MEXICO CITY, July 12 (Reuters) – First they handed him a record fine. Then they denied him a television licence. Now Mexican regulators are investigating whether business tycoon Carlos Slim has already snuck into the TV market by the back door.

Three years since Slim’s phone giant Telmex (TELMEXL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (TMX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and satellite TV firm Dish Mexico formed a powerful alliance to offer a cut-rate television service, regulators are giving the deal a second look.

Telmex rivals have complained loudly for years that the partnership is improper and runs against rules that bar Slim’s company from putting a foot into the TV market.

Now a Reuters investigation has discovered that the Mexican competition regulator is questioning whether the world’s richest man’s joint enterprise with Dish Mexico is legitimate.

Early on Tuesday, the agency said it was probing monopolistic practices among telecoms companies that bundle TV and phone services. It did not name any firm. [ID:nN1E76B08L] But Reuters has learned that Slim’s company is being looked at.

Mexico’s dominant TV broadcaster, Televisa (TLVACPO.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(TV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and its telephone and cable TV allies filed a 115-page complaint with the Federal Competition Commission

(Cofeco) over Telmex’s involvement with Dish Mexico earlier this year.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Large parts of central Mexico face torrential rains once Arlene, the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, makes landfall early on Thursday.

Mexican emergency services recommended communities in the storm’s direct path evacuate and state oil monopoly Pemex was on alert for possible impact to refineries and other facilities in the storm’s path.

However, the storm, which is likely to strengthen toward hurricane strength overnight, will probably not hit major offshore oil fields directly, according to forecasts from the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Mexican authorities said the storm was expected to be 435 miles wide and drench parts of central Mexico with up to 60 inches of rain by Saturday, affecting areas as far away as the Pacific coast.

Arlene, moving west, had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and was located about 90 miles east of the fishing town of Tuxpan in Veracruz state on Wednesday evening, the NHC said, adding that it could turn into a hurricane before landfall.

Landfall is expected near Tuxpan early on Thursday and local emergency services said about 200,000 people were exposed to the storm’s worst impact.

“Everyone in an area which is at risk is urged to seek safe ground,” Laura Gurza, a rescue official with the Interior Ministry, told a news conference.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Arlene, the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is likely to approach hurricane strength by the time it makes landfall along Mexico’s northeastern coast early on Thursday.

The storm is heading toward oil refineries near the Atlantic coast and in central Mexico but will probably spare major offshore oil fields from a direct hit, according to the forecast from U.S. National Hurricane Center.

“The official intensity forecast … now shows Arlene approaching hurricane strength at landfall,” the Miami-based center said in a statement.

Arlene, moving west, had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was located about 155 miles east of Tampico in Tamaulipas state on Wednesday morning.

A hurricane watch is in place along Mexico’s Gulf Coast from the fishing town of Tuxpan northward to La Cruz.

The center’s model showed the storm making landfall south of Tampico, where the state oil monopoly Pemex has its 190,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Madero refinery.

Bigger inland refineries in Salamanca, producing 245,000 bpd, and Tula, with 315,000 bpd capacity, are also in the storm’s forecast path.