PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Friday the death of American student Otto Warmbier days after his release was a "mystery," as his health indicators and examination results were all normal when he left DPRK. A spokesman the country's foreign ministry said the DPRK gave Warmbier all available medical treatment and care on a humanitarian basis until his return to the United States, and that Warmbier was not mistreated or tortured during his 18-month detention in DPRK. "Although we had no reason at all to show mercy to such a criminal of the enemy state, we provided him with medical treatment and care with all sincerity on a humanitarian basis until his return to the US," the Korean Central News Agency quoted the spokesman as saying. Warmbier, 22, was released on June 13 and died on June 19 after arriving home in a coma, according to earlier foreign media reports. He was sentenced by DPRK court to 15 years of hard labor in March last year for anti-DPRK activities at the order of an American religious group and the Central Intelligence Agency during stay in Pyongyang. Warmbier claimed to be a tourist. "As for groundless public opinion now circulating in the US that he died of torture and beating during his reform through labor, the American doctors who came to the DPRK for repatriation of Warmbier will have something to say about it," said the DPRK spokesman. The US doctors "examined Warmbier and exchanged medical observations about him with" DPRK doctors, and "recognized that his health indicators like his pulse, temperature, respiration and the examination results of the heart and lung were all normal," said the spokesman. "We provided him with medical treatment and brought him back to life when his heart nearly stopped" beating, the spokesman added. wellies and wristbandsprintable wristbandssilicone keychaincustom made rubber braceletsrubber bracelet makercustom sweatbands no minimum
MANILA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has no plans of lifting martial law in Mindanao in the southern Philippines despite the "liberation" of Marawi City from the clutches of pro-Islamic State (IS) extremists, a government statement has said. Duterte said on Thursday night that the martial law will stay until all terrorist groups in the southern region are neutralized. "When the time came, I declared martial law. Everybody is asking when will it stop? It will not stop until the last terrorist is taken out," Duterte said at a business conference event. Duterte said martial law is needed to guarantee the safety of Filipinos in Mindanao. "He echoed the military and the police's warning that terrorists may continue to retaliate even as the top leaders of the Maute terrorists had been neutralized," Duterte's office said in a statement. The statement further read, "As such the president stressed that martial law would continue to prevail in the region." Duterte imposed martial law on the entire Mindanao region when the Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants took over Marawi on May 23. The conflict dragged on for nearly five months and has so far killed more than 1,000 people, including 163 government forces, and wounded more than 1,700 others. On Tuesday, Duterte declared to have liberated the ruined city from the IS-linked militants. But firefight continued as troops flush out the remaining 30 rebels and try to rescue the remaining hostages.
