President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania has denied any government involvement in the alleged kidnap and torture of the leader of the country's medical association, who was organizing a nation-wide strike. Dr Steven Ulimboka says he was abducted by gunmen last Tuesday, taken to the outskirts of the capital Dar es Salaam and beaten.

The man who looks almost certain to lead Mexico for the next five years says he's going to prioritize energy, labor and tax reforms if he's confirmed as president. Enrique Pena Nieto is about six points ahead of his nearest rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, with almost all votes in Sunday's presidential election counted. Will Grant reports from Mexico City.

Six years ago, there was no

clear-cut

winner in the presidential race, and the runner-up, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was refusing to recognize the result until every last vote had been counted. This time around, however, the difference between Mr Lopez Obrador and the leading candidate Enrique Pena Nieto is much bigger – a full 7% on the initial results. The trend has been described as irreversible by the country's electoral body, and the

incumbent

President Felipe Calderon called Mr Pena Nieto the president-elect.

A proposal to declare the South Atlantic

sanctuary

for whales has been defeated at the International Whaling Commission despite backing from most countries of the meeting, the Latin American plan failed to get the 2/3 majority required. Environmental groups expressed disappointment at the outcome, but a BBC correspondent says some suggested in private the idea had been merely symbolic as there's no whaling taking place in the region.