A management consultant working in healthcare speaks out on what can be a cynical profession, thriving on the fear and uncertainty of clients. He forecasts a worrying future in which consultants play a central role as the NHS prepares itself for radical reforms.

In August, Stuart Weir wrote of the Malawi government crackdown on the July protesters. Here, one of the participants in the protest movement reports on what has happened since in this terror campaign of murder, arson, beatings and oppression. He vividly describes the difficulties of holding the protest movement together, and the weak response of the UNDP and influential donor community to the crisis.

Anonymous and LulzSec represent a real change in the politics of cyberspace. The networked power at the hands of the hackers may show itself to be the equal of people power on the streets

This is a tragedy that belongs to modern powerplay and the current moment, and that calls for a much more thoughtful response from outside observers

In the wake of the contested Iranian election, Ahmadinejad's regime is seeking to silence political dissent through coercion and arbitrary imprisonment - where men as well as women are vulnerable to rape and torture. Women's organizations have actively campaigned against such violence, but analysis of post-election violence must not look at abuse of women in isolation. Instead, it must highlight the way that difference – whether it be political opinion, religion, sexuality, or gender – is being persecuted in Ahmadinejad's Iran.