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China says it has become the world's biggest exporter of cars after overtaking Japan in the first three months of the year. Officials figures show China exported 1.07m vehicles in the period, up 58% compared to the first quarter of 2022. At the same time Japan's vehicle exports stood at 954,185, after edging up 6% compared from a year earlier. The jump in China's car exports was boosted by rising demand for electric vehicles and increased sales to Russia. Last year, China overtook Germany to become the world's second largest car exporter. According to China's General Administration of Customs, China exported 3.2m vehicles in 2022, compared to Germany's 2.6m vehicle exports. The shift away from fossil fuels has helped fuel the rise of China's motor industry.

An elderly woman with dementia is critically ill after allegedly being tasered twice by police in an incident at a care home. Officers were called to Yallambee Lodge in Cooma after reports that 95-year-old Clare Nowland was carrying a knife. The incident has sparked outcry, over what advocates say was a disproportionate response. The New South Wales (NSW) police chief has said she shares community concerns, and an investigation is under way. Ms Nowland was tasered in the chest and back about 04:00 local time on Wednesday, family friend Andrew Thaler told the BBC. She is being treated in hospital having suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed, after falling during the incident, he said. Her family are already grieving as they do not expect her to survive, he added. "The family are shocked, they're confused... and the community is outraged." "How can this happen? How do you explain this level of force? It's absurd."

President Joe Biden would be vaulted to a massive lead over Donald Trump if the former president faces further criminal charges from the federal and state criminal investigations into his conduct, according to a new poll obtained by The Independent. The poll of 1,571 registered voters was conducted by WPA Research, a Republican polling firm. The CEO of WPA is an adviser to Never Back Down, the Super PAC supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but the survey was conducted independently without his input and was not sponsored by the Super PAC.

Baby elephant rescued after falling down 8ft well on Thai golf course An elephant calf was rescued after falling down a deep drain at a golf course in eastern Thailand. The baby jumbo had wandered away from its mother and plunged into the 8ft deep, water-filled hole at the Chatrium Golf Resort in Chanthaburi province on 15 May. Footage shared by the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary shows rescuers working to dig the elephant out, as its worried mother stands close by. They had been stuck there for hours overnight before locals heard them in the morning and called for wildlife officers, vets and volunteers to help. After two hours, the rescue team created an opening wide enough for the baby to climb out and it was reunited with its mother unharmed

On this year's International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, Euronews Culture assesses the current state of LGBTQ rights across European countries. Anti-LGBTQ violence is here, it’s everywhere, and it isn’t going away any time soon — at least, that’s the latest assessment made by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a statement released on the eve of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), which the world celebrates on 17 May. In a stinging condemnation of enduring global anti-LGBTQ prejudice, the UN chief urged countries to end the criminalisation and systemic oppression of queer people. "Being yourself should never be a crime," Guterres stated. "We cannot and will not move backwards."

The White House and congressional Republicans have appointed a new set of negotiators, injecting fresh hope into talks to raise the US debt limit. "Now we have a format, a structure," House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters, saying a deal was "possible" by the end of the week. Without a deal, the US could enter a calamitous default on its $31.4tr (£25tr) debt as soon as 1 June. The standoff has forced President Joe Biden to cut short a foreign trip. Mr Biden departs later on Wednesday for Japan, where he will attend a Group of Seven (G7) summit, but he will return to Washington on Sunday, foregoing planned visits to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Reaching the debt ceiling would mean the US government is unable to borrow any more money. This means it would no longer be able to pay the salaries of federal and military employees. Social Security cheques - payments that millions of pensioners in the US rely on - would also be suspended.

Shock and horror might have been Serbians' first reaction to two mass shootings in as many days earlier this month. But outrage swiftly followed. Tens of thousands of people attended two protests in the capital, Belgrade, with smaller rallies in other cities around the country. They marched under the banner "Serbia Against Violence" and called for an end to what they viewed as a culture of violence which led to the shootings at a school in Belgrade and, the next day, around Mladenovac, south of Serbia's capital. More protests will follow - and the government seems rattled. Senior figures have been talking down the numbers involved, as well as making plans for a "solidarity" rally of their own. But there is one issue which both protesters and authorities seem to agree on: gun control. "There is no pro-gun lobby in Serbia," says Bojan Elek, the deputy director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy and an expert on firearms issues in the country.

9 Just after taking office, US President Joe Biden vowed to put an end to what he termed the "moral and ethical" shame of Donald Trump's immigration policies. The Trump administration had adopted a strict border policy and the Biden White House promised a more "humane" approach. But the Democratic president has faced criticism from immigration advocates who say his policies are unduly harsh. Here's how the two US presidents compare. Sending migrants back What Trump did: In March 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trump administration invoked Title 42, a controversial statute ostensibly meant as a public health measure. The policy allowed US authorities to swiftly expel migrants - including asylum seekers - at the border. Nearly 400,000 people were detained and expelled between its implementation and January 2021, when Mr Trump left the White House.

Prince Harry, Meghan and her mother were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" involving paparazzi, a spokesperson for the prince has said. The incident happened after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended an awards ceremony in New York on Tuesday. In a statement, the prince's spokesperson said the "relentless pursuit" lasted for over two hours. They added it resulted in near collisions with other drivers on the road, pedestrians and police officers. The BBC has not been able to independently verify the details of the incident. "While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone's safety," the spokesperson said. "Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved." The New York Police Department (NYPD) did not immediately confirm knowledge of the incident. The awards ceremony - the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards - was the couple's first public appearance together since the King's Coronation earlier this month.

Five people have been killed and several are missing after heavy rains caused flooding in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region, officials say. About 5,000 people have been evacuated, and some had to be rescued from roofs by helicopter. The authorities say 14 rivers have broken their banks, flooding 23 towns. The mayor of Ravenna says his city is now "unrecognisable". The Emilia-Romagna F1 Grand Prix this weekend has now been cancelled. Discussions on Wednesday between local authorities and organisers of the race at Imola concluded that the event could not go ahead. Emilia-Romagna F1 race called off