Philippines mourns

The government shipped more than 400 coffins to two flood-stricken cities in the southern Philippines today as the death toll neared 1,000 and President Benigno Aquino declared a state of national calamity. The latest count listed 957 dead and 49 missing and is expected to climb further as additional bodies are recovered from the sea and mud in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities.