Credit: Keystone/EPA/Yahya Arhab

Yemen’s warring sides have completed the largest prisoner swap in five years. “A thousand families can rejoice" – that was the verdict from the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross on a long-awaited prisoner exchange completed on Friday. A tightly choreographed operation took 11 flights to or from five cities in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, delivering the 1,081 people who were released. The UN is hoping the swap, negotiated in Montreux, will help build confidence between the warring parties as well as momentum for peace talks.

Doing good with data. This week’s World Data Forum gets to grips with the opportunities and risks of using big data to contain Covid-19 and boost development.

Are Covid-19 “famine” warnings overblown? The World Food Programme and others have warned of famine in the wake of Covid-19, but there’s a bigger picture.

Mental health support is vital for humanitarian workers. A new report shines a light on the toll the pandemic is taking on humanitarian actors.

A life-long fight for justice. Following the death of a notorious Khmer Rouge lieutenant, a survivor of the Cambodian genocide recounts her family’s story.

Credit: Keystone/EPA/ Rungroj Yongrit

A Buddhist monk flashes a three-finger salute among pro-democracy demonstrators during an anti-government protest in Bangkok. Thailand’s government has vowed to protect the monarchy after tens of thousands of people rallied in cities around the country over the weekend, calling for a new constitution and the king’s powers to be curbed.

21 October | Podcast: Rethinking Humanitarianism. From decolonising aid to networked humanitarianism co-hosts Heba Aly of The New Humanitarian and Jeremy Konyndyk of the Washington, D.C. Center for Global Development launch a new podcast.

22 October | Online: Sustaining support for the Rohingya refugee response. The donor pledging conference is hosted by UNHCR, the US, the EU, and the UK. Less than half of this year’s UN $1 billion budget has been funded.

22 October | Online: The impact of bank de-risking on humanitarian action. Panel discussion on the practical challenges faced by humanitarian NGOs and how to approach the issue from a risk management perspective.