Abbas gets clear run

New PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas has emerged as the clear contender to replace Yasser Arafat a day after jailed West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said he would not be taking part in the presidential runoff in six weeks.

Barghouti's announcement headed off a potentially destructive rift in the dominant Fatah movement, leaving Abbas as the top candidate to take the place of Arafat, who died just over two weeks ago.