March 5 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

Smith & Nephew SN.L has opened the door to a possible break-up amid activist pressure to consider a separation of the FTSE 100 company's largest division.

Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA.O, the owner of UK chemist Boots, is in negotiations with New York-based Sycamore Partners to agree to a takeover for $10 billion.

The Guardian

UK defence secretary John Healey will fly out to Washington on Wednesday for a two-day trip during which he will meet his counterpart Pete Hegseth after the Trump administration's decision to halt all military aid to Ukraine.

Rachel Reeves has said UK companies and jobs will be prioritised under the government's plans for a significant increase in defence spending, with an aim to support "left behind" industrial towns and the economy at large.

The Telegraph

Apple AAPL.O has filed a legal complaint that it hopes will overturn a British government order to create a "back door" in its most secure cloud storage systems.

An investor group backed by BlackRock BLK.N agreed to buy a majority stake in the Hong Kong-based company that runs ports along either side of the Panama Canal, giving a U.S. firm control of key docks amid pressure from the White House to take them from China.

Sky News

U.S. Vice President JD Vance denied on Tuesday disrespecting Britain and France by describing a planned peacekeeping force in Ukraine as 20,000 troops from some "random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years".

The International Anti-Corruption Co-ordination Centre (IACCC) principally funded by the UK government is now "exploring opportunities" to assist government and law-enforcement agencies in Bangladesh with their efforts to investigate allegations of grand corruption.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

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