This week union federation Cosatu declared a dispute with government, setting the stage for a second public service strike in the Western Cape less than three weeks after the end of the biggest civil servant strike since 1994. Cosatu’s provincial secretary, Tony Ehrenreich, said a second strike in the province ”seems unavoidable”.

Although credit life cover plays a very important role in protecting consumers who have taken on debt, not enough has been done to make consumers aware of their rights. Consumers often don’t benefit fully from the protection and peace of mind that credit life products are meant to offer.

United States troops are increasingly disillusioned at the continuing ability of insurgents to strike at them — and the longer tours of duty being imposed by Washington, Guardian photographer Sean Smith’s latest film from Iraq reveals.

Kliptown in Johannesburg erupted recently — and poor service delivery was at the root of the disturbance. Following similar explosions in Deneysville and Metsimaholo in the Free State, Lenasia South, Eldorado Park and the Khutsong area, poor communities have taken to the streets to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with government’s perceived inability to minister to South Africa’s poor.

South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) CEO Dali Mpofu this week asked his top 20 managers to sign letters consenting to undergo polygraph tests in an effort to determine the source of the leaked internal audit report the Mail & Guardian was interdicted from publishing last week.

Cellphone masts do not cause harmful short-term health effects, according to a study of people who say they experience symptoms when they are close to them. The study dealt another blow to the notion that low-level electromagnetic fields from cellphones or base stations are dangerous.

His job might just be the most difficult in the land: fixing South Africa’s notorious department of correctional services. But Vernie Petersen, the newly appointed national commissioner, is ready for the challenge, and a new drum is already beating through this controversial and much-criticised department.

South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) legal services head Mafika Sihlali stands accused of milking the South African Post Office of millions of rands in fees that were not earned. Sihlali’s former legal practice charged more than R6-million to restructure the parastatal — an exercise that came to naught.