April 18, Tuesday, 2023

1. News stats suggest China’s economy is turning the corner as the government’s ultra-strict coronavirus measures fade from view. GDP growth for the January-to-March period was 4.5 percent up on the same period last year. The National Bureau of Statistics made the announcement on Tuesday. The figure beats market expectations of about 4 percent, adjusted for inflation.
2. A research group in Japan says it has found that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can infect the brain’s immune cells—a factor that could explain how neurological disorders, such as brain fog, occur in some people.
3. The wife of Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited the White House on Monday to meet with First Lady Jill Biden. Kishida Yuko became the first spouse of a Japanese prime minister to travel to the United States without her husband at the invitation of the First Lady. Japan’s Foreign Ministry said the two met over tea prepared by Kishida, who later greeted President Joe Biden in the Oval Office.