The ruling Fatah party chose Mahmoud Abbas as its candidate to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority in Jan. 9 elections, a Palestinian official said. Abbas, 69, Arafat’s longtime deputy as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, has already been named head of the PLO. If elected president of the Palestinian Authority, he would inherit two of Arafat’s main titles. Arafat died Nov. 11.Full Story