Aircraft debris found, Fed stays the course and bright lights, big universe

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Investigators are examining what may be the most significant development in the 17-month search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 after debris – which experts say is consistent with the lost Boeing 777 aircraft – washed up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean.

If the part is from the missing flight, it could provide clues to the fate of the jet, which disappeared in March last year with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (FT)

In the news:

Fed stays the course

In a statement after its two-day policy meeting, the US central bank left interest rates unchanged, but kept its options open as to when to pull the trigger. The Fed also gave a stronger endorsement of progress in the job market, saying it was seeing “solid” job gains. (FT)

Keep calm and start recruiting

The British army is now at its smallest since the Napoleonic wars. Defence cuts and departures have left the army 3,400 troops short of even its reduced target strength. (FT)

An exhibit you can’t refuse

Fifa’s exploits have landed it a permanent, centre-field exhibition at a popular US museum. Unfortunately for football’s governing body, it is the mafia museum in Las Vegas. (ESPN)

Seeking support

The US has called on the European Union to speak out more forcefully to support Washington in its dispute with Beijing over island-building and military expansion in the South China Sea. (Reuters)

Wanted: drug abusers

Thousands of recreational drug users are being recruited to clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer and Teva, as the industry races to develop a new generation of “abuse-deterrent” opioid painkillers designed to stem the US’s addiction to prescription drugs. (FT)

It’s a big day for:

Greece, where there will be an emergency meeting between prime minister Alexis Tsipras and the central committee of Syriza, his ruling party. The meeting will focus on Mr Tsipras’s proposal to hold a snap election. (FT)

Earnings Companies including LinkedIn, ExxonMobil, and Cigna will report quarterly results on Thursday.

Food for thought:

Go west, old man

The sunny south-west has topped a poll of the best places to retire in England and Wales. Longer life expectancy, better healthcare and lower than average crime rates make the likes of Devon and Dorset top choices for those looking to make the most of the sunset of our lives. (Guardian)

Walkie Talkie wind tunnel

Who knew one building could harness so many elements. London’s Walkie Talkie skyscraper, already accused of igniting fires in adjacent buildings and melting nearby cars, is now said to be behind a wind tunnel effect on the surrouding streets that has literally knocked people off their feet. (Web Urbanist)

Bright lights, big universe

An aurora a million times brighter than the Northern Lights and more red than green in colour has been detected for the first time outside our solar system. And it is only a mere 18 light years away. (BBC)

US novelists dominate award list

The 2015 longlist for the Man Booker prize is out. US novelists outnumbered UK-born writers for the first time after the prize opened last year to all novels written in English and published in the UK. (FT)

Sniffing out a problem

A US court has thrown doubt on how much police officers should rely on drug-sniffing dogs after it found that one particular canine nearly always signalled that narcotics were present. The dog’s accuracy rate “is not much better than a coin flip,” the ruling said. (AP)

Covering up in public

Women’s glossy mag Cosmopolitan is being forced to cover up – at least in supermarket chains in the US which have acquiesed to lobbyists’ calls for the “pornographic” publication to be placed behind blinders. (Slate)

Video of the day:

How losses on Greek banks might be distributed

Greek banks are in a perilous state. Parliament has introduced an EU tool aimed at sharing the pain in a failing bank and avoiding its collapse. Oliver Burrows of CRT Capital explains how this would work and whether it could be a Europe-wide blueprint. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. 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 worker arrives at his office in the Canary Wharf business district in London. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh.