WEST BANK: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice-president on Saturday, in a major step by the ageing leader to designate a successor.

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as deputy head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation does not guarantee that he will be the next Palestinian president, but it makes him the frontrunner among long-serving politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Mr Abbas.