The Independent says Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers have been accused of killing hundreds of men in a town in central Mali last month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

The Independent says Sean Penn says Ukraine “will win” the ongoing war with Russia but that the cost of victory remains unclear.

The Guardian says the United States and its allies are preparing to impose new sanctions on Moscow over civilian killings in Ukraine as the west makes a fresh attempt to cripple Vladimir Putin’s economy and war effort.

The Guardian says Manchester City were not the smooth operators they so often are but this slender victory may prove invaluable when the tie is decided in next week’s return at Wanda Metropolitano.

The Guardian says attacks against the press in Mexico have increased by 85% since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office, making it the most deadly period for journalists since records began, according to a new report.

The Guardian says it was one of the Conservatives’ most controversial cuts: waging war on the UK’s “benefit culture” by restricting social security payments that supposedly enabled “welfare scroungers” to have large families they could ill-afford.

The Guardian says ministers are refusing to disclose any pictures taken by official No 10 photographers of illegal gatherings held inside Downing Street.

Wednesday’s front pages.

BBC News says the burden of tax falling on workers and employers has increased as a hotly-debated rise in National Insurance payments takes effect.

Sky News says a musician has pleaded guilty to the murder of teenager Bobbi-Anne McLeod.