Twenty-nine days in and protests in Guadeloupe saw their first mortality last night in the French Caribbean island's largest town, Pointe-à-Pitre. Our Observers, two Guadeloupians who live in France, attempt to explain the reasons behind the crisis. Read more...

One of our Observers in Madagascar, editor of the Malagasy info site Sobika.com, has alerted us to a blunder made by the French news channel iTélé. In the middle of a report on the protests in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe come several minutes of footage showing ... the protests in Madagascar. See the video and read more...

Last July, Sarkozy passed a law that meant public services are forced to keep a minimum service going during strikes. "These days when there's a strike in France, nobody notices" said the French President. It was not, however, the case on Thursday. Our Observers who took part give us their accounts.

Neither Christmas nor New Year alleviated the situation. Miners from Budryk, Silésie, in south-west Poland, have reached their twenty-second day of strike without disruption. The movement, which began over-ground, has now taken refuge under the soil. This weekend there were almost five-hundred gathered at the bottom of the mine demanding higher wages. Our Observer in Poland has helped us to decipher the conflict. We're also publishing a commentary from one of the leaders of the strike, who says he's asking for only to be paid the same as other miners in Poland. Read more...