Human rights group Amnesty International says there is evidence of atrocities committed by both warring sides in eastern Ukraine, but not on the scale reported by Russia. It said ‘strong evidence’ implicated government forces in the killing of four men near rebel-held Donetsk. When the bodies were discovered Russian media spoke of ‘mass graves’ there. Meanwhile a huge blast has rocked part of Donetsk, as clashes continue despite a truce agreed on 5 September. ‘There is no doubt that summary killings and atrocities are being committed by both pro-Russian separatists and pro-Kiev forces, but it is difficult to get an accurate sense of the scale of these abuses,’ said Amnesty's Europe and Central Asia director John Dalhuisen. In a new report, Amnesty urged both sides to investigate such killings and other abuses thoroughly, because some had been ‘deliberately misrecorded’.

The growing involvement of European citizens in jihadist groups is a reason for concern here, where authorities estimate that some 3,000 Europeans, mostly French citizens, have enrolled in Islamic fundamentalist groups. According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, some 1,000 French citizens or residents in France are linked to extremist groups that operate in Syria or Iraq. The issue became relevant a few months ago, when four journalists who were held hostages by the so-called Islamic State (IS) for nearly a year revealed that some of their captors spoke with a French accent. Shortly afterwards it was learned that the executioner of US journalist James Foley is of British origin. Most French citizens involved in the jihad join the groups voluntarily after being recruited by cells that operate in the country, and many of them are recruited on the Internet

More than 250,000 people took to the streets in Paris on Sunday to express their opposition to ‘anti-family’ proposals in France, including plans to legalise medical procedures that will allow same-sex couples to have children. Alan Craig of the GayMarriageNoThanks campaign, who was invited to represent the UK by organisers, La Manif Pour Tous, said: ‘The youthfulness of the protesters was noticeable. Overwhelmingly the participants were in their twenties and thirties, and teenagers were conspicuous by their noisy enthusiasm and, often, street dancing too. ‘As in the UK, the government is ignoring the people as it drives through its anti-family proposals. But, clearly, at the grass-roots the traditional natural family is alive and well and full of youthful support in France.’ On Sunday, contributions were made by delegates from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Slovakia, as well as GayMarriageNoThanks from the UK.

A ceasefire may still be officially in place in eastern Ukraine, but try telling that to the owners of burning homes in Donetsk. Battles are raging unabated between Ukrainian forces and separatist fighters, mainly around the city’s airport and nearby neighbourhoods are often caught in the crossfire. Resident Valentina Kovaleva told reporters: ‘All the balconies were damaged by shrapnel, everything burning. Can you imagine, if we hadn’t sent away the children, they would be dead now. Every day there is shooting. More than 3,500 people have been killed since fighting began between pro-Russian separatists and government troops’. Raisa Kozlova, a 75-year-old Donetsk resident injured by shelling, said: ‘What truce? You call that a truce? They might make agreements and talks, but it changes nothing. We’re still being bombed.’