Latest news with #Mero
Euractiv
31-07-2025
- Automotive
- Euractiv
Tainted oil from Azerbaijan reaches Czechia
PRAGUE – Contaminated oil with excessive levels of organic chlorides from Azerbaijan has reached Czechia via the TAL pipeline, but authorities say refinery operations or fuel supply remain unaffected. The contamination was confirmed by oil processor Orlen Unipetrol, pipeline operator Mero, and the Administration of State Material Reserves, all of whom stressed there is no risk to refinery operations, infrastructure, or fuel supplies. Mero spokesperson Barbora Putzová told the Czech News Agency that 'oil poses no risk' to its tanks or pipelines. Orlen Unipetrol, together with Mero, plans to store nearly 60,000 cubic metres of the contaminated oil to gradually blend it with other deliveries in carefully measured proportions for safe processing, said company spokesperson Pavel Kaidl. Czechia faced a similar incident in 2019, when it halted Russian oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline for two months due to contamination that required extensive pipeline cleaning. This time, however, the infrastructure is unaffected, and no disruption is expected. Similar contamination has also been reported by Austria's OMV and Italy's Eni. OMV, for its part, said the contamination was caught early and had no impact on operations. Organic chlorides, used in oil production to clean wells and increase crude flow, must be removed before entering pipelines due to the risk of corrosion and equipment damage. The source of the current contamination remains under investigation.
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Former WWE Star Has No Hard Feelings for Ex-wife Over Extramarital Affair With Brock Lesnar
Image via Instagram Brock Lesnar is undoubtedly the most accomplished combat sports athlete of all time. His achievements include the 2000 NCAA D1 Wrestling title, WWE Championship on 10 different occasions, and being a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Moreover, his personal life is also flourishing as he has been married to former WWE star Sable since 2006. However, their relationship started on a rather unceremonious note. For the unversed, Sable cheated on her ex-husband and WWE star, Marc Mero, in 2003 before getting with Lesnar. The former Intercontinental title holder was married to Sable for 10 years between 1994 and 2004 and even worked together on television. And the 64-year-old recently opened up about his ex-wife's betrayal and the situation leading to it. Marc Mero Forgives Sable Despite Suffering Betrayal at the Hands of His Ex-Wife Mero has recently written a new book titled 'Badd to Good'. In an interview on Wrestling Life with Ben Veal, the former WWE star revealed that he has no anger in his heart for Sable and that he has forgiven the former Women's Champion. 'Forgiveness is so important in life because, like I said, if you don't forgive someone, it's a cancer that eventually destroys you. People ask me all the time, 'How do you know when you've forgiven someone?' and for me it was easy. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Upto 15% Discount for Salaried Individuals ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo It was like when someone mentioned her name, I didn't get angry anymore, and I wish her absolutely the best. I mean, we share a daughter together." Marc Mero Speaks Out on Sable and Brock Lesnar The former WWE star reflected on his time with his ex-star and added, 'There's so many great memories that we shared together, but also there was a lot of heartache, and writing about that brings back those memories and those feelings of hurt and pain and things that you went through, but I just use it as fuel to help other people go through things that they may be going through in their life. But, like I said, no animosity, no bitterness, no resentment, and especially total forgiveness. " For the unversed, Sable and Mero both left the WWE after backstage issues with Vince McMahon at the end of 1999. However, the former Women's Champion returned to the promotion in 2003, and during this stint, she got into an affair with Lesnar, who was new to the company and was reigning as the WWE Champion on the SmackDown brand. This is when Mero discovered Sable's affair with 'The Beast Incarnate' through her voicemail. This led to their divorce in 2004, and two years later, Sable and Lesnar got married. Since retiring from wrestling in 2006, Mero has become a motivational speaker and is also the founder of the Champion of Choices non-profit organization. Also read: Brock Lesnar ditches long hair style to bring back old look in new photo For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Malay Mail
27-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
How Czechs quit Russian oil without getting a black eye
NELAHOZEVES, June 28 — Holding a black belt in karate, Jaroslav Pantucek, the man in charge of Czech oil pipelines, is not afraid of tough battles. Like the ones he had to fight to wean the central European country off Russian oil in March, after more than 60 years of reliance and under EU pressure following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 'I have completed my mission,' Pantucek, the chief executive and board chairman of the state-run Mero firm, told AFP in an interview. Until March, the EU and Nato member of 10.9 million people relied largely on the Druzhba pipeline taking Russian oil to Europe via Ukraine. When the EU moved to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Druzhba was exempted because the Czechs had few other options — though they had been working on alternatives for decades. Across the EU, Russian oil imports have shrunk from 27 per cent at the beginning of 2022 to three per cent now, European Commission data showed. 'Blackmail potential' Former Czechoslovakia — comprising today's Czech Republic and Slovakia — got connected to Druzhba in the 1960s when it was part of the Soviet bloc. But faltering supplies following the fall of the communist government in 1989 and the split of the country four years later led Prague to rethink the source. 'The first government after the (1989) revolution was already aware of the blackmail potential of Russian oil,' said Pantucek, who is 65. He joined Mero in 1997, a year after the launch of the IKL pipeline, an alternative route bringing in oil via Germany. 'I came to the job interview with a very decent black eye' from karate, chuckled Pantucek. He was already the chief executive when Druzhba suddenly curbed supplies to the Czech Republic in 2008. 'Moscow insists it was a coincidence,' Pantucek said, but he drew a link between the move and US plans to build a radar south of Prague, a thorn in Moscow's side that never materialised. The drop in supplies led Mero to consider joining a consortium running the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL) connecting the Italian port of Trieste with the IKL pipeline. 'We bought a 5-per cent stake after three years of tough talks in December 2012. It was a great success,' said Pantucek. But Prague wanted more and started planning a capacity boost that would make it even less dependent on Druzhba. Pantucek was dismissed from Mero in 2015, but he returned shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, resuming work on the TAL expansion at once. 'I felt there was no time to waste, that the moment when oil stops flowing may be near,' he said. 'Historic moment' The Czechs needed the 60-year-old TAL pipeline to run at maximum capacity for the first time ever to ensure they got the annual eight million tonnes they need. They had to persuade partners in the consortium to change the capacity-sharing rules, unchanged for decades, and adjust the regime for tankers bringing oil to Trieste. 'That was a massive mental clash,' Pantucek said. Mero offered cutting-edge pumps that reduced power consumption and maintenance costs, and got a go-ahead to draft a contract — a process that took seven months as the consortium members kept tweaking it. Czech refineries meanwhile had to adapt to non-Russian oil mixtures with lower sulphur content, currently comprising oil from Azerbaijan, the North Sea, Saudi Arabia or Iraq. The expansion swallowed 42 million euros-worth of Mero's money. 'We were pushing to have everything ready by the end of 2024,' Pantucek added. 'Druzhba never worked 24/7, in fact it was off pretty often. But I had a gut feeling that it may stop completely. And somebody up there helped us I guess.' On March 3 this year, Pantucek had a call from TAL confirming operation readiness after thorough tests. 'On March 4, I came to work and my colleagues told me Druzhba was off. And I said, look, this is a historic moment.' Pantucek is leaving his future at Mero open as he has reached retirement age and the political situation may change after October's general election. 'I can take it easy now,' he said. 'I've done my job.' — AFP
Auto Blog
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
Corvette ZR1 Could Smash AMG ONE Nürburgring Record, Claims Engineer
ZR1 Backed To Beat Nürburgring Record The Nürburgring's Nordschleife is still the golden standard by which performance cars are often judged. Setting a time below 7 minutes is a feat reserved only for the most focused of performance cars, and according to ex-Corvette engineer Jim Mero, the new ZR1 could blast well past that barrier. In fact, he believes the 1,064-horsepower C8 can beat the lap time set by the Mercedes-AMG One, a record for production cars that was reset on September 23, 2024, with the watch stopping at 6:29.09. According to Mero, using some very sketchy car enthusiast math, the ZR1 could probably do a 6:23 lap. Not-Very-Scientific Sums, But The ZR1 Might Surprise Speaking on the HorsePower Obsessed podcast, Mero suggested that, if the gaps between C8 Corvettes are roughly similar to the gaps between C7 Grand Sport, Z06, and ZR1 variants, which he helped develop, then that scale should mean that the C8 Z06's time of 7:10.52 (set by Auto Motor und Sport's Christian Gebhardt, it must be noted) would translate to a ZR1 lap time of 6:23. 'If I put the C8 Z06 at seven minutes and use a scale factor, I get a 6:23,' he said on the show. He added that he's probably going to 'get into a lot of trouble for that, but it's speculation with some background.' Interestingly, he believes that the AWD, hybridized ZR1X might not set a faster time around the track, citing concerns over how long the electric motor's 186 horsepower would be available during the lap, as well as the question of how any extra weight may impact handling when the battery is depleted. Again, this is pure speculation from somebody who has no hands-on access to the car, and underestimating what the Corvette team has achieved there may be to one's chagrin. We'll Know The ZR1's Nürburgring Time Soon Enough According to CorvetteBlogger, the team behind the ZR1 is preparing to set a lap time very soon, but until it's close to achieving its goals, we doubt we'll hear anything about their own official estimates and expectations. The publication says that the Corvette team has booked a session at the track for some time this month, and if that's true, we can expect YouTubers and trackside photographers to have news for us before the official word is out, just as was the case with the Mustang GTD's sessions at the Nordschleife. Ford's 850-hp GTD set a time of 6:52.072, and you can be absolutely positive that the Corvette team will be aiming to smash that by a long distance with its 1,064 ponies and mid-engine layout, among other tricks. As Ford and Multimatic engineers can attest, the toughest foe to overcome at the Green Hell is typically the weather. Thus, any theoretical lap times may still be impossible to achieve without perfect timing, maximum commitment, and a dash of luck. Hopefully, we'll know the truth within a week, but if the ZR1 does beat (or even come close to) the time set by the $3 million AMG One, it won't matter when we find out – it'll still mean something epic for American performance. About the Author Sebastian Cenizo View Profile
Miami Herald
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Corvette ZR1 Could Smash AMG ONE Nürburgring Record, Claims Engineer
The Nürburgring's Nordschleife is still the golden standard by which performance cars are often judged. Setting a time below 7 minutes is a feat reserved only for the most focused of performance cars, and according to ex-Corvette engineer Jim Mero, the new ZR1 could blast well past that barrier. In fact, he believes the 1,064-horsepower C8 can beat the lap time set by the Mercedes-AMG One, a record for production cars that was reset on September 23, 2024, with the watch stopping at 6:29.09. According to Mero, using some very sketchy car enthusiast math, the ZR1 could probably do a 6:23 lap. Speaking on the HorsePower Obsessed podcast, Mero suggested that, if the gaps between C8 Corvettes are roughly similar to the gaps between C7 Grand Sport, Z06, and ZR1 variants, which he helped develop, then that scale should mean that the C8 Z06's time of 7:10.52 (set by Auto Motor und Sport's Christian Gebhardt, it must be noted) would translate to a ZR1 lap time of 6:23. "If I put the C8 Z06 at seven minutes and use a scale factor, I get a 6:23," he said on the show. He added that he's probably going to "get into a lot of trouble for that, but it's speculation with some background." Interestingly, he believes that the AWD, hybridized ZR1X might not set a faster time around the track, citing concerns over how long the electric motor's 186 horsepower would be available during the lap, as well as the question of how any extra weight may impact handling when the battery is depleted. Again, this is pure speculation from somebody who has no hands-on access to the car, and underestimating what the Corvette team has achieved there may be to one's chagrin. According to CorvetteBlogger, the team behind the ZR1 is preparing to set a lap time very soon, but until it's close to achieving its goals, we doubt we'll hear anything about their own official estimates and expectations. The publication says that the Corvette team has booked a session at the track for some time this month, and if that's true, we can expect YouTubers and trackside photographers to have news for us before the official word is out, just as was the case with the Mustang GTD's sessions at the Nordschleife. Ford's 850-hp GTD set a time of 6:52.072, and you can be absolutely positive that the Corvette team will be aiming to smash that by a long distance with its 1,064 ponies and mid-engine layout, among other tricks. As Ford and Multimatic engineers can attest, the toughest foe to overcome at the Green Hell is typically the weather. Thus, any theoretical lap times may still be impossible to achieve without perfect timing, maximum commitment, and a dash of luck. Hopefully, we'll know the truth within a week, but if the ZR1 does beat (or even come close to) the time set by the $3 million AMG One, it won't matter when we find out - it'll still mean something epic for American performance. Related: This $760,000 Mercedes 190E Restomod is Coming For Supercars at the Nurburgring Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
