The coming rate rise, the index of ignorance and the last Bric in the wall

This article is published in collaboration with FirstFT.

Britain has launched air strikes against Isis extremists in Syria just hours after MPs endorsed David Cameron’s plan to bomb what he called “medieval murderers”.

After a day of high drama at Westminster, dozens of Labour MPs ignored their leader Jeremy Corbyn and backed military action. (FT)

In the news

The coming rate rise The US economy has “recovered substantially” from the Great Recession and is set for further growth and firmer inflation, Fed chief Janet Yellen said, as she laid the ground for the first rise in official interest rates since 2006. A lift in rates would testify to the progress the US has made, Ms Yellen said. (FT)

California hit by mass shooting At least 14 people have been killed and 17 injured after a shooting at a centre for people with disabilities in San Bernardino, California. “We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in world,” President Barack Obama said following the incident. (FT)

Rousseff faces impeachment proceedings Brazil’s Congress is to start impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff on the back of her alleged “crimes of responsibility” for the government’s handling of the 2014 budget. The impeachment process further increases uncertainty hanging over Brazil at a time when the economy is in freefall. (FT)

McDonald’s under scrutiny The European Commission is poised to launch a formal probe into alleged tax avoidance by McDonald’s in Luxembourg as Europe steps up its fight againstaggressive corporate tax planning. The global fast food group drew the attention of the authorities in February during the “Luxleaks” scandal, which revealed that hundreds of companies had agreed secret deals in Luxembourg to save them billions of dollars in taxes. (FT)

Nato’s Russian rapprochement Nato is preparing to revive talks with Russia through a special council that has been largely dormant since the Ukraine crisis. The move, driven by Germany, has unsettled allies more cautious about any rapprochement with Moscow. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Oscar Pistorius South Africa’s supreme appeal court will inform the athlete if his conviction for killing Reeva Steenkamp is to be changed from manslaughter to murder. (The Guardian)

Food for thought

The index of ignorance A global poll on some of the most contentious issues of the day reveals a disturbing chasm between public perception and reality. For example, people worldwide overestimate the number of immigrants, underestimate the scale of obesity and are misinformed about how much the wealthy actually own. All these add up to what the pollsters called the “Index of Ignorance” — a ranking of the most uninformed countries in the world. (Quartz)

Zuckerberg’s babies should be unbundled Solving what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg calls the problems of a generation is a whole new ball game compared with managing Facebook, writes John Gapper. “Changing societies requires more time, more money and greater willingness to suffer frustration than launching a new product.” (FT)

The seal of a biblical king Archaeologists in Israel say they have found a 2,700-year-old piece of clay inscribed with the seal of a biblical king. It is believed the stamp was once attached to a papyrus document signed by Hezekiah, one of the kings of Judah. (BBC)

The last Bric in the wall With official data this week showing 7.4 per cent growth, India stands alone among the once-vaunted Brics nations putting up a decent show, writes the FT’s David Pilling. But there are problems bubbling beneath the surface and at least a few reasons not to count India’s chickens just yet. (FT)

The verdict on Gollum A Turkish court has called for an expert panel to determine whether Gollum, a character from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, is good or evil in order to establish whether or not a doctor insulted Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he shared a meme comparing the two. (WaPo)

Video of the day

Child trafficking in China Mass migrations to cities has created openings for human traffickers to nab unsupervised children in China. The FT’s Lucy Hornby reports on child trafficking in the country and meets a father searching for his abducted son. (FT)

Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: A man rides an escalator near Shanghai Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center (L) at the Pudong financial district in Shanghai REUTERS/Carlos Barria.