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(CNN) — Britain's departure from the European Union is finally upon us, but after all the warnings of chaos for inbound tourists and problems for UK travelers heading to the continent, what will situations will travelers actually face after January 31? The arrival of Brexit comes three and a half years after the country held a referendum that set it in motion and follows a series of missed deadlines, each one carrying the threat of the UK leaving with "no deal" -- a scenario that raised the prospect of a shortage of medical supplies and food, as well as long border queues. What will change? Although the UK exits the EU on January 31, it will remain part of the single market and customs union under the terms of the implementation period or transition. This lasts until December 31, 2020, when it's hoped a new trade deal, security arrangements and immigration laws will be enacted. Failure to reach an agreement could lead to "no deal" becoming a liv

There's still a lot we don't know about the coronavirus, and scientists internationally are racing to gather data and develop a treatment. Here's what we can tell you so far: Is there a cure? Not at the moment. Researchers have successfully grown the virus in a lab, an important step towards developing a vaccine -- but it could be a year or more until it's available. What are the symptoms? Coronavirus symptoms can look like the flu -- fever, cough, trouble breathing. If you show these symptoms and recently went to China, or have been in contact with someone who visited, experts advise going to the doctor. How does the virus spread? The virus is thought to spread from person to person through respiratory droplets emitted by coughing or sneezing -- but it's not clear exactly when a person becomes contagious. There's currently no evidence that the virus is airborne -- meaning, for instance, it doesn't travel across a large room. Who is at risk of in

(CNN)What caused the chopper that was carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others to crash on Sunday? At around 9:45 a.m. (12 p.m. ET) on a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter was lost against a hillside near the town of Calabasas, California, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. We are now painfully aware that the aircraft was carrying nine people that included Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter. National Transportation Safety Board officials were on the site Sunday to begin their investigation, and like them, we will have to be patient and wait to learn what caused this disaster. In the meantime, I'll try to shed a little light here about factors to consider. This particular helicopter was manufactured in 1991 and is owned and operated by what appears to be a well-established charter operation. (The company, Island Express Helicopters released a statement that said, in part, that the pilot, "Ara Zobayan, was our chief pilot. Ara has been with the company for over 10 years and has

London (CNN)After three-and-a-half years, three prime ministers and seemingly endless votes in Parliament since the 2016 Brexit referendum, Britain finally becomes the first ever country to leave the European Union at 11:01 p.m. GMT on Friday. Despite this cataclysmic event, almost all of the immediate changes will be invisible to the public. The United Kingdom will enter the transition period that was agreed between the British government and the EU. And the terms of that agreement mean that for the next 11 months, the UK remains an EU member state in all but name. What actually happens tonight? The UK formally leaves the EU. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will address the nation in what can be presumed to be an optimistic message. Other Brexiteers will be celebrating in grander style, as parties are being held across the country -- including one opposite the Houses of Parliament, the body that thwarted Brexit so many times in 2019. Remain voters will be holding similar prote

Havana (CNN)Cuba is "prepared" for the possibility of Donald Trump's reelection and the continuation of crushing US sanctions against the island, according to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel. The Cuban president's challenge to the Trump administration came during a tour of central Cuba last week, where CNN was given rare access to the Cuban head of state. The focus of the trip was officially the local economy, but the 2020 US election appeared to be very much on Diaz-Canel's mind. "It's ridiculous how the United States practically every week sanctions Cuba and then uses manipulative language to say this is 'helping' the Cuban people." Diaz-Canel said. "We are not going to surrender nor dishonor ourselves nor get on our knees whatever price we have to pay," he said. The price could be very high. Few countries have as much at stake as Cuba does in the November election. All the top Democratic candidates have declared they ar

Hong Kong (CNN Business)Major shops, restaurants and tourist destinations are shuttering their doors across China, as global businesses begin to feel the effects of the deadly Wuhan virus outbreak. Chinese officials on Monday announced that the death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 80, with nearly 2,800 cases confirmed in mainland China and several dozen more in countries such as the United States, Australia and Japan. With over 57 million people in 15 cities across China on lockdown, the crisis is hitting the retail, travel and tourism industries particularly hard during the peak Lunar New Year season. Companies say they are following cues from officials, which means the pain could last past the holiday season. Beijing has already extended the Lunar New Year holiday from January 30 to February 2 to try and prevent the spread of the virus. A government official told reporters Monday that authorities are considering a further extension. Here's what some major companies

Hong Kong (CNN Business)China has taken the extraordinary step of extending the Lunar New Year holiday — in some places by more than a week — in an effort to contain the deadly coronavirus. Some cities have also been effectively quarantined. That means major trouble for the world's second biggest economy. The virus outbreak escalated just before the new year, one of China's most significant economic events. Chinese consumers spent more than 1 trillion yuan ($145 billion) last year on holiday shopping, dining, entertainment and travel, according to state news agency Xinhua. Extensive travel restrictions and fears about the virus mean people aren't spending as much this week. But the extended holiday — to February 2 nationwide and for another week beyond that in Shanghai and several provinces — will impact millions of people in other ways as government offices and schools remain closed.

Moscow (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned Naama Issachar, an American-Israeli woman jailed in Russia on drug charges, the Kremlin said in a statement Wednesday. Israeli American Naama Issachar According to the statement, the presidential decree pardoning Issachar on "humanitarian principles" is effective immediately. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, set to fly to Moscow directly from Washington following the White House's unveiling of its Middle East plan, thanked Putin in a statement. "I thank my friend, President Putin, on his granting of a pardon to Naama Issachar," he said. "I expect we will meet tomorrow and we will discuss the deal of the century and the recent regional developments." The announcement comes nearly a week after Putin met with Yaffa Issachar, Naama's mother, and Netanyahu in Jerusalem. A dual American-Israeli citizen, Issachar has been in prison in Moscow since April when she was sto

(CNN)A camping accident in Australia left a man and child dead and a woman in serious condition during a family trip, according to authorities. The family of three -- a man, woman, and child -- had been camping at Wedge Island, a beachside suburb in Western Australia state, said police in a statement. Police were notified on Monday morning that a child was not breathing on the beach. When they arrived, they located the boy and a man, both deceased, as well as a woman in need of urgent medical assistance. A rescue helicopter flew the woman to a hospital in Perth, about 100 miles south of Wedge Island. The deaths aren't being treated as suspicious, police said. The ongoing investigation suggests they may have died as a result of a fault with their camping equipment, inside the tent they were sleeping in. Emergency and fire services staff have since removed the equipment. Wedge Island refers to both an island off the coast of Western Australia and the nearby peninsula, a pop

Tokyo (CNN) — The phone lines at Kamome, a Tokyo-based travel agency that specializes in tours for Chinese travelers, haven't stopped buzzing for the last three days. On Sunday, China announced a ban on outbound group travel as part of its battle to stop the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, which has killed 82 people and infected 2,700 in the country. That has caused cancellation mayhem for Kamome's staff as more than 20,000 of the company's Chinese package tour customers pulled the plug on all trips to Japan up to February 10. With Japan receiving approximately 9.6 million visitors from China in 2019, accounting for a third of foreign tourist expenditure in the country, speculation is growing around the ramifications the travel ban will have on Japan's tourism industry and economy. "We are concerned about the decrease in Chinese tourists, but we cannot foresee the outcome as it depends on how long the (Chinese) policy lasts," Japan National Tourist