PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Aug 17

Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - AstraZeneca PLC has sued a former top business development executive to delay him taking a job at rival GSK PLC , claiming he received awards worth over £600,000 to sign a non-compete agreement. - The chief executive of Dutch company Philips Frans van Houten has left the business in the wake of a costly recall of faulty medical devices that led to a profit warning.

The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines

- Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak rule out second Scottish independence vote https://on.ft.com/3QuW0pk - UK launches legal proceedings against EU over access to Horizon programme https://on.ft.com/3A4BuVs

- AstraZeneca sues former executive over move to rival GSK https://on.ft.com/3w8MaBt - Philips chief exits in wake of fallout from medical device recall https://on.ft.com/3SS1jRg

Overview - Foreign secretary Liz Truss, frontrunner in the Conservative leadership race, has unequivocally ruled out a second Scottish independence referendum, arguing that the 2014 vote was a "once in a generation" occurrence.

- The UK has launched legal proceedings against the EU for preventing its access to key science and research programmes such as Horizon Europe and the nuclear organisation Euratom. - AstraZeneca PLC has sued a former top business development executive to delay him taking a job at rival GSK PLC , claiming he received awards worth over £600,000 to sign a non-compete agreement.

- The chief executive of Dutch company Philips Frans van Houten has left the business in the wake of a costly recall of faulty medical devices that led to a profit warning. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)