News in brief

By The Associated Press

Paetongtarn Shinawatra becomes Thai prime minister

BANGKOK | Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of the divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, became Thailand’s prime minister after receiving a royal letter of endorsement Sunday, two days after she was chosen by Parliament following a court order that removed her predecessor.

She replaces another leader from the same Pheu Thai Party, at the head of a coalition that includes military parties associated with the coup that deposed the party’s last government.

Paetongtarn thanked the king, the Thai people and lawmakers, saying she will perform her duties “with an open mind,” and will “make every square inch of Thailand a space that allows Thai people to dare to dream, dare to create and dare to dictate their own future.”

Cholera outbreak in Sudan has killed at least

22 people

CAIRO | Health officials say Sudan has been stricken by a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly two dozen people and sickened hundreds more in recent weeks.

The African nation has been roiled by a 16-month conflict and devastating floods.

Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement Sunday that at least 22 people have died from the disease, and that at least 354 confirmed cases of cholera have been detected across the county in recent weeks.

—From AP reports