PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - February 26

Feb 26 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories, and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

- UK to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027

- NHS chief Amanda Pritchard resigns

- UK suspends aid to Rwanda over eastern DR Congo conflict

- Transport for London calls for new cash to replace 50-year-old trains

- David Lammy hosts UK-Japanese private business roundtable

Overview

- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a 6 billion pounds ($7.60 billion) boost to defence spending, raising it to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, funded by cuts to the aid budget, to counter the threat from Russia and win support from the Trump administration.

- Amanda Pritchard resigned as NHS England chief executive, with James Mackey appointed as "transition CEO" to reshape the relationship between the health service and the government amidst a backlog of 7.46 million appointments.

- The UK has suspended defence training and financial aid to Rwanda over its alleged involvement in the conflict in eastern DR Congo, warning of further sanctions unless Rwanda withdraws its troops.

- Transport for London (TFL) head Andy Lord has called for a long-term funding deal from the UK government to replace 50-year-old Tube trains and prevent parts of the transport network from falling into disrepair.

- UK foreign secretary David Lammy hosted a roundtable with top British and Japanese executives to discuss deepening economic links, ahead of his trip to Tokyo for the first UK-Japan economic "2+2" dialogue.

($1 = 0.7896 pounds)