Some of the 16 Albanian miners on a hunger strike lie on pieces of cardboard and old blankets in one of the galleries of the Bulqiza mine © Arben Celi | Reuters

Some of the 16 Albanian miners on a hunger strike since Monday lie on pieces of cardboard and old blankets 1,400 metres below surface, or 260 metres below sea level, in one of the galleries of the Bulqize mine, some 140 km (88 miles) from Tirana July 29, 2011. The hunger strikers stayed close to some machinery to keep warm. They started the hunger strike on Monday on behalf of some 700 miners, who have been striking and shutting down the mine since early July, to force their Austrian employer DCM DECOmetal to to meet their demands for a 20 percent pay rise and fresh investment, a union leader said. REUTERS/Arben Celi (ALBANIA – Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS)