Thursday newspaper round-up: BHP Billiton, HS2, Lloyds

Mud from a dam that burst at an iron ore mine in Brazil earlier this month, killing 12 people and polluting an important river, is toxic, the United Nations’ human rights agency has said. The statement contradicts claims by Samarco, the mine operator at the site of the rupture, that the water and mineral waste contained by the dam are not toxic. Citing “new evidence”, the UN’s office of the high commissioner for human rights said in a statement the residue “contained high levels of toxic heavy metals and other toxic chemicals”. – Guardian

Lloyds Banking Group will give details today of 1,000 job cuts as part of its drive to reduce its costs. The redundancies are part of the 9,000 roles that, in October last year, Lloyds said it would eliminate, alongside the closure of 200 branches, to take account of more customers using internet banking. Just over 2,300 of those jobs have gone so far. – The Times

Sir Philip Green seems to collect celebrities in the same way that some people collect train numbers or Beatles memorabilia, and now the billionaire behind Britain’s best-known fashion empire has put Beyoncé at the top of the list. The retail tycoon, who has been photographed with everybody from George Clooney and Lionel Ritchie to Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Nicole Scherzinger, has followed his association with Kate Moss last year with a bigger plan to work with the American superstar. – The Times

Banking is reaching its “Uber moment” as technological advances will lead to hundreds of branch closures and a possible halving of people employed in the sector, the former chief executive of Barclays has warned. In a speech reported by Reuters, Antony Jenkins described technology as an “unstoppable force” that would lead to better customer service and a wave of new banks becoming household names. - Guardian

The US on Wednesday accused Syria of buying oil from the Islamist militants of Isis and imposed sanctions on a Syrian businessman it claimed is at the centre of the trade. The US Treasury department also announced sanctions on Cypriot and Russian businessmen who they allege have helped Syria evade international sanctions, including Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the head of the world chess federation. – Financial Times

The cost of High Speed 2 has risen to more than £55bn, although the controversial rail link between London and the North is one of a host of projects set to share in a 50pc increase of investment in transport infrastructure. Capital spending is to surge to £61bn over the course of the parliament. Money will be spent on schemes including the electrification of the TransPennine, Midland and Great Western lines, almost £5bn for road maintenance and £250m to fix potholes. - Telegraph

The UK could build one of the world's first small modular nuclear reactors in the 2020s, after ministers announced support for the technology through a £250m research package. A competition to identify the "best value small modular reactor design for the UK" will be launched in the new year, which will "pave the way towards building one of the world’s first small modular reactors in the UK in the 2020s", the Treasury said. - Telegraph