Morning Briefing

The WHO "published a report Wednesday showing the prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular illness around the world, along with countries' abilities to cope with the growing number of people affected by them," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (9/13). In the report, "the WHO said 36 million people died of chronic diseases in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available," VOA News writes, adding, "More than a quarter of those people were less than 60 years old" (9/13). The report's release coincides with the first U.N. summit on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which is scheduled to take place in New York September 19-20, the AP notes (9/13).