of the militant ISIS group.
This attack is the second this week after a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body outside a bank in northeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least five people.
Militants from the Afghan branches of ISIS have waged an insurgency against the Taliban since they returned to power.