A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.

Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.

Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences

He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.

Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.

The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.

He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.

The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.

Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.

Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.

The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.

Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.

“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.

“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.

“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”

A British man has been jailed for 19 years after a Russian court found him guilty of fighting for Ukraine in the country’s Kursk region.

James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, had been charged with terrorist and mercenary offences and was found guilty after a closed trial.

The court said he was to serve the first five years of his sentence in prison and the remainder in a penal colony.

In the trial, a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit was questioned as a witness.

Ukrainian troops broke across the border into Kursk region on 6 August last year.

They still hold some territory there seven months later, despite attempts by Russian forces to force them out.

Investigators accused Anderson of illegally crossing into Kursk in November as part of an armed group that committed unspecified “criminal acts against civilians”.

Russian state media published video showing him being led in handcuffs and locked in a cage of the kind where defendants in Russian court cases are placed.

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It apparently showed Anderson saying he had served in the British army from 2019-2023 before deciding to join the foreign legion of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Early on in the war, Ukraine’s authorities said more than 20,000 people from 52 countries came to Ukraine’s aid.

Since then, the number of foreign fighters in Ukraine’s military has been classified.

A woman has pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths of four paddleboarders on a river in Pembrokeshire.

Paddleboarding instructor Nerys Lloyd, 39, conducted a stand up paddle tour during extremely hazardous conditions on the River Cleddau in the West Wales town of Haverfordwest in October 2021.

Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24 and Nicola Wheatley, 40 – and Lloyd’s fellow instructor Paul O’Dwyer, 42 – died after getting into difficulty.

At the time of the tragedy there had been heavy flooding and severe weather warnings were in place.

Lloyd, 39, who was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, spoke to confirm her name before pleading guilty on Wednesday to all five counts, including an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Police were called to the weir in Haverfordwest after reports of paddleboarders in distress.

As the group approached the weir, the three participants were pulled over the top and became trapped.

Mr O’Dwyer initially exited the water, but re-entered the river in an attempt to rescue the others.

Death has ‘left a void’

Emergency services attended and Mr O’Dwyer, from Port Talbot, Ms Rogers, from Merthyr Tydfil, and Ms Wheatley, from Swansea, were declared dead at the scene.

Ms Powell, from Bridgend, was taken to hospital but died six days later.

The four victims died of drowning/immersion, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

After the incident, Ms Wheatley’s family paid tribute to her and said her death had “left a void in [their] lives that will never be filled”.

Ms Rogers’s family said she was the “best that she could be” and would be “sadly missed”.

The family of Mr O’Dwyer described him as “a devoted husband, father, son and brother”, whose “passion for the water” began at an early age.

Ms Powell was someone who “loved life”, her family said, as they thanked those who had shown them support.

‘Avoidable tragedy’

Lisa Rose, specialist prosecutor with the CPS’s special crime division, said it was an “avoidable tragedy”.

“Despite going to check the state of the river before departing on the tour, Nerys Lloyd failed to inspect the weir,” she said.

Ms Rose said there was “no safety briefing or formal risk assessments” and that Lloyd “was not qualified to take paddleboarders out in such hazardous conditions”.

“Final decisions to continue with the event were Lloyd’s decision, and as a result she held complete and entire responsibility,” Ms Rose added.

Sentencing to take place in April

“I hope these convictions provide some sense of justice for those affected and our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the victims at this time.”

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Lloyd, of Aberavon, was charged with the offences on 4 October last year.

She was granted unconditional bail by Judge Mrs Justice Stacey until her sentencing hearing on 15 April.