Aon nears $17B deal to buy USI Insurance

Zomato, the food delivery platform, is shutting down its customer support operations in Hyderabad. The move will lead to around 250 job losses, as per the Economic Times. The decision comes after a shift in Zomato's customer support model over the last six months, with more work being outsourced to third-party vendors.

The Supreme Court has stayed proceedings on an FIR against Dehradun gym owner "Mohammed" Deepak Kumar, who went viral for standing up for a Muslim shopkeeper during a confrontation with Bajrang Dal members in Uttarakhand. The court also stayed a High Court order that had barred Kumar from making social media posts about the incident. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta passed the interim order and issued a notice to respondents in Kumar's petition.

Apple's upcoming Watch Series 12 could come in two premium ceramic case options. The speculation has grown throughout August, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman adding more weight to the theory in his latest "Power On" newsletter. He revealed that Apple has been testing the new model with white and dark gray variants of these ceramic cases.

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking mandatory labeling or disclosure of ethanol content in petrol sold at fuel stations across India. The petition was filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami, who sought directions from the central government for uniform labeling on dispensing nozzles, disclosing the exact percentage of ethanol in petrol. However, a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale dismissed the plea, saying, "(Petition) dismissed. Open for petitioner to approach competent authority."

Oil prices surged over 2% on Monday after US forces targeted two Iranian launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The attack has raised concerns over rising tensions in the Gulf and possible disruptions to global oil supplies. Brent crude futures rose by $2.22 or 2.52%, to $90.32 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by $2.01 or 2.41%, to $85.41 a barrel on Monday morning.

Aon, a leading insurance broker and consultancy firm, is close to finalizing a deal to acquire USI Insurance Services from private equity firm KKR. The deal is estimated at around $17 billion, including debt, reported theWall Street Journal. An official announcement could come as early as Monday if negotiations go smoothly.

The benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, witnessed a sharp decline on Monday. At 10:40am, the Sensex had plummeted by 491.66 points or 0.64% to trade at 76,772.84. The broader Nifty index fell to 23,997.95 after losing 178.2 points or 0.73%. The fall was mainly due to renewed tensions between the US and Iran, which led to a spike in crude oil prices. The development negatively impacted investor sentiment.

Indian security agencies have unearthed a new communication method used by terrorists and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan, Wion has reported. The groups are now using encrypted applications on pornographic websites and apps to communicate with recruits in Jammu and Kashmir. This shift comes as they move away from popular social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Signal.

A 16-year-old Class 11 student from Uttar Pradesh was allegedly gang-raped inside a moving sleeper bus on August 4, police said. The victim had left her home in Mainpuri district after an argument with her family and was headed to meet her cousin in Noida. However, she got off at Pari Chowk by mistake due to heavy rain and darkness.

NASA and SpaceX have postponed the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) after an oxidizer leak was detected in the propulsion system of their Dragon spacecraft. The delay comes as both organizations conduct further tests on the vehicle. A new target launch date for this important mission, which will see American, Canadian and Russian astronauts onboard, is yet to be announced.