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Protesters in Hong Kong are continuing protests at the city's international airport.The demonstrations come as the US warned its citizens to "exercise increased caution" when travelling there.Several other nations - including Australia, the UK, Ireland, Singapore and Japan - have also issued heightened travel advisories over what the US called "confrontational" protests in the Chinese territory.This isn't the first time the airport has become a protest site: On 26 July, thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators and airline staff held a sit-in there with the aim of reaching tourists and raising awareness of the protests' goals.Then on 5 August, more than 200 flights were cancelled amid a city-wide strike.Hong Kong is one of the world's most visited cities, but experts say the disruption is hurting its hospitality sector.So how much have the protests affected tourism?For nine weeks now, anti-government rallies have frequently ended in violent clashes with police - and some would-be visitors are concerned the city may be more dangerous than before. Google Trends data shows a marked increase for the search term "Hong Kong safe" since the end of July, with the majority of searches coming from Europe and other parts of Asia.

China warns HK protesters not to 'play with fire'Were triads involved in Hong Kong violence?According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, preliminary figures have shown a "double-digit decline" in the number of visitor arrivals in the second half of July."The travel trade has reported that the number of forward bookings in August and September has [also] dropped significantly," a spokesperson told the BBC.

Flight bookings, too, have taken a hit.Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific declined to give any figures, but said that it was "seeing the impact of local political unrest".Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific says business has been hit by the protests"This has led to a significant fall-off in future bookings over the next few months, particularly for inbound travel," John Slosar, Cathay Pacific Group Chairman, said in a statement.International hotel chain the Langham Hospitality Group said "certain segments" at its Hong Kong hotels had seen a "slowdown".However, a spokesperson added that the protests would "affect sentiment and retail businesses, but in the longer term will not pose a threat to Hong Kong's economy and global standing as one of the top travel destinations of the world".Tourists from the Chinese mainland visit Hong Kong in their millionsEven Disneyland Hong Kong is seeing a drop in numbers.CEO Bob Iger said: "We have seen an impact from the protests. There's definitely been disruption. That has impacted our visitation there."

Tourists in the territory The tourism industry is one of the major pillars of Hong Kong's economy, contributing around 5% of the city's GDP.A large majority of Hong Kong's visitors come from mainland China. In January to June 2019 alone, mainlanders made 27 million visits to the territory.Protesters in Hong Kong are well aware of this.Earlier in July, they attempted to spread their pro-democracy message to mainland tourists, handing out leaflets in the busy shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui.Information is strictly censored in China, and many state-media outlets have painted a picture of protesters "destroying" the city - a tactic aimed at fanning public anger against the demonstrators - as in this tweet from the (famously nationalistic and outspoken) Global Times.According to news outlet Radio Free Asia (RFA), a travel agency in Shenzhen said many people in China had recently cancelled their trips to Hong Kong."One of my guests said he was afraid that it would be unsafe," the unnamed agency told RFA.

And others agreed."How are there still people willing to travel to Hong Kong?" asked one commenter on the Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo. "Do they not read the news? Their personal safety will be at risk.""I used to travel to Hong Kong for shopping, I'd rather go to Japan or Korea now," another added.Jason Wong, chairman of the Travel Industry of Hong Kong, told AFP: "I think the situation is getting more and more serious."He added that travel agents are considering putting staff on unpaid leave.

According to the South China Morning Post, which is based in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Retail Management Association (HKRMA) said most of its 8,000 member shops had recorded a drop in revenue.The HKRMA said it would revise its sales forecast to a "double digit decline" if protests continued. It had earlier forecasted a year of single-digit growth.Swiss watchmaker Swatch told Reuters news agency that political turbulence had contributed to a "double-digit decline in sales in Hong Kong", one of its most important global markets.And Angela Cheng, an economist at CMB International Capital Corporation Limited, said retail sales in 2019 were forecast to drop by as much as 10%."Hong Kong's retail industry will be affected both internally and externally," she told Reuters.

An outbreak of Ebola has killed more than 1,800 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola may soon be a "preventable and treatable" disease after a trial of two drugs showed significantly improved survival rates, scientists have said.Four drugs were trialled on patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there is a major outbreak of the virus.Two of those were considerably more effective in treating the disease, the study found.The drugs will now be used to treat all Ebola patients in DR Congo, according to health officials.The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which co-sponsored the trial, said the results are "very good news" for the fight against Ebola.

The drugs, named REGN-EB3 and mAb114, work by attacking the Ebola virus with antibodies, neutralising its impact on human cells.They are the "first drugs that, in a scientifically sound study, have clearly shown a significant diminution in mortality" for Ebola patients, said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of NIAID.

REGN-EB3 and mAb114 were developed using antibodies harvested from survivors of Ebola, which has killed more than 1,800 people in DR Congo in the past year.Two other treatments, called ZMapp and Remdesivir, have been dropped from trials as they were found to be less effective.What were the results of the trial?The trial, conducted by an international research group co-ordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), began in November last year.Since then, four experimental drugs have been tested on around 700 patients, with the preliminary results from the first 499 now known.

In contrast, 49% on ZMapp and 53% on Remdesivir died in the study, the agency said.The survival rate among patients with low levels of the virus in their blood was as high as 94% when they were given REGN-EB3, and 89% when on mAb114, the agency said.The findings mean health authorities can "stress to people that more than 90% of people survive" if they are treated early, said Sabue Mulangu, an infectious-disease researcher who worked on the trial.What impact could the drugs have?Hailing the success of the study, Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity, said the treatments would "undoubtedly save lives".The findings, Mr Farrar said, indicate scientists are getting closer to turning Ebola into a "preventable and treatable" disease.Fear and myths: Why people are still in denial about Ebola"We won't ever get rid of Ebola but we should be able to stop these outbreaks from turning into major national and regional epidemics," he added.

A sense that Ebola is incurable, paired with widespread mistrust of medical workers in the DR Congo, has hampered efforts to stop the spread of the disease.It is hoped that the effectiveness of the drugs, made by US-based pharmaceutical firms, will make patients feel "more comfortable about seeking care early", said Dr Fauci.

But the best way to end the outbreak, he added, is "with a good vaccine". A vaccine is a type of medicine that improves immunity to a particular disease.How serious is the DR Congo outbreak?The current outbreak in eastern DR Congo began in August last year and is the biggest of the 10 to hit the country since 1976, when the virus was first discovered.

In July, the WHO declared the Ebola crisis in the country a "public health emergency of international concern".But it is dwarfed by the West African epidemic of 2014-16, which affected 28,616 people, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. About 11,310 people died in what was the largest outbreak of the virus ever recorded.

However, attempts to contain the latest outbreak are proving difficult. In particular, militia group violence and suspicion towards foreign medical assistance have hindered efforts.Earlier this month, three Congolese doctors were arrested in DR Congo over the killing of a WHO medic.About 200 health facilities have been attacked in the country this year, causing disruption to vaccinations and treatments. In one incident, family members assaulted health workers who were overseeing the burial of their relative.A 2018 study published in the Lancet medical journal says "belief in misinformation was widespread" concerning the Ebola outbreak.

What is Ebola?

Ebola is a virus that initially causes sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat It progresses to vomiting, diarrhoea and both internal and external bleedingPeople are infected when they have direct contact through broken skin, or the mouth and nose, with the blood, vomit, faeces or bodily fluids of someone with EbolaPatients tend to die from dehydration and multiple organ failure