World’s heaviest man set to marry

The world’s heaviest man says he is to marry his girlfriend later this month after losing nearly half his original body weight.

Mexican Manuel Uribe said he and Claudia Solis would wed in his home town of Monterrey on 26 October.

The 43-year-old entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2006 after tipping the scales at 560kg (88 stones).

Manuel, who has lost around 250kg (39 stones), said he would be steering clear of the wedding cake.

He would have just one bite for the cameras, but no more, he was quoted as saying.

“It will be a hefty wedding, on a large scale, but with a low-calorie banquet,” he told the AFP news agency.

Proud fiance

Manuel Uribe has attributed his weight loss to the love and encouragement he has received from Claudia, whom he has known for four years. The couple have been engaged for two years.

He is currently only able to leave his house by being towed through the streets on his specially-made bed – and dreams of being able to walk again.

Manuel has been following something called the Zone Diet – eating carbohydrates, proteins and fats in a ratio of 40:30:30, supervised by a team of scientists and nutritionists.

However, some experts warn that not enough is known about the long-term effects of diets high in proteins.

Claudia is nevertheless proud of the progress her husband-to-be has made.

“Sometimes he is sad and cries because he cannot get off his bed,” she told the BBC in July.

“But he is an example for other obese people to move forward. As he says: ‘If I can, you can’.”

Mexico kidnap suspects detained

Fernando Marti’s father, Alejandro (right), had reportedly paid a ransom

Mexican police say they have detained five people suspected of involvement in the kidnap and killing of a teenager whose murder sparked national protests.

Prosecutors in Mexico City said those arrested included a former policeman.

The death of Fernando Marti, 14, whose decomposing body was found in the boot of a car in August, led to calls for tougher punishment for serious crimes.

In response, Mexican President Felipe Calderon drew up an emergency program to tackle violent crime.

At least 2,700 people have been killed and 300 kidnapped so far this year, mostly in drugs-related violence.

Ransom

Mexico City prosecutor Miguel Marcera said Fernando Marti’s alleged kidnappers disguised themselves as police officers and set up a bogus checkpoint on a busy street in the capital to capture their victim.

Last month his decomposing body was found in the boot of a car, even though his father, a wealthy businessman, had reportedly paid a ransom.

Investigators believe Fernando may have been killed because the kidnappers were not satisfied with the money they received.

What is certain is that in a country with abduction and murder rates among the highest in the world, his treatment sparked off a mass protest movement by Mexicans demanding tougher punishment for serious crimes.

After more than 100,000 people held a march in Mexico City calling for an end to such brutal acts, the government was pressured to draw up an programme to tackle violent crime, including a purge of corrupt police officers, and the building of prisons for kidnappers.

Mexicans have grown weary of politicians’ promises to do something about the violence, but they hope that for the sake of children like Fernando, the government’s pledge to redouble its efforts may start to bear results.

Hurricane forms off Mexican coast

A tropical storm which formed off the west coast of Mexico has gained strength and become a hurricane.

Hurricane Hernan was detected 1,390km (865 miles) off the coast and was expected was keep moving out to sea.

It is the fifth named hurricane of this year’s Pacific hurricane season, which runs from August to October.

Meteorologists warned on Thursday that an above-average number of storms and hurricanes were expected to hit the Pacific in 2008.

American’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Hurricane Hernan had reached maximum sustained wind speeds of nearly 75mph (120km/h).

HOW HURRICANES FORM Sea surface temperatures above 26.5C (79.7F) A pre-existing weather disturbance Moisture in the atmosphere Favourable conditions, such as light winds or weak wind shear

On Friday, hurricane force winds extended up to 35km (25 miles) from the storm’s centre.

NHC forecasters predict that the hurricane may strengthen slightly over the next two days before weakening as it moves over cooler waters.

On Thursday, America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the 2008 Pacific storm season is likely to be more active that previously predicted, with up to ten hurricanes expected.

---

Are you in the affected area? Telll us about your experience

Honduran killer executed in Texas

Chi was the 411th Texas inmate to die by lethal injection

A Honduran man, who killed his former employer during a robbery  in 2001, has been executed in the US after the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal.

Heliberto Chi, 29, died by lethal injection at a prison in Texas, watched by the two sons of his victim.

His lawyers said Chi was not permitted to contact the Honduran consulate following his arrest – thus violating an international treaty.

Chi was the second foreign national to be put to death this week in Texas.

Chi was in the United States illegally at the time of the 2001 murder.

He was convicted of the fatal shooting of his former boss, Armand Paliotta, at a clothing store in Arlington, Texas, where he had worked as a tailor.

On Wednesday, Mexican Jose Medellin was executed for the murder and rape of a teenager in 1993.

The International Court of Justice had urged Texas not to execute Medellin, as he had not been told of his right to consular help when he was arrested.

Mexican set for Texas execution

Jose Medellin, now 33, has been on death row since he was 18

A Mexican man whose case has drawn international legal attention is set to be executed in Texas for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl.

Barring a last-minute stay, Jose Medellin will face lethal injection at 1800 local time (2300 GMT).

The International Court of Justice had ruled that Medellin was entitled to a new hearing as he was not told of his right to contact a consular official.

Texas says its courts are not bound by the rulings of the ICJ.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on the US to abide by the ICJ ruling, AFP news agency reported.

“All decisions and orders of the International Court of Justice must be respected by states,” he is reported to have told a television station in Mexico City, where he is attending a world Aids conference.

“The United States should take every step to make sure the execution does not take place.”

Medellin’s case dates back to 1993 when two girls, Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, were raped and murdered by six gang members in Houston.

Set up in 1946, the ICJ is the highest United Nations court

Medellin, who was born in Mexico but moved to the US as a child, was convicted of Miss Pena’s murder.

At the time of his arrest, police did not tell him that he could request assistance from the Mexican consulate – in violation of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

In 2003, Mexico, which does not have the death penalty, filed a lawsuit at the ICJ on behalf of Medellin and 50 other Mexican nationals on death row in the US who had also not received consular support.

The court ruled in Mexico’s favour, and ordered that their cases be reviewed.

Texas acknowledged that Medellin had not been told he could ask for help from Mexican diplomats, but argued that he had forfeited the right because he never raised the issue at trial or sentencing.

State officials also argued that it would not have made any difference to the outcome of the case.

Earlier this year, President George W Bush ordered Texas to comply with the ICJ ruling, but the Supreme Court justices subsequently decided 6-3 that he had overstepped his authority.

Case is ‘clear’

Last month, in response to an urgent request from Mexico, the ICJ ordered the US to “take all measures necessary” to halt Medellin’s execution.

But Texas judicial authorities said in response that the law in Medellin’s case was “clear”.

“Texas is not bound by the World Court but by the US Supreme Court, which reviewed this matter and determined that the convicted murderer’s execution shall proceed,” a statement from the attorney general’s office said.

On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected a request by Medellin and his legal team for a reprieve.

Medellin’s legal team are still hoping the Supreme Court will grant a stay of execution that would give Congress time to enact new legislation compelling US states to abide by ICJ decisions.