title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: English writer and journalist Jeremy Clarkson was reprimanded for writing a column that stated "God didn't want people to live in Australia", where he suggested Anglo Australian residents to "come home" because Australia is "God's laboratory" and is a "place far, far away where he could house all his experiments that had gone wrong". He then concluded, "Plainly, God is embarrassed. Because he's decided to set fire to it...which means people must accept that Australia isn't meant for human habitation". Although Clarkson was attempting to be humorous with his comments, he was heavily criticised on social media for being insensitive and disrespectful to the victims.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: On 12 January 2020, the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison outlined a proposal to establish a royal commission into the bushfires. Requiring the approval of the state and territory governments, the Commonwealth Government drafted terms of reference. A number of organisations raised objections to the commission of inquiry, citing cost, length and the emotionally exhausting process; and that previous inquiries had failed to implement many of their recommendations. On 20 February 2020, Morrison released the letters patent confirming the establishment of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, chaired by Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin (Retd), a former Chief of the Australian Defence Force, and supported by the Hon Dr Annabelle Bennett and Professor Andrew Macintosh, a specialist in climate risk and impact management. The final report was published on 30 October 2020, and contained 80 recommendations across 21 topics.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: On 5 December 2019 David Littleproud, the Minister for natural disasters and emergency management, announced that the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy would conduct an inquiry into the ‘efficacy of past and current vegetation and land management policy, practice and legislation and their effect on the intensity and frequency of bushfires and subsequent risk to property, life and the environment’. The Royal Commission's report was presented to the Governor-General on 28 October 2020 and published on 30 October 2020. On 14 January 2020, the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, announced an independent investigation into the 2019–2020 bushfire season in Victoria. On 31 January 2020, the NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian announced an independent investigation to review the causes, preparation and response to the bushfires in New South Wales.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: The term "black summer" has become a common term for the 201920 bushfire season, for example, the Australian Red Cross uses this phrase as a blanket term for the fires. An episode of "Four Corners" titled "Black Summer" comprised an audio-visual media collation of material provided by people impacted by bushfires and was broadcast in early February 2020. The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, in an address to the Australian Parliament labelled the bushfire season as the "black summer" as he outlined a proposal to establish a royal commission into the bushfires:


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: Philanthropists, corporate organisations, celebrities, and sportspeople donated to various fundraising appeals for bushfire victims and firefighters; estimated to total 500 million as of 19 January 2020. Following a representative sample, a report issued by the Fundraising Institute of Australia estimated that 53 percent of all adult Australians donated to a bushfire appeal.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: Andrew Forrest and his wife, Nicola, donated A$70 million; and the Paul Ramsay Foundation donated A$30 million. In November, James Packer pledged 1 million to support the NSWRFS. As the impact of the bushfire season spread, the Crown Resorts Foundation and the Packer family Foundation pledged a further 4 million to volunteer fire services in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia – all states in which Crown has resorts. The Murdoch family donated A$5 million; the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, A$1.5 million; and donations of A$1 million each were received from the Pratt Foundation, John and Pauline Gandel, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar, and the Haines and the Perich families. Justin Hemmes donated A$500,000.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: Corporate organisations to make donations or pledges included the Seven Group and Kerry Stokes' private investment firm, ACE Capital Equity, a combined total of A$10 million; Tim Cook from Apple, an undisclosed amount; the NAB and News Corp Australia, A$5 million each; Coles Group, A$4 million (of which A$3 million was in gift cards); the Australian Football League, A$2.5 million; BHP, A$2 million; Westpac and Woolworths, A$1.5 million each; Facebook, A$1.25 million; and Amazon, the ANZ Bank, the Atlassian Foundation, the Commonwealth Bank, Orica, Qantas, and Rio Tinto, A$1 million each; and Canva and the San Diego Zoo, A$500,000 each.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: Leonardo DiCaprio donated 3 million (3.4 million) via Earth Alliance; Kylie Jenner, 1 million; Ellen DeGeneres, A$1.5 million; and donations of A$1 million were received from Sir Elton John and Chris Hemsworth and family. Pink donated US$500,000 (720,000), tweeting that she is "totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now." Metallica donated 750,000; and donations of 500,000 were received from Nicole Kidman and her husband, Keith Urban, Kylie and Dannii Minogue and their family, and Bette Midler. The Wiggles performed a concert on 17 and 18 January, and on 16 February at Stadium Australia in Sydney, the Fire Fight Australia concert featured local and international acts. The Down to Earth benefit concert raised over A$1 million and featured performances from Angus & Julia Stone, Tash Sultana, Gang Of Youths, and others.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: Tennis players, led by Nick Kyrgios, pledged to donate money for every ace served during the Australian summer of tennis. Many cricket players, such as international representatives Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short, Matthew Renshaw and Fawad Ahmed pledged to donate money for every wicket and/or six during the remainder of the Australian cricket season. Shane Warne and Jeff Thomson, retired Australian cricketers, donated their baggy green Test cricket caps and Thomson also donated a playing vest for online auction. Warne's cap was purchased by the Commonwealth Bank with a bid of A$1,007,500; and Russell Crowe's Rabbitohs cap was auctioned with a winning bid in excess of A$500,000. Footballer Mathew Ryan, goalkeeper for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Australia national team announced he'll donate $500 for every registered save by an English Premier League goalkeeper on the weekend of 11–12 January 2020. Australian stars who were playing in the 2019–20 NBA season collectively donated in excess of A$1 million; and Lewis Hamilton, a Formula One driver, donated 500,000.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: Comedian Celeste Barber launched a fundraising appeal with a target of raising 15,000, however it went on to raise over 50 million, making it the largest fundraiser ever held on Facebook. A telethon conducted with the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks raised more than 2 million.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: The German search engine Ecosia gave approximately to Reforest New. They have given all the profits from 23 January 2020 to the Reforest New project. The trees are being planted in Byron Bay.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: F1 Delta Time, a blockchain game developed and published by Animoca Brands, raised 51 ether (ETH) in its charity auction by selling the "Australia Edition 2020" non-fungible token, which is a digital race car that is officially licensed by Formula One. All of the proceeds were split evenly between the NSW Rural Fire Service Association, NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service, and Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: Multiple media outlets reported that the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission received 86 reports of bushfire-related scams. It came as increased requests for cash driven donations leveraging crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe, or as a result of false links posted on Twitter. It prompted some organisations to provide a list of approved and vetted charities online to reduce fraud.


title: 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

text: In January 2020 a parliamentary inquiry into the NSW government's council grants scandal was expanded to scrutinise allegations of pork barrelling after it was revealed only $2.5 million of the $177 million first round relief fund was allocated to NSW Labor held seats. Although the practice is not illegal in Australia it has been widely perceived as a form of sanctioned corrupt conduct.


title: Yamuna

text: The Yamuna (Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Lower Himalaya in Uttarakhand, it travels a total length of and has a drainage system of , 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin. It merges with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, which is a site of the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival held every 12 years.


title: Yamuna

text: Like the Ganges, the Yamuna is highly venerated in Hinduism and worshipped as the goddess Yamuna. In Hinduism she is the daughter of the sun god, Surya, and the sister of Yama, the god of death, and so is also known as Yami. According to popular legends, bathing in its sacred waters frees one from the torments of death.


title: Yamuna

text: It crosses several states: Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, passing by Uttarakhand and later Delhi, and meeting its tributaries on the way, including Tons, Chambal, its longest tributary which has its own large basin, followed by Sindh, the Betwa, and Ken. From Uttarakhand, the river flows into the state of Himachal Pradesh. After passing Paonta Sahib, Yamuna flows along the boundary of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and after exiting Haryana it continues to flow till it merges with the river Ganges at Sangam or Prayag in Allahbad (Uttar Pradesh). It helps create the highly fertile alluvial Ganges-Yamuna Doab region between itself and the Ganges in the Indo-Gangetic plain.


title: Yamuna

text: Nearly 57 million people depend on the Yamuna's waters, and the river accounts for more than 70 percent of Delhi's water supply. It has an annual flow of 97 billion cubic metres, and nearly 4 billion cubic metres are consumed every year (of which irrigation constitutes 96%). At the Hathni Kund Barrage, its waters are diverted into two large canals: the Western Yamuna Canal flowing towards Haryana and the Eastern Yamuna Canal towards Uttar Pradesh. Beyond that point the Yamuna is joined by the Somb, a seasonal rivulet from Haryana, and by the highly polluted Hindon River near Noida, by Najafgarh drain near Wazirabad and by various other drains, so that it continues only as a trickling sewage-bearing drain before joining the Chambal at Pachnada in the Etawah District of Uttar Pradesh.


title: Yamuna

text: The water quality in Upper Yamuna, as the long stretch of Yamuna is called from its origin at Yamunotri to Okhla barrage, is of "reasonably good quality" till Wazirabad barrage in Delhi. Below this, the discharge of wastewater in Delhi through 15 drains between Wazirabad barrage and Okhla barrage renders the river severely polluted. Wazirabad barrage to Okhla Barrage, stretch of Yamuna in Delhi, is less than 2% of Yamuna's total length but accounts for nearly 80% of the total pollution in the river, 22 out of 35 sewage treatment plants in Delhi do not meet the wastewater standards prescribed by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). There are four main causes of Yamuna's pollution in Delhi: poor quality of water released by the effluent treatment plants, household and municipal disposal sites, soil erosion resulting from deforestation occurring to make way for agriculture, and resulting chemical wash-off from fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and run-off from commercial activity and industrial sites. One official described the river as a "sewage drain" with biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) values ranging from 14 to 28 mg/L and high coliform content.


title: Yamuna

text: The present Sarsuti river which originates in the Shivalik hills in Himachal and Haryana border and merges with Ghaggar River near Pehowa is the palaeochannel of Yamuna. Yamuna changed its course to the east due to a shift in the slope of the earth's crust caused by plate tectonics.


title: Yamuna

text: The source of Yamuna lies in the Yamunotri Glacier at an elevation of , on the southwestern slopes of Banderpooch peaks, which lie in the Mussoorie range of the Lower Himalayas, north of Haridwar in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. Yamunotri temple, a shrine dedicated to the goddess Yamuna, is one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism, and part of the Chota Char Dham Yatra circuit. Also standing close to the temple, on its trek route that follows the right bank of the river, lies Markendeya Tirtha, where the sage Markandeya wrote the Markandeya Purana.


title: Yamuna

text: The river flows southwards for about , through the Lower Himalayas and the Shivalik Hills Range. Morainic deposits are found along the steep Upper Yamuna, highlighted with geomorphic features such as interlocking spurs, steep rock benches, gorges and stream terraces. Large terraces formed over a long period of time can be seen in the lower course of the river, such as those near Naugoan. An important part of its early catchment area, totalling , lies in Himachal Pradesh. The Tons, Yamuna's largest tributary, drains a large portion of the upper catchment area and holds more water than the main stream. It rises from the Hari-ki-dun valley and merges after Kalsi near Dehradun. The drainage system of the river stretches between Giri-Sutlej catchment in Himachal and Yamuna-Bhilangna catchment in Garhwal, also draining the ridge of Shimla. Kalanag () is the highest point of the Yamuna basin. Other tributaries in the region are the Giri, Rishi Ganga Kunta, Hanuman Ganga and Bata, which drain the upper catchment area of the Yamuna basin.


title: Yamuna

text: From the upper catchment area, the river descends onto the plains of Doon Valley, at Dak Pathar near Dehradun. Flowing through the Dakpathar Barrage, the water is diverted into a canal for power generation. Further downstream, the Assan River joins the Yamuna at the Asan Barrage, which hosts a bird sanctuary. After passing the Sikh pilgrimage town of Paonta Sahib, the Yamuna reaches Tajewala in Yamuna Nagar district (named after the river) of Haryana. A dam built here in 1873 is the origin of two important canals, the Western and Eastern Yamuna Canals, which irrigate the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) crosses Yamuna Nagar, Karnal, Panipat and Sonipat before reaching the Haiderpur treatment plant, which contributes to Delhi's municipal water supply. The Yamuna receives wastewater from Yamuna Nagar and Panipat cities; beyond this it is replenished by seasonal streams and groundwater accrual. During the dry season, the Yamuna remains dry in many stretches between the Tajewala dam and Delhi, where it enters near the Palla barrage after traversing .


title: Yamuna

text: The Yamuna defines the state borders between Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and between Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. When the Yamuna reaches the Indo-Gangetic plain, it runs almost parallel to the Ganges, the two rivers creating the Ganges-Yamuna Doab region. Spread across , one-third of the alluvial plain, the region is known for its agricultural output, particularly for the cultivation of basmati rice. The plain's agriculture supports one-third of India's population.


title: Yamuna

text: Subsequently, the Yamuna flows through the states of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh] before merging with the Ganges at a sacred spot known as Triveni Sangam in Allahabad. Pilgrims travel by boats to platforms erected in midstream to offer prayers. During the Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years, large congregations of people immerse themselves in the sacred waters of the confluence. The cities of Baghpat, Delhi, Noida, Mathura, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Kalpi, Hamirpur, and Allahabad lie on its banks. At Etawah, it meets it another important tributary, Chambal, followed by a host of tributaries further down, including, Sindh, the Betwa, and Ken.


title: Yamuna

text: The name "Yamuna" seems to be derived from the Sanskrit word "yama", meaning 'twin', and it may have been applied to the river because it runs parallel to the Ganges.


title: Yamuna

text: The earliest mention of Yamuna is found at many places in the Rig Veda (c. 1500–1000 BCE), which was composed during the Vedic period  BCE, and also in the later Atharvaveda, and the Brahmanas including Aitareya Brahmana and Shatapatha Brahmana. In the Rigveda, the story of the Yamuna describes her "excessive love" for her twin, Yama, who in turn asks her to find a suitable match for herself, which she does in Krishna.


title: Yamuna

text: Yamuna is mentioned as Iomanes (Ioames) in the surveys of Seleucus I Nicator, an officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi, who visited India in 305 BCE. Greek traveller and geographer Megasthenes visited India sometime before 288 BCE (the date of Chandragupta's death) and mentioned the river in his "Indica", where he described the region around it as the land of Surasena. In "Mahabharata", the Pandava capital of Indraprastha was situated on the banks of Yamuna, considered to be the site of modern Delhi.


title: Yamuna

text: Geological evidence indicates that in the distant past the Yamuna was a tributary of the Ghaggar River (identified by some as the Vedic Sarasvati River). It later changed its course eastward, becoming a tributary of the Ganges. While some have argued that this was due to a tectonic event, and may have led to the Sarasvati River drying up, the end of many Harappan civilisation settlements, and creation of the Thar desert, recent geological research suggests that the diversion of the Yamuna to the Ganges may have occurred during the Pleistocene, and thus could not be connected to the decline of the Harappan civilisation in the region.


title: Yamuna

text: Most of the great empires which ruled over a majority of India were based in the highly fertile Ganges–Yamuna basin, including the Magadha (), Maurya Empire (321–185 BCE), Shunga Empire (185–73 BCE), Kushan Empire (1st–3rd centuries CE), and Gupta Empire (280–550 CE), and many had their capitals here, in cities like Pataliputra or Mathura. These rivers were revered throughout these kingdoms that flourished on their banks; since the period of Chandragupta II ( 375–415 CE), statues both the Ganges and Yamuna became common throughout the Gupta Empire. Further to the South, images of the Ganges and Yamuna are found amidst shrines of the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas (753–982), and on their royal seals; prior to them, the Chola Empire also added the river into their architectural motifs. The Three River Goddess shrine, next to the Kailash rock-cut Temple at Ellora, shows the Ganges flanked by the Yamuna and Saraswati.


title: Yamuna

text: The stretch of the river from its origin at Yamunotri to Okhla barrage in Delhi is called "Upper Yamuna". A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed amongst the five basin states (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi) on 12 May 1994 for sharing of its waters. This led to the formation of Upper Yamuna River Board under India's Ministry of Water Resources, whose primary functions are: regulation of the available flows amongst the beneficiary states and monitoring the return flows; monitoring conservation and upgrading the quality of surface and groundwater; maintaining hydro-meteorological data for the basin; overviewing plans for watershed management; and monitoring and reviewing the progress of all projects up to and including Okhla barrage.


title: Yamuna

text: Flood forecasting systems are established at Poanta Sahib, where Tons, Pawar and Giri tributaries meet. The river take 60 hours to travel from Tajewala to Delhi, thus allowing a two-day advance flood warning period. The Central Water Commission started flood-forecasting services in 1958 with its first forecasting station on Yamuna at Delhi Railway Bridge.


title: Yamuna

text: Yamuna has the following six functional barrages (eight including old replaced barrages, nine including a new proposed barrage), from north-west to southeast:


title: Yamuna

text: Use of the Yamuna's waters for irrigation in the Indo-Gangetic Plains is enhanced by its many canals, some dating to the 14th century Tughlaq dynasty, which built the "Nahr-i-Bahisht" (Paradise) parallel to the river. The "Nahr-i-Bahisht" was restored and extended by the Mughals in the first half of the 17th century, by engineer Ali Mardan Khan, starting from Benawas where the river enters the plains and terminating near the Mughal capital of Shahjahanabad, the present city of Delhi.


title: Yamuna

text: As the Yamuna enters the Northern Plains near Dakpathar at an elevation of , the Eastern Yamuna Canal commences at the Dakpathar Barrage and pauses at the Asan and Hathnikund Barrages before continuing south.


title: Yamuna

text: The Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) was built in 1335 CE by Firuz Shah Tughlaq. Excessive silting caused it to stop flowing , when the British Raj undertook a three-year renovation in 1817 by Bengal Engineer Group. The Tajewala Barrage dam was built in 1832–33 to regulate the flow of water, and was replaced by the modern Hathni Kund Barrage in 1999.


title: Yamuna

text: The main canal is long. When including its branches and many major and minor irrigation channels, it has a total length of The WYC begins at the Hathni Kund Barrage about from Dakpathar and south of Doon Valley. The canals irrigate vast tracts of land in the region in Ambala, Karnal, Sonepat, Rohtak, Jind, Hisar and Bhiwani districts.


title: Yamuna

text: A proposed heavy freight canal, the Sutlej–Yamuna Link (SYL), is being built westwards from near the Yamuna's headwaters through the Punjab region near an ancient caravan route and highlands pass to the navigable parts of the Sutlej–Indus watershed. This will connect the Ganges, which flows to the east coast of the subcontinent, with points west (via Pakistan). When completed, the SYL will allow shipping from India's east coast to the west coast and the Arabian sea, shortening important commercial links for north-central India's large population. The canal starts near Delhi, and is designed to transfer Haryana's share of from the Indus Basin.


title: Yamuna

text: Yamuna is one of the National Waterways of India, designated as NW110 in Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Some of its sections are being developed for navigation:


title: Yamuna

text: Like the Ganges, the Yamuna River is highly venerated in Hinduism in the form of a river and as the goddess Yamuna. The Yamuna is considered a river of heaven. The Rig Veda includes the Yamuna River as one of the seven sacred rivers, along with the Ganges. According to Hindu mythology, the River was brought to Earth by the ascetic practice of the Seven Sages where she first descended on Mount Kalinda. Therefore, Yamuna is also known as Kalindi.


title: Yamuna

text: The Padma Purana describes Yamuna's purifying properties and states that her waters cleanse the mind from sin. It also mentions that bathing in her sacred waters frees one from the torments of death. Art from the Gupta period depict Yamuna and Ganga on the entrances and doorjambs of temples and sacred places. Upon passing through these doors, visitors were symbolically purified by these rivers.


title: Yamuna

text: In her human form, Yamuna is the daughter of Surya, the sun god, and his wife Saranyu. She is the twin sister of Yama, the god of death, and is also known as Yami. The Agni Purana describes Yamuna as having a dark complexion, mounted on a turtle, and holding a pot in her hand.


title: Yamuna

text: Yamuna, as a river and goddess, has a close association with Krishna. The Puranas narrate many stories about Krishna in relation to the river and its surroundings. One such story is of "Kaliya Daman", the subduing of Kaliya, a "Nāga" which had inhabited the river and terrorised the people of Braja. Due to Krishna's connection with the River and the Braja region, the Yamuna River is a center of pilgrimage for his devotees. In the Pushti Marga, founded by Vallabhacharya and in which Krishna is the main deity, Yamuna is worshipped as a goddess.


title: Yamuna

text: The "Yamunashtakam" is a 16th century Sanskrit hymn composed by Vallabhacharya which describes the story of Yamuna's descent to meet her beloved Krishna and to purify the world. The hymn also praises her for being the source of all spiritual abilities. And while the Ganges is considered an epitome of asceticism and higher knowledge and can grant "Moksha" or liberation, it is Yamuna, who, being a holder of infinite love and compassion, can grant freedom, even from death, the realm of her elder brother. Vallabhacharya writes that she rushes down the Kalinda Mountain, and describes her as the daughter of Kalinda, giving her the name "Kalindi", the backdrop of Krishna Leela. The text also talks about her water being the colour of Lord Krishna, which is dark (Shyam). The river is referred to as Asita in some historical texts.


title: Yamuna

text: On 25 April 2014, the National Green Tribunal Act (NGA) recommended the government to declare a stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh as a conservation zone. A report prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) panel was submitted to the NGA on the same day. Under the Yamuna Action Plan (YAP-I and YAP-II), pollution cleanup of Yamuna was conducted in line with the biological oxygen demand of Yamuna. Under these two phases, 286 schemes, including 39 sewage treatment plants, were completed in 21 towns of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana at a cost of 1,453.17 crore (14.5 billion rupees). Sewage treatment capacity of 767.25 million litres per day was created through these efforts.


title: Yamuna

text: The High Court in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand ordered in March 2017 that the Ganges and its main tributary, the Yamuna, be assigned the status of legal entities, making the rivers "legal and living entities having the status of a legal person with all corresponding rights, duties and liabilities". This decision meant that polluting or damaging the rivers is equivalent to harming a person. The court cited the example of the New Zealand Whanganui River, which was also declared to possess full rights of a legal person.


title: Yamuna

text: 1400 km stretch and supports a rich diversity of species. Fish from the family Cyprinidae dominate the variety of fish species found in the river. This includes Indian carp and also invasive species from the family. In a study, 93 species of fish were found in the river including catfish. Species of non-native Tilapia have become established in the river. They have been implicated in the decline of the Ghariyal (Indian crocodile) population in the river. Large turtles used to be a common sight on the river a few decades ago but they have mostly disappeared.


title: Yamuna

text: In 1909, the waters of the Yamuna were distinguishable as clear blue, when compared to the silt-laden yellow of the Ganges. However, due to high-density population growth and fast industrialisation, Yamuna has become one of the most polluted rivers in the world. The Yamuna is particularly polluted downstream of New Delhi, the capital of India, which dumps about 58% of its waste into the river. A 2016 study shows that there is 100% urban metabolism of River Yamuna as it passes through the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. The most pollution comes from Wazirabad, from where Yamuna enters Delhi.


title: Yamuna

text: Wazirabad barrage to New Okhla Barrage, "22 km stretch of Yamuna in Delhi, is less than 2% of Yamuna's total length but accounts for nearly 80% of the total pollution in the river", 22 out of 35 sewage treatment plants in Delhi do not meet the wastewater standards prescribed by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), thus untreated wastewater and poor quality of water discharged from the wastewater treatment plants are the major reasons. As of 2019, the river receives 800 million litres of largely untreated sewage and additional 44 million litres of industrial effluents each day, of which only 35 percent of the sewage released into the river are believed to be treated. In 1994, the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi made a water sharing agreement that is due for revision in 2025. To achieve a water quality suitable for bathing (BOD<3 mg/L and DO>5 mg/L) would require a greater rate of water flow in the river. A study has recommended that per second of water should be released from Hathni Kund Barrage during the lean season to provide a minimum environmental flow in the Yamuna.


title: Yamuna

text: To address river pollution, measures have been taken by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in 12 towns of Haryana, 8 towns of Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, under the Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) which has been implemented since 1993 by the MoEF's National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD). The Japan Bank for International Cooperation is participating in the YAP in 15 of the towns (excluding 6 towns of Haryana included later on the direction of the Supreme Court of India) with soft loan assistance of 17.773 billion Japanese yen (equivalent to about 700 crore [7 billion rupees]) while the government of India is providing the funds for the remaining 6 towns. In 2007, the Indian government's plans to repair sewage lines were predicted to improve the water quality of the river 90% by 2010.


title: Yamuna

text: Under the YAP- III scheme, a new sewage treatment plant is being built at the largest such facility in India by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). The plant is predicted to be able to treat 124 million gallons of wastewater per day, amounting to a daily removal of 41,200 kg of organic pollutants as well as 61,600 kg of solids.


title: Yamuna

text: The last barrage across the Yamuna river is the Mathura barrage at Gokul to supply its drinking water. Downstream of this barrage, many pumping stations are constructed to feed the river water for irrigation needs. These pumping stations are near Pateora Danda , Samgara , Ainjhi , Bilas Khadar , and Samari . Depletion of the base flows available in the river during the non-monsoon months by these pump houses is exacerbating river pollution from Mathura to Allahabad in the absence of adequate fresh water to dilute the polluted drainage from habitations and industries.


title: Yamuna

text: In 2009, the Union government announced to the Lok Sabha (Indian Parliament), the failure of the Ganga Action Plan and the YAP, saying that "rivers Ganga and Yamuna are no cleaner now than two decades ago" despite spending over 1,700 crore (17 billion rupees) to control pollution. According to a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) official, these plans adopted the Thames model, based on a centralised sewage treatment system. This meant that a huge sum of money and a 24-hour power supply were needed to manage the treatment plants, while only an 8-hour power supply was available, contributing to the failure.


title: Yamuna

text: In August 2009, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) initiated its plan for resuscitating the Yamuna's stretch in Delhi by constructing interceptor sewers, at the cost of about 1,800 crore (18 billion rupees).


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 (German-English mixed expression; and 2, literally 'North Stream2'; ) is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed by Gazprom and several European energy companies. The construction of the pipeline started in 2011, to expand the Nord Stream 1 line and double annual capacity to . It was completed in September 2021, but has not yet entered service. Planning and construction of the pipeline were mired in political controversy over fears that Russia would use it for geopolitical advantage with Europe and Ukraine, and that the US would lose political influence over Ukraine.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had been in favour of the project, suspended its certification on 22 February 2022, following official recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic by the Russian State Duma and President Putin during the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 26 September 2022, Danish and Swedish authorities reported a number of explosions at pipes A and B of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and pipe A of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, with the resulting damage causing significant gas leaks. The European Union considers the incident to be intentional sabotage. On 3 October, Russia confirmed that pipe B of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline remains operable and that delivery of gas to Europe through Nord Stream 2 is possible.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In 2011, Nord Stream AG started evaluation of an expansion project consisting of two additional lines (later named Nord Stream2) to double the annual capacity up to . In August 2012, Nord Stream AG applied to the Finnish and Estonian governments for route studies in their underwater exclusive economic zones for the third and fourth lines. It was considered to route the additional pipelines to the United Kingdom but this plan was abandoned.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In January 2015, Gazprom announced that the expansion project had been put on hold since the existing lines were running at only half capacity due to EU sanctions on Russia. In June 2015, an agreement to build Nord Stream 2 was signed between Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, E.ON, OMV, and Engie. As the creation of a joint venture was blocked by Poland, in April 2017, Uniper, Wintershall, Engie, OMV and Royal Dutch Shell signed a financing agreement with Nord Stream2 AG, a subsidiary of Gazprom responsible for the development of the Nord Stream2 project.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 31 January 2018, Germany granted Nord Stream2 a permit for construction and operation in German waters and for landfall areas near Lubmin. In May 2018 construction started at the Greifswald end point. In January 2019, the US ambassador in Germany, Richard Grenell, sent letters to companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream2 urging them to stop working on the project and threatening them with the possibility of sanctions. In December 2019, the Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson also urged Allseas owner Edward Heerema to suspend the works on the pipeline, warning him that the United States would otherwise impose sanctions. Cruz formally proposed such a bill to enable sanctions in November 2021.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In December 2019, Allseas announced that the company had suspended its Nord Stream2 pipelaying activities, anticipating enactment of the US National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which contained sanctions. In May 2020, the German energy regulator refused an exception from competition rules that require Nord Stream2 to separate gas ownership from transmission. In August 2020, Poland fined Gazprom €50 million due to its lack of cooperation with an investigation launched by UOKiK, the Polish anti-monopoly watchdog. UOKiK cited competition rules against Gazprom and companies financing the project, suspecting that they had continued work on the pipeline without permission from the government of Poland.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In December 2020, the Russian pipelaying ship "Akademik Cherskiy" continued pipe-laying. In January, "Fortuna", another pipe-layer, joined forces with the "Akademik Cherskiy" to complete the pipeline. On 4 June 2021, Vladimir Putin announced that the pipe-laying for first line of the Nord Stream 2 had been fully completed. On 10 June, the sections of the pipeline were connected. The laying of the second line was completed in September 2021.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In June 2021, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Nord Stream2 completion was inevitable. In July 2021, the US urged Ukraine not to criticise a forthcoming agreement with Germany over the pipeline. On 20 July, Joe Biden and Angela Merkel reached a conclusive deal that the US may trigger sanctions if Russia used Nord Stream as a "political weapon". The deal aims to prevent Poland and Ukraine from being cut off from Russian gas supplies. Ukraine will receive a $50 million loan for green technology until 2024 and Germany will set up a billion-dollar fund to promote Ukraine's transition to green energy to compensate for the loss of the gas transit fees. The contract for transiting Russian gas through Ukraine will be prolonged until 2034 if the Russian government agrees.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 16 November 2021, European natural gas prices rose by 17% after Germany's energy regulator suspended approval of the Nord Stream 2.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 9 December 2021, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on Germany's newly appointed Chancellor Olaf Scholz to oppose the start-up of Nord Stream 2 and not to give in to pressure from Russia. On a visit to Rome, Morawiecki said: "I will call on Chancellor Scholz not to give in to pressure from Russia and not to allow Nord Stream 2 to be used as an instrument for blackmail against Ukraine, an instrument for blackmail against Poland, an instrument for blackmail against the European Union."


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Scholz suspended certification of Nord Stream 2 on 22 February 2022 in consequence of Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics and the deployment of troops in territory held by the DPR and LPR.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 AG filed for bankruptcy on 1 March 2022 and laid off all 106 employees from its headquarters in Zug, Switzerland.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 26 September 2022, a massive pressure loss and signs of large gas releases near the Danish island Bornholm were reported. Shortly after, gas leaks from the two pipelines were discovered within the Danish and Swedish economic zones. The day after the leaks occurred, Swedish police opened an investigation of the incident, calling it "major sabotage". The investigation is conducted in cooperation with other relevant authorities as well as the Swedish Security Service. A similar investigation was opened in Denmark. The two nations were in close contact, and had also been in contact with other countries in the Baltic region and NATO. These gas leaks were soon considered to be sabotage. On 29 September 2022, the Swedish Coast Guard confirmed a second leak from Nord Stream 2 very close to a larger leak found earlier on Nord Stream 1.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: For Nord Stream 2, the loan from Uniper, Wintershall Dea, OMV, Engie, and Royal Dutch Shell covers 50 percent of the projected costs of €9.5 billion. The rest is being financed by Gazprom.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 was developed and is operated by Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of the Russian state energy company Gazprom headquartered in Zug, Switzerland.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 was laid by Allseas using pipe-laying vessels "Pioneering Spirit" and "Solitaire", except the part of the German offshore section which was laid by Saipem's pipe-laying vessel "C10". Pipes were manufactured by EUROPIPE, OMK and the Chelyabinsk Pipe-Rolling Plant (Chelpipe), and were coated by Wasco Coatings Europe. Blue Water Shipping handled the transportation and storage of pipeline segments in Germany, Finland and Sweden for Wasco. A joint venture of Boskalis and Van Oord did rock placement at the preparatory stage of construction. Kvaerner did the civil and mechanical engineering of the onshore facilities in Russia.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Except for the Russian and Danish section, the route of Nord Stream 2 follows mainly the route of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: To feed Nord Stream 2, of new pipeline and three compressor stations were built and five existing compressor stations were expanded. The feeding pipeline starts in Gryazovets and follows the existing route of the Northern Lights pipeline. In Volkhov, the pipeline turns south and continues to the Slavyanskaya compressor station near Ust-Luga.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 starts at the Slavyanskaya compressor station near Ust-Luga port, located south-east of the village of Bolshoye Kuzyomkino (Narvusi) in the Kingiseppsky District of the Leningrad Oblast, in the historical Ingria close to the Estonian border. A onshore pipeline runs from the compressor station to the landfall at the Kurgalsky Peninsula on the shore of Narva Bay. The landfall point in Kolganpya (Kolkanpää) at the Soikinsky Peninsula was considered as an alternative.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Except for the Russian section, the route of Nord Stream 2 follows mainly the route of Nord Stream 1. From the Russian landfall, a section runs through Russian territorial waters to the Finnish exclusive economic zone. The Finnish section is and the following section in the Swedish exclusive economic zone is long.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: The Danish sections runs on the Danish continental shelf southeast of Bornholm. The German part of the pipeline consists of of offshore pipeline and onshore pipeline connecting the landfall with the Nord Stream 2 receiving terminal. Nord Stream 2 has two parallel lines, each with a capacity of of natural gas per year.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 is connected to the NEL pipeline and European Gas Pipeline Link (EUGAL), which runs largely parallel to the OPAL pipeline.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: According to the amended EU gas directive, the EU extended its gas market rules to external pipelines entering the EU internal gas market. It applies to all pipelines which were completed after 23 May 2019 when amended directive entered into force. Additional legal concerns relate to international trade law and to the law of the sea in connection with Nord Stream 2's route through the Danish territorial waters around Bornholm.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 AG had started legal proceedings in the Court of Justice of the European Union to annul the amended directive and also started arbitration against the EU under the Energy Charter Treaty. Although Russia has not ratified the Energy Charter Treaty and has terminated its provisional application, both the EU and Switzerland — a domicile of Nord Stream 2 AG — are contracting parties of it.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In June 2017, new US sanctions against Russia targeting the pipeline were passed by a 98-2 majority in the United States Senate due to concerns that President Trump would ease existing sanctions on Russia. The sanctions were sharply criticized by Germany, France, Austria and the European Commission who stated that the United States was threatening Europe's energy supplies. In a joint statement, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said, "Europe's energy supply is a matter for Europe, and not for the United States of America." They also said: "To threaten companies from Germany, Austria and other European states with penalties on the US market if they participate in natural gas projects such as Nord Stream 2 with Russia or finance them introduces a completely new and very negative quality into European-American relations."


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Isabelle Kocher, chief executive officer of Engie, criticised American sanctions targeting the projects, and said they were an attempt to promote American gas in Europe. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz called the sanctions "a severe intervention in German and European internal affairs", while the EU spokesman criticized "the imposition of sanctions against EU companies conducting legitimate business." German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted that "European energy policy is decided in Europe, not in the United States". Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also criticized sanctions, saying that United States Congress "is literally overwhelmed with the desire to do everything to destroy" Russia–United States relations.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: The German Eastern Business Association said in a statement that "America wants to sell its liquefied gas in Europe, for which Germany is building terminals. Should we arrive at the conclusion that US sanctions are intended to push competitors out of the European market, our enthusiasm for bilateral projects with the US will significantly cool."


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In January 2019, the US ambassador in Germany, Richard Grenell, sent letters to companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 urging them to stop working on the project and threatening with the possibility of sanctions. In December 2019, the US Congress approved sanctions on companies and governments working on the pipeline, to which German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas responded, urging the US not to meddle in European energy policy. Following the US Senate's vote to override the Trump administration's defense bill containing punitive measures on the pipeline, the US State Department alerted companies of sanctions risk they face, urging them to pull out from the project. According to a PolitiFact "fact check", the sanctions did not impede construction of the pipeline.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In December 2019, with overwhelming support from Democrats and Republicans, the US Congress imposed sanctions on any firm aiding in the building of the pipeline as part of the annual defense policy bill. The pipeline's construction was stalled for a year until Russia secured its own vessels to complete the job.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Following incoming President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021, the White House reaffirmed long standing US opposition to Nord Stream stating that Biden "continues to believe that Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal for Europe" and that his administration "will be reviewing" new sanctions. According to congressional aides cited in a February report by NBC News, the sanctions enjoyed "strong bipartisan support" on Capitol Hill.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 19 May 2021, the United States President Joe Biden waived sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its CEO Matthias Warnig, in a move that was opposed by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, with Republican senator Jim Risch saying it was "a gift to Putin and will only weaken the United States". Russian and German officials welcomed the sanctions waiver, but Yuriy Vitrenko of Naftogaz criticized the move and said Ukraine would press Washington to impose sanctions to stop the pipeline. On 25 May at the White House, President Biden told reporters that he waived the sanctions because the pipeline was nearly completed and because they would have hurt relations with Europe.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In protest against the Biden administration's policies, senator Ted Cruz held up dozens of diplomatic nominations, telling CNN "I look forward to lifting the holds just as soon as they impose the sanctions on Nord Stream 2 that are required by federal law." According to PolitiFact, this positive signal to Germany and Russia was accompanied by sanctions on other areas of Russian industry as part of a changing strategy to reopen negotiations over Ukraine.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 19 May 2021, the US government waived sanctions against the main company involved in the project, Nord Stream 2 AG, while imposing sanctions on four Russian ships and five other Russian entities. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov welcomed the move as "a chance for a gradual transition toward the normalisation of our bilateral ties". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "surprised" and "disappointed" by Biden's decision. Biden also waived sanctions on the Nordstream CEO, Matthias Warnig, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. On 22 November 2021, the US State Department announced that it had imposed further sanctions on a Russian vessel and a "Russian-linked entity".


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Washington Post reports that Biden obtained a promise from Angela Merkel in summer 2021, that Nord Stream 2 would not be sanctioned, but that Germany would support other sanctions, and Germany would scrap Nord Stream 2 if Russia invaded Ukraine. By the time Russia invaded in 2022, Olaf Scholz had replaced Merkel, but Scholz kept the promise.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 21 July 2021, the US and Germany proposed an agreement to shield Ukraine and other Central and Eastern European countries from any future Russian efforts to use the pipeline as a geopolitical weapon. The deal was immediately opposed by Ukraine and Poland and US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, with "Foreign Policy" reporting that it had become a "lightning rod issue" and that "Biden's post-Trump-era honeymoon period with some Eastern European allies has come to a screeching halt." "Deutsche Welle" reported that the deal promoted "strong condemnation" from Poland, with government spokesman Piotr Müller saying "We have emphasized from the very beginning that Nord Stream 2 is a geopolitical project that destabilizes the political situation in central and eastern Europe." Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte called the project a "mistake" saying it was not just for its economic impact on Ukraine, but for the EU's increased dependence on a country where there is no rule of law.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In September 2021, a group of bipartisan lawmakers in the US House of Representatives attempting to undo Biden's decision sanctions waiver, introduced an amendment to the defense bill. In November 2021, a group of Senate Republicans led by senator Risch renewed efforts to impose sanctions on the pipeline, also as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) defense bill In response, the Biden administration reportedly lobbied Democratic allies to nix the sanctions amendments, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top aides reportedly made calls urging senators to kill the sanctions amendments that would remove leeway for a White House waiver. Republicans stalled the bill from passing on 29 November, but it passed the next week on 7 December, omitting the sanctions amendments despite strong support for them in Congress.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 13 January 2022, US Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill to reimpose the waived sanctions regardless whether Russia invaded Ukraine. Democrats favored a more extensive version which would impose a wider range of sanctions besides those on Nord Stream 2. 55 senators (49 Republicans, 6 Democrats), voted in favor of the Cruz bill. 44 Democrats voted against it arguing that immediately imposing a weak set of sanctions centered on Nord Stream would give Putin one less reason not to invade and that sanctions would have to go far beyond Nord Stream to be effective. The Cruz bill failed to secure 60 votes needed for passage but Senators continued work towards a bill expanding sanctions far beyond those on Nord Stream.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Following reports of Russian troops massing near the border with Ukraine and fears of an invasion, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions on 23 November, targeting eight people and 17 vessels as "pursuant to PEESA in connection with Nord Stream 2".


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In order to provide strong incentives for Russia not to invade Ukraine, bill sponsor Senator Bob Menendez argued that sanctions would have to be devastating to the entire Russian economy, and that every Russian would have to feel them. The wider set of sanctions in Senate bill 3488, "Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022" would impose significant compliance challenges for companies doing business in Russia, not just Nord Stream and its European and Russian backers. Although both parties had reached agreement on central parts of the plan, by mid February Biden and US intelligence agencies were briefing allies and Congressional leaders that Russia would likely invade.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: The work on the sanctions bill was paused and replaced with a declaration critical of Russia's provocative and reckless military buildup along Ukraine's border and warning Putin to cease his threats to Ukraine and NATO. Earlier in the month, Menendez and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell had been personally assured during a visit by German Chancellor Scholz that if Russia invaded, Nord Stream 2 would be halted.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In late October 2021, the approval of the pipeline was still in process as permits were expected from the German regulator (Bundesnetzagentur) and finally from the European Commission later that year. The German agency still awaited the processing of applications by the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz and the Ukraine gas grid company GTSOU. Poland also voiced opposition to the approval of the pipeline as it feared a lack of Russian gas transits through its territory. However, spokesperson for the German Ministry of Economy Beate Baron said on 22 October 2021 "all the available capacities for natural gas supplies from Russia to Europe are used".


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Earlier that week, the Swiss-based operator confirmed it had filled the first line of the pipeline with "technical" gas. On 21 October 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the pipeline would start gas delivery the day after Germany approved it. Regulatory clearance for Nord Stream 2 would double Russia's gas exports to the Baltic and Germany to 110 billion cubic meters per year. Economic pressures for its approval in Germany were mounting, as tight supplies and soaring prices increased costs in transportation and heating fuel markets.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Approvals for gas delivery through the fully constructed pipeline were further delayed in late November 2021, when Germany required that part of the assets of the Switzerland-registered Nord Stream AG including the pipeline itself to be transferred to a Germany-registered business entity. Concurrently, the US Department of State imposed more financial sanctions on Russian companies connected to Nord Stream 2. President Joe Biden earlier waived sanctions on German companies involved in the project. The US and the European Union had accused Russian-owned Gazprom of not having delivered sufficient gas through existing pipelines, while Russia claimed that those pipelines were already delivering natural gas at full capacities. According to energy analysts, the delay of gas deliveries through Nord Stream 2 had significantly exacerbated the 2021 energy crisis.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In February 2022, Menendez and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell had been personally assured during a visit by German Chancellor Scholz that if Russia invaded, Nord Stream 2 would be halted.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 2 March, it was reported that Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom, had ended business operations and laid off all 106 members of its staff as a result of sanctions imposed as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, though earlier reports that it had filed for bankruptcy were denied.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Royal Dutch Shell, which financed 10% of the project, may have to write off $1 billion if it never opens. On 2 March, Wintershall Dea revealed that it had decided to write off its financing of Nord Stream 2, which it highlighted totals around €1 billion. On 7 March, Uniper announced that it had taken the decision to record a full impairment loss on its loan to Nord Stream 2. The company noted that it will recognize an impairment loss of its loans towards Nord Stream 2 AG in the amount of €987 million.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 AG could seek compensation from the German government and international arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia wrote in Twitter: "Welcome to the new world where Europeans will soon have to pay 2,000 euros per thousand cubic metres!" suggesting prices were set to double.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the future of the pipeline would depend on Russia's actions in Ukraine. On 19 February 2022 she told the Munich Security Conference that Europe could not be overly dependent on Russia for its energy needs.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: President Barack Obama opposed Nord Stream2, echoing the policy of his predecessor George W. Bush who opposed Nord Stream1. The US and European nations such as Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania opposed Nord Stream 2 on the grounds that it increased dependence on Russian energy and posed a security threat to the EU. After 2014, these countries further argued that Europe should not be refilling Russia's coffers after it invaded and annexed Crimea. In January 2018, United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reaffirmed the policy, stating US and Poland opposed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, for the same reasons of European energy security and stability.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been opposed by a wide range of US and European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová, US President Joe Biden, former US President Donald Trump, Estonian PM Kaja Kallas, the European Council President Donald Tusk and former British foreign minister Boris Johnson. Tusk has said that Nord Stream 2 is not in the EU's interests. Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have questioned the different treatment of Nord Stream 2 and South Stream projects.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Some claim that the project violates the long-term declared strategy of the EU to diversify its gas supplies. A letter, signed by the leaders of nine EU countries, was sent to the EC in March 2016, warning that the Nord Stream 2 project contradicts the European energy policy requirements that suppliers to the EU should not control the energy transmission assets, and that access to the energy infrastructure must be secured for non-consortium companies. A letter by American lawmakers John McCain and Marco Rubio to the EU criticized the project in July 2016.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: An anti-trust investigation against Gazprom started in 2011 revealed a number of "abusive practices" the company applied against various recipients in the EU and Nord Stream 2 was criticized from this angle as strengthening Gazprom's position in the EU even more. European Commission officials expressed the view that "Nord Stream 2 does not enhance [EU] energy security".


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Sberbank's investment research division in 2018 voiced concerns from Russian stakeholders' perspective, specifically that the project's goals are exclusively political:


title: Nord Stream 2

text: A representative Forsa study conducted in May 2021 found that 75% of Germans were in favor of the construction of Nord Stream 2, while only 17% were against it. The survey found that broad support for the completion of the project could be found in all voter groups. This was after Germany's phase out from nuclear power plants.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: The "Ost-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft" (Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations) criticised that US sanctions and obstruction efforts were thus threatening democratic processes in Germany and Europe, endangering Germany's interests, and causing damages estimated to be several billion euros at the expense of European taxpayers and businesses.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Nord Stream 2 faced opposition from Western politicians outside Germany, who saw it as an instrument of Russian influence in German and European politics. Common reasons for the opposition to Nord Stream 2 are negative historical relations with Russia and strongly supporting common and shared EU positions towards Russia.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: President of the European Council Donald Tusk said that Nord Stream 2 is not in the EU's interests. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have questioned the different treatment of Nord Stream 2 and South Stream projects. Some claim that the project violates the long-term declared strategy of the EU to diversify its gas supplies.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: A letter, signed by the leaders of nine EU countries, was sent to the EC in March 2016, warning that the Nord Stream 2 project contradicts the European energy policy requirements that suppliers to the EU should not control the energy transmission assets, and that access to the energy infrastructure must be secured for non-consortium companies. A letter by American lawmakers John McCain and Marco Rubio to the EU also criticized the project in July 2016. Isabelle Kocher, chief executive officer of Engie, criticised American sanctions targeting the projects, and said they were an attempt to promote American gas in Europe.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In June 2017, Germany and Austria criticized the United States Senate over new sanctions against Russia that target the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, stating that the United States was threatening Europe's energy supplies. In a joint statement Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern and Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that "Europe's energy supply is a matter for Europe, and not for the United States of America." They also said: "To threaten companies from Germany, Austria and other European states with penalties on the U.S. market if they participate in natural gas projects such as Nord Stream 2 with Russia or finance them introduces a completely new and very negative quality into European-American relations."


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In January 2018, United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the U.S. and Poland oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, saying they see it as undermining Europe's overall energy security and stability. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was also opposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, U.S. President Donald Trump, the European Council President Donald Tusk and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Questions have mounted about the links between the pipeline project, leaders of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Moscow. One of the last acts of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in office was to sign the deal creating the Nord Stream 1 project in 2005. Schröder subsequently became chairman of the company behind it and took several directorial positions in Russian energy companies in the following years. In more recent years, opposition to his lobbying became more heated across Germany.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: The project was supported by the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the landfall site for the line, and where former Chancellor Angela Merkel had her constituency. In 2019 the US sanctioned German companies and individuals helping to build the line. In January 2021, state premier Manuela Schwesig set up a Foundation called to "acquire, manage, own, provide or let land, tools and machines to help the completion" of the pipeline. In 2022, questions mounted about the Foundation, its association with Gazprom and its activities that helped companies helping to build the project evade US sanctions. On 24 February 2022, the German Court of Auditors expressed concern about the Foundation, which said it would stop helping the pipeline project, declining to say what it had done so far. Public records showed it purchased a ship to complete the laying of pipeline in the Baltic.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: In January 2022, the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who long supported the project, came under pressure to block the project at the 2022 EU summit. Amid reported misgivings of many in the Biden administration about Berlin's stance on Russia, Chancellor Scholz visited the US for what Foreign Policy called a "salvage mission". After avoiding the pipeline issue at a press conference at the White House on 7 February, Scholz responded to repeated questions from reporters saying the US and Germany were "absolutely united", while Biden went further and said that the Nord Stream 2 project would end if Russia invaded Ukraine.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Following the meeting with Biden and ahead of a meeting scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin for 15 February, Scholz faced criticism in the media for refusing to say openly that Germany would cancel the pipeline in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, though others said it was due to diplomatic tactics or legal concern. Following the Scholz and Putin meeting in Moscow, Putin said the pipeline would cement European energy security, and that it is "purely commercial". Scholz then visited Kyiv to meet Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and was accused of using the "Merkel playbook" when avoiding questions about the pipeline at a joint press conference.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the global natural gas supply crises, on 27 February, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany would quickly build two LNG terminals for seaborne LNG imports, one at Brunsbüttel and another at Wilhelmshaven. The Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal is under construction and expected to be able to receive gas deliveries as early as January 2023.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: By August 2022, this had expanded to plans to open facilities at five floating LNG facilities in Germany as soon as practicable.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Unusually, environmental impact assessments are being explicitly skipped according to Robert Habeck, a Green party politician and the environmental affairs minister in the current German government, saying "ensuring Germany was no longer blackmailable by Putin had to take priority."


title: Nord Stream 2

text: The Wilhemshaven terminal alone will be sized initially to receive approximately 80 LNG tankers each year, which could substitute for up to half of the gas imports that the German energy company Uniper formerly imported from Russia, and could supply approximately eight percent of German gas demand as it was in early 2022.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: "The Economist" warned that Europe is becoming more dependent on Russia while its own reserves decline. Vincent Roberti of Roberti Global and Walker Roberts of BGR Group have received more than $5 million and $1.3 million respectively to lobby the US Congress for the gas project.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 26 September 2022, Denmark and Sweden almost simultaneously reported four gas leaks from Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Baltic Sea; two leaks in the economic zone of each country. Despite the fact that Nord Stream 1 was shut down and Nord Stream 2 had not commenced transporting gas, there was gas under pressure in each of the four pipes. Most of this gas is methane. More than half of the gas has already leaked out, and there are no containment mechanisms in the pipelines – the rest of the gas was expected to leak out before 1 October. By 10 October, some gas still seeped out of Nord Stream 2, with a surface plume 15 metres wide. The European Union released a statement accusing the Russian Federation of sabotaging the pipeline as retaliation for the EU's support of Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: Andrew Baxter, director of energy strategy for the Environmental Defense Fund, said he estimated that about of methane had been released into the environment. To date, this may be the largest gas leak in human history. According to German estimates, about of methane, which is one of the most potent greenhouse gases (more potent than CO), was emitted into the atmosphere. This amount of gas is enough to affect the environment for another 20 years, with an annual gas emission capacity of 5.48 million cars.


title: Nord Stream 2

text: On 29 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "unprecedented sabotage" against the Nord Stream gas pipelines was "an act of international terrorism" carried out by the West, US forces specifically, claiming the United States would have "much to gain from sabotaging the pipelines" even offering to keep supplying the EU by the only "Nord Stream 2" gas tap left functional. The charge was promptly vehemently denied by both US and its NATO allies.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Superboy (also known as Kon-El or Conner Kent) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A modern variation on the original Superboy, the character first appeared as Superboy in "The Adventures of Superman" #500 (June 1993), and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: From the character's debut in 1993 to August 2003, Superboy was depicted as a genetically-engineered metahuman clone of human origin designed by Project Cadmus as a duplicate and closest genetic equivalent of Superman. The character was retconned in "Teen Titans" (vol. 3) #1 (September 2003) as a human/Kryptonian binary clone made from the DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor. This has since become the character's most enduring origin story in later comic books and media adaptations.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Conner made his live adaptation debut in the final season of "Smallville", played by Lucas Grabeel, and appears as a regular starting in the second season in the DC Universe and HBO Max series "Titans", played by Joshua Orpin.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Kon-El is depicted as a modern incarnation of the original Superboy. Created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett, the character first appeared in "The Adventures of Superman" #500 (June 1993).


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: After the death of Superman at the hands of a Kryptonian monster named Doomsday, Project Cadmus Executive Director Paul Westfield wanted to create a clone replacement of Superman to safeguard people. After failed attempts to acquire Superman's DNA (which included an attempt to steal his corpse), Westfield decided to genetically alter a human clone to look like Superman and made the clone to be the closest human equivalent to a Kryptonian as they could based on their research. During their research when they had Superman's body, Westfield's scientists discovered a bio-electric aura surrounding Superman's body that provided some of Superman's powers such as invulnerability, flight through a form of self-telekinesis, protection from getting dirty and protection from skin-tight clothing to be damaged. The aura was translated into a telekinetic field for a human that would give the clone the ability to simulate Superman's powers such as flight, invulnerability, and strength. This was later known as "tactile telekinesis" by the scientists. After twelve failed attempts, the clone known as Experiment 13 was grown from a single cell to a teenage boy in less than a week and was a complete success. The clone was given implanted memories and underwent an artificial maturation process intended to match the age of the original Superman. This clone was released from his cloning tube too early, however, and emerged as a teenager. While at first calling himself "Superman", he would later be known as Superboy.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: When Superboy arrived in Metropolis, he used the name "Superman". While glibly asserting he was Superman, he quickly rebuked any insinuation he was the original Superman. In fact, he told anyone who'd listen that he was a clone of Superman. This revelation was first revealed to Lois Lane, but she was not interested. This prompts the Kid to turn to another reporter, Tana Moon, who breaks the story live on WGBS. Three other Supermen emerged simultaneously: "The Man of Tomorrow" (Cyborg Superman), "The Last Son of Krypton" (Eradicator), and "The Man of Steel" (Steel). After the original Superman's return, Superboy began operating alongside him as an independent hero for a time, refusing to give credence to the idea that he was a "sidekick" of Superman's.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: After a few weeks of travelling, Superboy and Dubbilex arrived in Hawaii, joined by Rex and Roxy Leech. After a running battle with Sidearm on the beach, Superboy learned that Tana Moon had moved to Hawaii. Superboy decided to stay on the islands, stylizing himself as the "Hero of Hawaii."


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: He rejoined Cadmus and began working as a field agent with Dubbilex and Guardian. After a mission in Paris where they battled the Agenda and meet a supermodel named "Hex", who claims to be Jonah Hex, Superboy meets the new Cadmus Director (Mickey "the Mechanic" Cannon), new military liaison Col. Adam Winterbourne (one of the men the Kid rescued from the Wild Lands), and one of the new ace scientists, Serling Roquette. Superboy is interested in Serling (as she's one of the few women at the Project and the only one close to his own age), but she is oblivious at first.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: During this period, Superboy teams up with Static and Rocket to combat the cosmic being known as the Rift. He also was the first superhero to face King Shark and Knockout.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: A defining moment in Superboy's life would come when Superman asks Superboy to come with him to the Fortress of Solitude. While there, Superboy visits Krypton via virtual reality and experienced the life of a Kryptonian soldier who saved the life of Superman's ancestor, Captain Van-L, during a battle against the terrorist group Black Zero. Superboy later experiences the life of Kon-El, a descendant of the same Kryptonian soldier and a member of the second House of El established by his predecessor. After the simulation and Superman asking Superboy to look out of questionable cloning practices by Cadmus, Superman tells Superboy that he considered Superboy family and bestows upon him the Kryptonian name of Kon-El in honor of Superman's cousin in spirit. Superboy tearfully accepts, overjoyed with the simple joy of having a real name. After Cadmus was shut down, Superboy had no job and no place to stay. He relocates to Metropolis, becoming the "super" at a tenement building called Calvin Gardens. Eventually Superman invites him to stay with his parents in Smallville, which he gladly accepted and did for quite some time.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Superboy is a founding member of Young Justice, a group of teenage heroes who intended to one day be the next Justice League.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Superboy first encountered his future teammate Robin after the latter called Rex Leech requesting Superboy's help in defeating Metallo in Gotham City while Superboy was judging the first "Miss Kryptonite" pageant in Hawaii. While Superboy and Robin seemingly defeated Metallo, Poison Ivy takes control of Superboy. Robin follows Superboy and Poison Ivy to Kauai, where Poison Ivy released vines all over the island. Metallo shows up in Kauai as well and the team of Superboy and Robin defeated them. It was during this that Superboy discovered that he had a weakness to Kryptonite radiation that made him sick in the presence of it as guessed by Professor Hamilton. He also teamed up with future Young Justice member Captain Marvel Jr. against mental projections of Knockout, Chain Lightning, Captain Nazi, Silversword, Superman, and Captain Marvel.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Although Young Justice's first mission was technically the rescuing of the metahuman ghost-girl, Secret, the group did not officially form until an incident in which the world's adult population was kidnapped and transfers them to a copy Earth, by a pre-teen with godlike powers. Teaming up with Robin and Impulse, the three teen heroes manage to defeat Bedlam and return everything to normal. Soon after, they agreed to form an official team, dubbed "Young Justice" by the media. Soon after they are joined by Secret, Arrowette, Wonder Girl, and others. Although Superboy and Robin begin with an argumentative relationship similar to the one shared by Superman & Batman as well as leadership struggles, they became allies and best friends. Superboy and Wonder Girl's relationship is developed throughout "Young Justice". At first, Wonder Girl's infatuation with Superboy is unnoticed. In the final issue of Young Justice, both Wonder Girl and Superboy reveal they have feelings for each other. After the events of "" and the apparent death of Donna Troy, Young Justice disbands with Superboy, Robin, Impulse, and Wonder Girl going their own separate ways.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Now based in Smallville with a new civilian identity as Clark Kent's cousin "Conner Kent", Superboy is asked by Superman to accept Cyborg's invitation to join a new incarnation of the Teen Titans with his former Young Justice teammates Robin, Impulse, and Wonder Girl. Also on the team are Teen Titans veterans Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy. Superboy is retconned from the original premise of a human clone of Paul Westfield with restructured DNA (based on a genetic template from Roxy Leech) to a hybrid of Superman's Kryptonian DNA and Paul Westfield's human DNA making him a binary clone. After the new team gathers at Titans Tower in San Francisco Bay, it is revealed via an email sent to Robin that Superboy's human DNA is not from Paul Westfield but from Superman's archenemy Lex Luthor.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: During Superboy's first adventures with the Teen Titans, his Kryptonian powers start to manifest. In a battle with Jericho, Superboy's body gets possessed by him and Jericho was able to exhibit heat vision and other Superman-like powers. At first Superboy seems to have a hard time controlling his powers but he soon adjusts. Later, during Wonder Girl and Conner's first date, Superboy is forcibly sucked through a time portal to the 31st century.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: When Superboy reappears, he is wearing the classic Superboy outfit (with a Legion belt buckle). It's revealed that he was mistaken for Clark Kent and taken to the 31st century, where he was dumped once his true identity was realized, he then fought alongside the Legion of Super-Heroes for the remainder of his time there. After enlisting other Titans to join him alongside the Legion to combat a new threat, the team attempts to return to the present. On the return trip home, they accidentally arrive ten years in the future instead of the present. The Teen Titans meet adult versions of themselves. Superboy finds that he is now Superman, Tim is Batman, Cassie is Wonder Woman, and Bart is the Flash. In this alternate future, Conner has greater control of his powers, Cassie chooses him over Captain Marvel Jr., Lex Luthor is his mentor/father figure, and the Titans are "freakin' bad guys". They discuss the possibility of breaking up the team when they get back to the present, but Cyborg 2.0 tells them that the future developed the way it did because the team was not together during the "Crisis".


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: After encountering dark reflections of themselves from a possible future, the Titans make it back to the present to contemplate what they've just seen. Not long afterward, Lex Luthor is able to co-opt Conner to reach his "full potential," which results in a brutal, mind-controlled attack by Superboy that levels the Titans. His mind is eventually restored, and he is horrified at what he's done to his team and friends. Afterwards, Conner takes a leave of absence from the Titans and secludes himself in the Kents' home. He is unsure as to whether or not, being a clone, he even has a soul. There, Raven shows him that he had a young soul that was stronger than his inner demons and steadily growing.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In the DC Comics' limited series "Infinite Crisis", the other-dimensional Superboy-Prime watches Conner during his seclusion in the paradise dimension. Along with Alexander Luthor Jr., another survivor of the previous Crisis, they wish to reconstruct the DC Universe in their image after determining that the heroes they've been observing didn't meet their own standards of what heroism really was. Resentful of Conner, whom he claims has lower standards than his own despite a seemingly perfect life, Superboy-Prime attacks him, telling him that he should be his replacement as Superboy. Possessing an apparent strength advantage, Superboy-Prime pulverizes Conner, badly injuring him, until the Teen Titans, Doom Patrol, and Justice Society of America join the fray, leading to a climactic battle where various Flashes pull Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: After another encounter in which Superboy-Prime decimates a team of heroes attempting to stop him, Conner clashes with Prime once more, sending both of them headlong into Alexander Luthor's multiverse tower. Conner, fatally injured from the explosion, lies dying in the arms of Wonder Girl. When Cassie tells him that he had saved the Earth, Conner replies, "I know, Cass. Isn't it cool?" Moments later, he dies. Batman, Wonder Woman, Kal-El, Nightwing, and Kal-L arrive, too late to save Conner's life. Later, Superman mourns Conner's death while cradling his body. Conner is buried under his civilian name in Metropolis, alongside the bodies of Kal-L (the Earth-Two Superman) and his wife Lois Lane Kent, for over a year.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In year-long weekly series "52", which directly follows on from "Infinite Crisis", although Conner is dead, he is not forgotten. Wonder Girl leads a memorial broadcast over the Internet, and she and hundreds of others pay their final respects to Conner in a traditional Kryptonian way. It is revealed that the mourners are part of a resurrection cult supposedly based on Kryptonian theology, which Wonder Girl and Ralph Dibny refer to as the "Cult of Conner".


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In Week 51, Batman and Robin return from their journey across the globe. When the heroes appear at Superboy's memorial on the first anniversary of his death, Robin is wearing a new costume using colors of black and red from Superboy's last uniform. Wonder Girl also changes her costume to honor Superboy as well, wearing a Golden Age Wonder Woman-themed T-shirt and denim jeans. Superboy memorial statues are erected in Metropolis next to Superman's statue and in San Francisco outside of Titans Tower. One year later, Lex Luthor still mourns Conner's death as he considers him his own son.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: The character is later revived in the pages of "" (2008–09). Having been placed in a Kryptonian healing chrysalis 1000 years ago by Starman (Thom Kallor) of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Kon-El awakens in the 31st century to once again battle Superboy-Prime. After Superboy-Prime is retconned by himself, Superboy and Kid Flash (Bart Allen), who has also been resurrected, Bart and Kon are returned to the 21st century to resume their lives. Superboy briefly featured as the main character in a revival of "Adventure Comics", one of DC's oldest Superman books. During the "Blackest Night" storyline, Conner was briefly turned into a member of the Black Lantern Corps, but Wonder Girl manages to free him by using the temporally-complex nature of his resurrection against his Black Lantern self, luring him to the Fortress so that the ring can be drawn off him by the presence of his deceased self, allowing Conner to destroy the ring before it can take control of either of him.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Following the conclusion of "War of the Supermen", writer Jeff Lemire and artist Pier Gallo launched a new "Superboy" series. The series depicted Conner attempting to resettle his life in Smallville, and it ran until September 2011.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Superboy is introduced with an entirely different origin story. He first appears in "Teen Titans" (vol. 4) #1, where he is the half-human half-Kryptonian clone creation of the mysterious organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E., which seeks to control the new generation of metahumans.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In the "Superman"/"Supergirl"/"Superboy" crossover storyline "H'El on Earth", he is attacked by a time traveling Kryptonian named H'El for being a clone, after which H'El delivers his body to Supergirl and Superman for execution. As clones were generally hated by Kryptonians, H'El believes this act will prove his loyalty to Krypton, but it instead triggers conflict between him and Superman, who doesn't wish to kill Kon-El. During the fight against H'El, Superboy and Superman come to know each other better and develop a feeling of friendship and understanding. Kon-El is surprised by Superman's heroism and is touched by it.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Following the "Forever Evil" "Justice League" storyline, the evil speedster Johnny Quick throws the Teen Titans forward in time. After he is separated from the Titans, Kon-El encounters Jon Lane Kent, the villainous future son of Superman and Lois Lane. Kon-El is actually a clone of Jon Lane Kent, created by Harvest (founder of N.O.W.H.E.R.E.) so that a cure could be found for Jon's illness. During their battle, Jon Lane Kent is seriously injured, but then Kon-El falls through a portal and is transported to Krypton's Argo City in the past, days prior to planet's destruction. This leads to the 2013 "Return to Krypton" storyline. During the story, Kon-El uses the last of his powers to lift Argo City off of the dying Krypton, saving it so that a young Supergirl can arrive on Earth just as history records. He then dies with the planet, accepting himself as more than a "living weapon", in "Superman" (vol. 3) #25.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Meanwhile, in "Teen Titans", the unconscious and injured Jon Lane Kent is recovered by the Beast Boy and Rose Wilson of the future timeline. Despite being Jon Lane Kent, the future Beast Boy and Rose Wilson hide this and dress him in Kon-El's costume for their own purposes. The present day Teen Titans find Jon Lane Kent in Kon-El's costume—unaware of Jon Lane Kent's existence—and take him back to the modern day era where he pretends to be their version of Superboy. The Teen Titans are unaware that Kon-El is "dead" and that they have an impostor in their midst who intends to kill all of Earth's meta-humans, although Superman and Supergirl believe Kon-El is dead and have not told the Titans. It is later revealed that Kon-El is still alive serving a being called the Oracle, patrolling past, present, and future.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Kon-El's consciousness is pulled into a pocket universe (dimension) when Jon Lane Kent touches his Psycho Future Self with all other Kons and Jons of the multiverse. The Future Jon taps into all other Kons and Jons except this dimension's Kon and younger Jon. The younger Jon heroically sacrifices himself to destroy the elder Jon, obliterating them both through his TK, sending all the other Jons and Kons back to their respective timelines, dimensions and universes. Jon isn't erased from history, and his actions outside of the pocket universe are well remembered, but he is truly gone, leaving Kon-El once again as Superboy. Kon-El is later revealed to travel all across the world and train and practice various forms of meditation and inner peace of mind as indicated in Supergirl comics. He later joins the Teen Titans.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Following the "Convergence" event which restored the original pre-"Crisis on Infinite Earths" (1984) multiverse, and brought back Superman and Lois from before the "Flashpoint", the New 52 Conner version of Superboy is not seen or heard from again. Around this time, DC's publishing initiative DC Rebirth initiates a number of stories designed to bring back classic characters and stories from before the unpopular New 52 reboot.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In the DC Rebirth era, the mantle of Superboy is held by Jonathan Samuel "Jon" Kent, the son of Kal-El and Lois Lane. Conner Kent/Superman from the "Titans Tomorrow" timeline makes an appearance in "Detective Comics" #966, where he asks Tim Drake/Batman to return to the Titans. Tim is subsequently captured by Mr. Oz, but escapes with the younger present-day Tim Drake. Before sending the younger Tim back to the past, the older Tim asks his younger self to reconcile his friendship with Conner. The young Tim Drake responds that he doesn't know who Conner is, leading the older Tim to realize that time has been altered. Tim later mentioned that although he didn't know why, he felt Conner's name ""tugging at my heart"". The New 52 Kon-El is also lightly referenced in "Red Hood and the Outlaws" when the Outlaws and the Suicide Squad explore a N.O.W.H.E.R.E. facility and Bizarro (whose brain chemistry was enhanced making him smarter) had Deadshot and Captain Boomerang accompany him to shut down the facility's main generator as he was aware that since it was designed to be protected against Kryptonians due to another clone (with Harvest and Kon-El seen in a flashback) and Bizarro knew he would die if he attempted to shut it down by himself. Later in "Superman Reborn", the histories of the pre-"Flashpoint" and New 52 Supermen are merged. When the post-"Rebirth" Superman reviews his own life story, Kon-El is not mentioned as one of the “replacements” who arose following Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: The "Titans of Tomorrow" version of Conner later appeared in the "Super-Sons of Tomorrow" crossover where he along with his universe's version of Wonder Woman and Flash travel back to the past to prevent their unhinged teammate Tim Drake (Batman) from killing Jon Kent. He would later help stop Jon's Solar Flare power from going out of control. Before they return to their time, Conner chooses not to disclose any information to Superman to prevent it from affecting the future.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In "Young Justice" (vol. 3) #1, it is revealed that Conner was a survivor of the continuity of the New Earth when Impulse runs into him while stranded in Gemworld. Conner, who was teleported to Gemworld during a confrontation with S.T.A.R Laboratories, did not experience the "rebooting" of his home dimension due to being outside of it while it occurred. As a result, most inhabitants of his dimension do not remember him. During his time on Gemworld, he befriended a young widower and pretended to be her farmer husband in order to protect her family from soldiers, and awaited help from his dimension. Eventually, Young Justice retrieves Conner, and he returns to his Earth after a series of incidents that result in the group dimension-hopping.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Upon returning, Conner reacquaints himself with Superman, who does not recognize him and is perplexed by his existence. Superman takes Conner to be examined by members of the Justice League, who warn him that his powers may eventually disappear in his lifetime. After aiding Superman and his family against Leviathan operatives in Metropolis, Conner decides to remain at the Kent family farm in Smallville as the elderly Kents and Krypto receive him warmly and are mysteriously able to recall memories of him.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In the "Infinite Frontier" era, Superboy appears as a main character in the books "Suicide Squad" and "Titans United", as well as guest appearance in "Teen Titans Academy", where various characters opine something is wrong with him and his powers appear to be malfunctioning. He appears in his 2000s-era T-shirt costume. The Superboy forced to work for Amanda Waller as part of her Suicide Squad was later revealed, unknowingly, to be Match, Conner's defective clone, when the real Superboy (dressed more in his 1990s look) confronts him.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: Originally, Superboy's only superpower is a telekinetic force field that surrounds his body and granted him abilities that approximated some of Superman's powers such as super strength, flight and invulnerability. The field allowed Superboy to lift heavy objects by extending the field around him and deflecting any solid object that came into contact with him. The field also allowed Superboy the ability to manipulate objects that he came into tactile contact with, bend them into any shape that he could visualize mentally, and disassemble things such as machines and other complex constructions by touch. Under Knockout's training, Superboy learned new ways to use his tactile telekinesis such as projecting telekinetic force waves to blast pieces of ground and extending his field to another person. Superboy can also manipulate solid masses such as volumes of sand or dust, causing the individual particles to fly apart in an explosive manner to create particle clouds or a forceful attack. He can also perform the same with solid masses that are splintered, such as a cracked slab of concrete or fractured pane of glass. The telekinetic field also lets Superboy break free of an opponent's grip by pushing the field outward to force the opponent away and he is also able to create an air pocket around himself, enabling him to breathe in outer space. In addition, he demonstrated the ability to extend his telekinetic field around other people that he touches to make them invulnerable. He also learned a trick from his older and more experienced alternate self, Black Zero, that allowed him to freeze people where they stood if he was touching the same surface that they were standing on.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: The main disadvantage of Superboy's tactile-telekinetic ability is that while his field could withstand physical force, the field is less effective in blocking radiant or conductive energy such as fire and laser fire. This left Superboy slightly more susceptible to energy-based attacks. While less effective against gaseous materials, he could manipulate water with a degree of difficulty and project his tactile telekinesis to create a current he could fire while underwater. He can also use his telekinetic field to deflect lava and prevent himself from being burned. Although Superboy was vulnerable to Kryptonite and magic, he was immune to the effects of a creature called "The Four-Armed Terror" which Superman was highly allergic to. Another advantage of Superboy's telekinesis is that it does not use up his solar energy as fast as Superman's powers. In "The Final Night", the Earth's sun was being eaten by a Sun-Eater which severely weakened Superman but Superboy's power level remained the same and he was able to use his tactile telekinesis at normal strength.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: The process that made Superboy's human physiology genetically similar to that of a Kryptonian was done in such detail that he was a living solar battery like Superman, had a weakness to Kryptonite radiation that made him physically ill, and it was theorized that there was a possibility for him to gain superpowers that did not derive from tactile telekinesis when he matured like Superman or if Superboy was aged to full adulthood as planned by Project Cadmus. As explained by his alternate timeline counterpart Black Zero and shown when Superboy himself was aged to an adult by Klarion, Superboy gained new powers such as heat vision and super hearing when he matured to full age as well as gaining a higher form of increased telekinesis, strength, and greater invulnerability.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: In the "New 52", it seems that Superboy has not yet obtained all of his Kryptonian powers and his only abilities are his tactile telekinesis and a degree of superhuman strength (a weight machine shows he is able to lift in excess of three tons with no strain at all in issue five) as well as a superhuman healing factor (something Harvest pointed out after Superboy's fight with Grunge) and is even able to bend light around him to turn invisible. In this version, it seems that his tactile telekinesis is far more powerful than in previous incarnations. It now operates like regular telekinesis, letting him levitate objects at a distance and also providing greater awareness of his environment, akin to a type of sonar. Superboy's telekinetic abilities also enable him to hyper accelerate himself at amazing speeds. It has become so powerful that when he escaped his test tube, he managed to destroy the entire laboratory and killed everyone inside save for Dr. Caitlin Fairchild. Later, he has shown that his power is so immense that he managed to destroy an entire prison complex while he was unconscious, which led to the belief that he doesn't have complete control over the ability.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: It has been revealed that Kon-El is a clone of Jon Lane Kent, Lois and Clark's son from an alternate-timeline future. Jon's hybrid nature led to genetic instability. To solve this problem, Harvest created the clone Superboy as a test and added two extra DNA strands with the human strand from Lois Lane and the Kryptonian strand from Superman. Harvest hoped that Lois and Clark's DNA could counteract the genetic disorder found in Jon's trans-alien DNA. Superboy's creation and stability proved a success. Superboy's telekinetic power stems from Jon Kent's DNA, who also possesses this power due to being a Human/Kryptonian hybrid born under a yellow sun. Kon-El's power was temporarily shown to dwarf Jon's which may be the result of the addition of Lois and Clark's DNA.


title: Superboy (Kon-El)

text: When the villainous Kryptonian H'El manages to disrupt his DNA, Superman uses his Kryptonian armor to stabilize Superboy's condition. His tactile telekinesis is condensed, enhancing his physical abilities, but also cutting into his sensory abilities and limiting the range of his power to the point that he has to be in direct contact with an object in order to mentally affect it. He has since seemingly recovered with his power returned to normal.