gshc2020.com

Spiky rivalries are relished, and feuds willingly fuelled. He does not care for tame. He lets opposing teams know he does not like them, and lets head coaches know he is coming for them. In doing so he has become the most influential figure in flipping the Bears narrative from bruised to buoyant.

"You guys know what next week is? Enough said."

Johnson had been referring to Chicago's upcoming matchup with their fierce divisional rival Green Bay Packers after just masterminding his side's latest win over the New York Jets.

• Rock bottom to NFL stardom: The rise of London's Jermaine Eleumunor
• The Chiefs stay perfect thanks to new hero - NFL Sunday Review
• Latest NFL fixtures, results and UK kick-off times
• Get latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract

"F*** the Packers! F*** them! I f****** hate those guys!" said an animated Johnson in the Bears locker room. Again, he does not care, nor does he care for those Packers.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

By modern standards he is something of an obscurity. In an era when half of NFL sidelines tend to include a disciple of Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay, he comes from a different branch with his own interpretation of the motion-fuelled play-action zone-run Shanahan system.

Pre-snap motion and subterfuge remain paramount like any good Shanahan offense, but Johnson is creating a new kind of horizontal and diagnosis stress for defenses, whose coverage plans have no place to hide against him. He sees and induces moves on the chess board before they even happen.

Through four weeks Johnson's offense ranks first in yards with an average of 429 per game, as well as topping the rushing charts with an average of 196.3 yards on the ground. The Bears are meanwhile third in dropback success rate and eighth in EPA/play despite spending the last two weeks without starting quarterback Caleb Williams.

Johnson lost Williams to a hamstring injury late in Chicago's 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week Two. It would be easy to look back on that game with some question marks around the Bears buzz, but this was a Brian Flores blitz-centric defense we are talking about. It happens to the best of the league from time to time.

His team has since averaged 434 yards and 25 points per game in back-to-back victories over the Philadelphia Eagles and, most recently, the Jets.

Twitter

This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.

Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only.

The 27-7 win over Philadelphia arrived behind 38-year-old backup quarterback Case Keenum, who finished 24 of 34 passing for 247 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while making his first start in almost three years. A week later he orchestrated a 23-12 win over the Jets behind Tyson Bagent, who finished 25 of 34 passing for 268 yards and an interception in just his fifth career start.

History suggests the most gifted and successful coaches in football are still able to find ways to win no matter who is serving them under center. By doing so Johnson is thrusting himself firmly among the elite architects of his time. Right up there with the Shanahans and McVays. Plug-and-play mastery.

In both games without Williams the Bears head coach leaned on the league's most effective and dynamic rushing attack as a foundation for success behind his backup play-callers. D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for 115 yards from 30 carries on the ground against the Eagles, followed by 204 rushing yards from 45 of Chicago's 54 total carries against the Jets. The latter saw Monangai lead the way with 146 yards and two touchdowns as the Bears dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 42.45 minutes to the Jets' 17.15.

It also marked the first time a team had recorded more first downs (34) than offensive plays by their opponent (32) since September 1999.

Success by way of Bagent was no fluke. Johnson has been banking on it, planning for it, assured of the quarterback depth seemingly mandatory to any productive team in today's NFL. Sure, Plan A is Williams. Should Plan Bagent and Plan Keenum come into play, he is more qualified than the majority of the league to survive and thrive.

"I do think there's a lot of merit to having a strong number two quarterback, which he certainly fits that bill. I'm of the mind that he's probably one of the best 32 in the NFL," Johnson said on Bagent earlier this summer.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Johnson's rise to stardom came with the Detroit Lions as he resurrected the career of quarterback Jared Goff within, at its peak, the most creative offense in football. A running back tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery was the quintessential picture of Johnson's offense, mixing electric speed and flair with hard-nosed running between perfectly-crafted lanes. Coveted balance teed up play action production to Amon-Ra St Brown and Jameson Williams as a field-stretching attack capable of hurting rivals at every level, in every way, at every moment. It was offensive football at its breathtaking best, attacking every corner of the field, from all angles and at an unrelenting rate of success.

He prided and still prides himself on invention. One occasion last January saw Johnson roll out offensive lineman Theo Benedet on a seam route against the Packers. He also utilised six-foot-nine reserve offensive lineman Dan Skipper as a dwarfing receiver, unleashing him on isolated routes in one game and teeing him up for a trick play touchdown catch on another. Penei Sewell would meanwhile become a prominent decoy to a smoke-and-mirrors running game, Johnson's counter-flow system wreaking havoc in the face of lane discipline and play identification for defenses. His bag of tricks became the most in-demand of its kind in the NFL, prompting the Bears to turn to him as their man to lead Williams forward.

In fact, it was for Williams that Johnson decided to make Chicago his home once the head coaching jobs came calling.

His trickery has shown no sign of drying up. Johnson underlined his quarterback situation in Johnson style last Sunday as he deployed both Keenum and Bagent in the same formation on the opening drive of their win over the Jets. Only he could somewhat poke fun at his ability to win with backup quarterbacks over the last two weeks.

Twitter

This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.

Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only.

Johnson has become a refreshing necessity to modern football, asserting himself as one of the most impactful and innovative offensive minds of his generation while also retaining a notion of nostalgia to his rah-rah competitiveness. He is football through and through, the blend of guile and passion bringing an entire city behind him in the process.

Aaron Rodgers previously claimed he owned the Bears during his monopoly on the rivalry in Green Bay. Johnson has ripped up said script as he seeks to rewrite Chicago supremacy. His team claimed two of three games between the teams last season, including the playoff victory, while winning their first NFC North title since 2018. Before then

"He wants to beat them really bad like everyone else in the room, like every Chicago fan. Beat them real bad, and make them quit," said receiver Luther Burden III this week.

As for Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, he resisted the temptation to bite on any early mind games.

"This game is about players," he said. "And so we'll keep it about the players. You know, I'm not the one out there. They're playing. So, I think that's always been my mentality, and we're gonna keep it about those guys."

Packers safety Evan Williams added: "It's easy to have a camera in front of you and say whatever you want. That's not going to stop you from getting hit in the mouth on any given Sunday... It's not going to show up on Sunday. It's not going to save you."

Game on. Just as Johnson wants it.

Chicago had won one playoff game since 2006 prior to his arrival in 2025. Johnson has transformed the Bears, while becoming one of the most important figures in football. The NFL is better with his art and his antics in it.

Watch the 2026 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LXI on Sunday February 14, 2027. Get latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract on NOW. %!s()

The GLE is now finishing out its fourth generation. The third was a rather busy one as well; GLE replaced the old M-class name, and the lineup expanded with the addition of a slicker-roofed Coupe model with a dash more style and a dash less utility. The longer GLS (née GL) is in its third extended generation. We recently drove several versions of both to judge how Mercedes engineers wield their access to the fountain of youth.

The Stars Align

To keep things looking fresh, the bumpers underwent minor plastic surgery, and that work is complemented by new grilles filled with rows of tiny three-pointed stars; the revised detailing is accompanied by new headlights and taillights, also containing three-pointed stars. Both get a pair of star elements in their headlights, with the GLE’s arranged horizontally and the GLS’s stacked vertically. At the back, two stars in each taillight means it's a GLE, three tells you it’s the larger GLS. Are you confused yet? Perfect. There’ll be an exam.

Interior changes are few but noticeable. Perhaps for symmetry, the previous 12.3-inch driver and center displays are now joined by a passenger touchscreen of the same size. It’s still not entirely clear what the purpose of such an extra interface is, especially since your co-driver likely has a smartphone or tablet along for the ride, but the trio of screens (dubbed Superscreen) is nevertheless standard on both the GLE and GLS for 2027. You can now summon an AI assistant whose visual representation hangs out in the corner of the center screen in one of three blob-like manifestations.

Mercedes heard customer complaints about its touch-heavy steering-wheel controls, or at least some of them, as the volume control has been replaced by a roller and the adaptive cruise control gets a physical rocker. The directional pad on the right spoke is still of the capacitive-touch variety. Oh, and the HVAC vents have been reshaped; thankfully, you can still control them by hand.

Mercedes-Benz GLE500e

A new electrical architecture underpins everything and aligns both models with the S-class’s hardware, allowing for over-the-air updates and piling on more apps and systems in general. The sensors necessary for Mercedes’s new Hands-Free Highway Assist and City Pro, which provides intervention-free point-to-point driving in all settings, are present; those features will be enabled via software update at some point in the future.

Compelling Power and Smoothness

Each lineup offers powertrain choice, and that’s before you get to the AMG variants. We’ll run through the many options from least to most powerful.

The existing turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, again available only in the GLE350, has been massaged. Now called the M254 Evo, it gains an electric compressor that pitches in while the mechanical turbocharger is still building boost. We didn’t get to drive that version, but the result should be quicker and smoother torque delivery, although its max output figures are unchanged. One configuration has been jettisoned—the previously available rear-wheel-drive GLE350 is gone, meaning the two-row’s lineup is now AWD-only, matching the GLS.

Next up the ladder is the 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six found in the GLE450 Coupe and SUV, as well as the GLS450. A handful of changes to that engine, including a stronger electric compressor and updates to breathing and combustion, help increase torque by 44 pound-feet for a new total of 413.

The plug-in hybrid option, again reserved for the GLE SUV, gets a bigger engine and a more powerful electric motor. The GLE500e replaces the previous 450e, subbing in an overhauled 3.0-liter six for the old 2.0-liter four. Max output is now 429 horsepower and 502 pound-feet, respective increases of 48 and 23. A more powerful e-motor means you shouldn’t have to call up the gas engine as often.

At the top sits the GLE580 SUV and GLS580, both of which inherit their new 4.0-liter twin-turbo M177 Evo V-8 from the S-class. Benz went to a lot of trouble to switch to a flat-plane crankshaft and then did a lot of work to mask the fact that it had done so, adding counterweighted balance shafts to cancel out the vibrations inherent to that layout. They even messed with timing on the exhaust camshaft, with specific degrees of offset for each cylinder bank, to prevent the engine from sounding like a Ferrari. The upshots of the flat-plane design are improved efficiency and reduced emissions (things that still matter in other countries), along with an output bump to 530 horses (up 20) and 553 pound-feet (up 15). As before, all of the non-plug-ins have an integrated starter-generator.

More Feels Just Right

With all of the upgraded powertrains, you notice how little you, er, notice. In their more sedate configurations, Mercedes powertrains don’t exactly telegraph gear changes or convey noticeable spurts of turbo boost, so this is simply another level of refinement layered atop the refinement that’s already there. You have to pay very close attention to discern the initial shove courtesy of the starter-generator from the work of the electric compressor or the mechanical boost addition that follows. The supersmooth torque flow is barely interrupted by the nine-speed transmission’s shifts, which are heard more than felt.

That true sense of smoothness extends to the reworked chassis. Mercedes again offers three suspension setups per model, all of which have been retuned; the GLE comes standard with steel springs and adaptive dampers, while both a traditional air spring and an active air suspension are both available. The GLS has the normal air suspension standard, with the upgraded electrohydraulic E-Active Body Control an option.

Both air suspensions now benefit from cloud-based predictive damping, which tells the vehicle a pavement disturbance is coming up so it can prepare the dampers for it. That’s in addition to the existing camera-based predictive modulation. As all of our drives occurred on back roads, we didn’t really get to test the pothole and bump prediction. The active system feels as unnatural as ever, keeping these big SUVs from feeling tippy and actually leaning them into corners like a motorcycle. The effect is more appreciated on large-radius curves; it works perfectly in tight turns, but our brain can only handle so much willful discarding of physics. The steering feels less indirect and seems to have had some of the syrup tuned out of it, which we appreciate.

Mercedes notes that the GLE Coupe gets stiffer suspension tuning than it had previously and quicker steering than its SUV counterpart. While those changes are sometimes palpable, they’re less obvious than the Coupe’s relative lack of cargo space and higher asking price. That’s a preference thing, of course, but we prefer the logical choice here over the emotional one.

Improvements Have a Price Tag

With the removal of the rear-drive 350 model, the GLE is now more expensive by default. Even the GLE350 4Matic costs a few thousand more than last year, now coming in at $69,850. It’s $76,250 for the GLE450 SUV and $82,750 if you choose the Coupe. The biggest change is seen on the plug-in, which starts at $82,450, its $8850 increase partly attributed to the bigger engine. It's $97,750 for the top Benz GLE, the 580 SUV. If you want the GLS’s third row, offered in conjunction with either a second-row bench or captain’s chairs, pricing starts at $95,500 for the GLS450 and $122,500 for the 580.

Bringing both models up to current S-class spec wasn’t cheap, but it pays dividends in comfort and luxury. If Mercedes can make this big of a leap toward the end of a generation, imagine what the next-gen GLE and GLS models will bring.

➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.

Specifications

Specifications

2027 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Vehicle Type: front-engine, front-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback and wagon

PRICE
Base: GLE350 4Matic, $69,850; GLE450 4Matic, $76,250; GLE500e 4Matic, $82,450; GLE450 4Matic Coupe, $82,750; GLE580 4Matic, $97,750

POWERTRAINS
turbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 255 hp, 295 lb-ft; turbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter inline-6, 375 hp, 413 lb-ft; turbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter inline-6, 322 hp, 395 lb-ft + AC motor, 181 hp, 354 lb-ft (combined output: 429 hp, 502 lb-ft; 25.7-kWh lithium-ion battery pack; peak charge rate, AC/DC: 9.6/60 kW); twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve 4.0-liter V-8, 530 hp, 553 lb-ft
Transmission: 9-speed automatic

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 115.6–117.9 in
Length: 193.9–194.5 in
Width: 79.5 in
Height: 68.1–71.1 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 57–58/50–56 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 64–75/32–33 ft3
Curb Weight (C/D est): 4900–6000 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 4.2–6.8 sec
1/4-Mile: 12.9–15.0 sec
Top Speed: 130 mph

EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 18–23/15–21/21–26 mpg
GLE500e Combined Gasoline + Electricity: 60 MPGe
GLE500e EV Range: 52 mi

--

2027 Mercedes-Benz GLS
Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 6- or 7-passenger, 4-door wagon

PRICE
Base: GLS450 4Matic, $95,500; GLS580 4Matic, $122,500

ENGINES
turbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter inline-6, 375 hp, 413 lb-ft; twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve 4.0-liter V-8, 530 hp, 553 lb-ft

TRANSMISSION
9-speed automatic

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 123.4 in
Length: 205.4–205.6 in
Width: 79.0 in
Height: 71.8–72.4 in
Passenger Volume, F/M/R: 59/59/39 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/M/R: 85/43/17 ft3
Curb Weight (C/D est): 5700–5850 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 4.5–5.2 sec
1/4-Mile: 12.5–13.7 sec
Top Speed: 130 mph

EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 16–21/14–19/20–24 mpg

Ever since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he’s driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he’s back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs. %!s()

The work advances a strategy the research team has been developing for years. Instead of simply shutting down a cancer-promoting protein, the scientists designed a small molecule that connects it to another protein capable of activating the cell's built-in death program. The researchers believe this type of molecular rewiring could eventually have applications beyond lymphoma, including other cancers and some autoimmune diseases.

"We're trying to essentially fight cancer with its cause -- taking the driving force of the cancer and then rewiring it to activate cell death mechanisms," said Gerald Crabtree, MD, the David Korn, MD, Professor in Pathology and a professor of developmental biology.

Crabtree shares senior authorship of the study, which was published in Cell, with Nathanael Gray, PhD, the Krishnan-Shah Family Professor and a professor of chemical and systems biology; Stephen Hinshaw, PhD, assistant professor of molecular and cellular physiology; and Michael Green, PhD, director of translational and laboratory research, lymphoma/myeloma at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Graduate student Meredith Nix and postdoctoral scholar Sai Gourisankar, PhD, are the lead authors of the research.

How BCL6 Helps Lymphoma Cells Survive

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. In many cases, the disease is driven by a protein known as BCL6.

In healthy immune cells, BCL6 attaches to DNA and temporarily shuts down genes that would normally stop cell growth or initiate cell death. This temporary suppression gives immune cells time to multiply during an immune response.

Once the immune threat has passed, other proteins modify BCL6 so that it can no longer silence those genes. The excess immune cells can then die through apoptosis, a controlled form of programmed cell death that allows the body to remove unneeded, damaged or cancerous cells without causing inflammation or harming nearby tissue.

Problems arise when BCL6 remains permanently active. In lymphoma cells, the protein can stay stuck in the "on" position, continually suppressing death-related genes and allowing malignant cells to keep multiplying.

Crabtree, Gray and their colleagues wanted to do more than simply remove that suppression. Their goal was to push those same cell-death genes into a highly active state. To accomplish this, they turned to a technique known as chemically induced proximity, which uses chemical connections to bring together molecules that normally interact only rarely, if at all.

A Two-Sided Molecule Rewires the Cancer Protein

The researchers created a molecule called TCIP3 that functions somewhat like a two-sided key.

"One side binds to BCL6," Nix explained. "The other side binds either of two proteins called P300 and CBP that add chemical tags called acetyl marks onto nearby proteins."

When an acetyl tag is added to BCL6, the protein loses its ability to suppress the cell-death genes downstream from it. P300 and CBP also place acetyl tags on nearby histones, the structures that help package DNA inside cells. Those modifications cause the histones to loosen their grip on DNA, opening up access for transcription factors that are needed to turn genes on.

That produces a different effect from existing drugs that target BCL6 by blocking or degrading it.

"We're not just relieving the repression conferred by BCL6; we're also actively driving the expression of these cell death genes, which is why we're able to get really potent compounds," Nix said, comparing the difference to easing off a car's brake versus flooring the accelerator.

Why TCIP3 Acts Like "Molecular Glue"

To investigate why TCIP3 was so effective, the researchers examined the compound at the atomic level. They crystallized the molecular complex and exposed it to X-rays -- allowing them to see precisely how TCIP3 connects the proteins.

The structural analysis uncovered an unexpected feature. Once TCIP3 brought the proteins together, they formed several additional chemical contacts with one another. Those interactions helped stabilize the entire complex, strengthening the effect of the hybrid molecule beyond what the researchers had initially expected.

"We used structural studies and biophysical measurements to determine that TCIP3 acts as a kind of molecular glue, anchoring these proteins together," Gourisankar said.

Using that structural information, the chemists were able to make the connection between the molecule's two halves more rigid. This helped preserve the favorable interactions instead of allowing the molecule to flex and lose energy. The resulting TCIP3 compound killed lymphoma cells grown in the laboratory at very low concentrations.

Lymphoma Tumors Disappeared in Mice

The team then tested TCIP3 in mice implanted with human lymphoma cells. After allowing the cells to develop into tumors, the researchers treated the animals with TCIP3 twice a day.

"By 11 days, the tumors that had been treated with TCIP3 were completely gone, whereas the tumors in the control animals remained," Nix said.

The treated mice showed no obvious signs of toxicity, and blood tests did not reveal an increase in inflammatory signals. At the same time, TCIP3 was also eliminating germinal centers -- clusters of rapidly dividing immune cells that depend heavily on BCL6 and represent the same type of cells that become abnormal in lymphoma.

That effect pointed to another possible application for the technology. Germinal center cells also play an important role in certain autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and myasthenia gravis. Because of that connection, the researchers think molecules similar to TCIP3 could eventually be explored as treatments for those conditions as well.

A Broader Strategy for Reprogramming Cancer

TCIP3 is not yet ready for use in people. The compound still requires further chemical refinement and must be tested in additional animal species before researchers can consider moving toward human clinical trials.

Even so, the broader strategy may have wide potential. The researchers are using bivalent, or two-headed, molecules to redirect the activity of cancer-driving proteins instead of merely blocking them. They are now looking for additional cancer-promoting proteins that could be vulnerable to the same type of molecular matchmaking.

"This could be a powerful approach to tackling other cell death repressors or transcription factors that control genes we want to activate in cancer," Nix said.

Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center and the AI-powered drug discovery platform Deep Origin contributed to the study.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (grants CA276167, CA163915, R01CA3044298, MH126720-01, S10OD028697-01, R01CA201380 and 1K99CA296700-01), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Mary Kay Foundation, the Williams Foundation, the Victor Family Fund, Ed and Beatriz Schweitzer, the David L. Sze and Kathleen Donahue Interdisciplinary Fellowship, and a PhRMA Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in Drug Discovery.

Crabtree is a founder and scientific advisor for Shenandoah Therapeutics, which has a license from Stanford University for the TCIP technology described in the study. Gray is a founder, scientific advisor and board member for Shenandoah Therapeutics. %!s()

India is one of the largest producers of farm products and ranks among the world's top exporters of rice and sugar. Its farms help to feed almost 1.5 billion people, keep supply-side inflation under check, and sustain 46.1% of India's workforce, driving consumer spending.

But this crucial sector now faces the heat from the so-called super El Niño. This week I dig deeper to understand what this global weather event holds for India.

Any thoughts on today's newsletter? Share them with the team.

The big story

This year is not getting any better for the world's fastest-growing economy.

The super El Niño weather phenomenon is emerging as the latest headwind for India's growth, which is already facing global energy shocks, trade uncertainty with the U.S. and record exits of foreign investors from its equity markets.

From June to September, a key season for its mostly rain-fed farms and reservoirs, India received its lowest rainfall in more than a decade, as per local media reports. It was the fourth lowest since 2001, and the 13th driest since 1901, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Reservoirs in the country were 28% short of full capacity at the end of September and posed a risk to winter crops, according to a report by Nomura on Monday. Several parts of key farm states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana are facing extreme "drought conditions," Nomura stated.

India's sugar industry is vital for agriculture, industry, and rural livelihoods, supporting nearly 5 crore farmers and 5 lakh factory workers. India is the world's second-largest sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) producer. Recently, the sector has been affected by El Nino, which brings weak monsoons and dry weather, reducing yields and sucrose recovery.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

India and other countries are contending with "significant fertilizer shortages" as key producers in the Middle East and Russia have been impacted by geopolitical conflicts, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at an event organized by the non-profit Asia Society in New York last week.

Jaishankar warned that with the super El Niño added to the mix, "there is going to be a major food crisis" in the coming months. Energy shocks and the flow of money to safe harbors have been "very stressful" for economies of the Global South, he said. The Global South is a term used to characterize less-developed or emerging economies.

Following Jaishankar's comments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political opponents blamed the government for not acting in time to avert the crisis.

Super El Niño impact

Inflation in India has been rising for 10 straight months, crossing the central bank's medium-term target of 4% in August, even as economic growth has been resilient so far.

While the share of farming in India's economy is around 17%, it provides a livelihood to roughly 46.1% of India's workforce. Its produce is pivotal in curbing supply-side inflation domestically, and the country ranks among the top global exporters of rice and sugar. The rural economy, largely dependent on farming, is also an important pillar of consumer spending.

India's "monsoon deficit appears to be larger than originally expected," the World Bank said in a report on Tuesday. "This is expected to reduce agricultural output and rural demand while increasing food inflation, adding to existing pressure from higher energy prices," the report said.

Rural areas account for nearly 40% of sales of fast-moving consumer goods, according to data from consultancy Nielsen Consumer. Rural demand is key for major multinational companies in India such as Hindustan Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive India, Nestle India, and the automakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors, per market data based on annual reports and earnings calls.

According to Hanna Luchnikava-Schorsch, head of Asia-Pacific economics at S&P Global Market Intelligence, India's rural economy is likely to slow "materially" in 2026 and 2027, "as drought conditions, below-normal monsoon rainfall and depleted reservoir levels reduce crop yields and farm incomes."

While broader indicators have remained resilient so far, Luchnikava-Schorsch told CNBC that "early signs of stress are already emerging," adding that tractor sales had slowed and "demand for rural employment support programs has begun to rise."

Morgan Stanley estimated that the gross value added by India's agricultural sector will grow by 1.6% in the financial year ending in March 2027, much slower than the 3.5% growth seen over the past three years. S&P Global Market Intelligence Analysis forecast growth would cool to 1.9%.

Experts agreed that India is among the most exposed major Asian economies when it comes to the super El Niño, but while many are hopeful that the country will manage the fallout using its policy buffers, some predicted it has the potential to stir unrest.

"Food security risks across South and Southeast Asia are set to rise, raising the potential for unrest and political instability in some of Asia's most exposed economies," according to global risk advisory firm Verisk Maplecroft in a Sept. 16 report.

India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines are among the countries that are most exposed to food security risk from the super El Niño and also face the highest risk of civil unrest due to rising prices, Verisk Maplecroft said.

Need to know

India's central bank hikes rates for the first time since 2023 as inflation risks build
The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, joining several major central banks in tightening monetary policy to arrest accelerating inflation. It increased the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to a 1-year high of 5.50%.

U.S. trade representative Greer says deal with India not 'imminent' after Modi-Trump call
U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday signaled that a deal with India was not on the cards soon, as Washington and New Delhi continue to hash out the finer points of a much-awaited agreement.

Little room for 'giving and taking': India's finance minister confirms trade impasse with the U.S.
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said trade talks with the U.S. had reached a plateau, adding to growing skepticism around a deal between New Delhi and Washington.

Coming up

Oct. 12: Consumer price index data for September

Oct. 14: India wholesale price index for September %!s()

The Kingdom has argued that, as a foreign sovereign state, it has immunity from prosecution in US courts.

The families, who first filed the lawsuit in 2002, spent several years lobbying US Congress to pass an amendment to the foreign sovereign immunity law to allow the case to go ahead.

In 2016, Congress passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which allows civil claims against a foreign state or official for injuries, death, or damages from an act of international terrorism.

In August 2025, the Manhattan District Court ruled that the 9/11 families had presented enough evidence to meet the terms of the act and the case was allowed to proceed towards a trial.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeals to reverse that decision.

Counsel Gregory Rapawy argued core issues of fact – including the central question of the nature of Bayoumi's employment by the Saudi state – had not been decided and needed to be done so before the country could be stripped of immunity.

9/11 families' lawyer Gavin Simpson argued that the District Court had already found that Bayoumi's actions "were not just acts of a good Samaritan or an innocent participant".

"He was, in fact, following Saudi Arabia's instructions when assisting the hijackers," said Simpson, and that these were points that Saudi Arabia had "failed to rebut."

One option the judges seemed to wrestle with was whether to send the case back to the district court to make more concrete findings, which could involve taking testimony from live witnesses.

Asked by Judge Guido Calabresi which witnesses Saudi Arabia could call in that eventuality, Rapawy suggested that if the issue ultimately came down to Bayoumi's credibility, "we would have to see" if he could be called to testify.

As he drew the hearing to a close, Judge William Nardini said "it's a difficult case, and we will take it under advisement", meaning that the panel would issue a ruling at a future date.

Speaking outside the courthouse, Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was killed in the World Trade Center, told the BBC she felt positive about the hearing.

"25 years is an extraordinary time to go without accountability and justice for the murder of your loved one. What we hope is that the judges will uphold [District Court] Judge Daniels' decision and move to a trial." %!s()