Wednesday newspaper round-up: Rail strikes, HS2, Apple

Rail passengers in England face another day without trains on Wednesday as a strike by train drivers halts most services. Members of the Aslef union are on strike for the second time in four days, in a 24-hour walkout timed to coincide with the final day of the Conservative party conference in Manchester. – Guardian

Lobbyists from TikTok, Amazon and gambling and crypto companies paid more than £3,000 a head to sit with ministers as part of the Conservative party’s business day, where Rishi Sunak set out his pitch to stop big corporations being wooed by Labour. Senior ministers including Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary; John Whittingdale, a media minister; Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister; and James Cartlidge, a defence procurement minister, hosted tables of guests who had paid for access to the “policy” discussions. – Guardian

The Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands has launched a last-ditch effort to save HS2’s northern leg by securing private funding to finish the troubled project. Andy Street, the former John Lewis boss, is understood to have urged Rishi Sunak to strip the government-owned organisation HS2 Ltd of control over the multibillion-pound scheme and instead put a development corporation in charge. – Telegraph

The Canadian investor chaired by Mark Carney is buying a family-run British renewable energy company in a deal worth nearly $1 billion. Brookfield Asset Management said that its second Global Transition Fund was acquiring Banks Renewables, which is controlled by Harry Banks, 82, the Durham-based businessman. – The Times

Apple has bowed to demands by China to ban apps not licensed under a new censorship regime from its phones, the latest in a line of companies to accept Beijing’s rules to operate in the country. After talks last week between company leaders and Communist Party authorities, Apple posted an update to its website for App developers. – The Times