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The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
How a ‘model student' was uncovered as one of Britain's worst sex offenders
For those who attended parties at his luxury flat in Elephant and Castle, Zhenhao Zou appeared to be popular, charming and a model student. With a view over south London and costing thousands of pounds per month in rent, his apartment in the Uncle building showcased a wardrobe filled with designer clothes, a Fendi bag and a Rolex watch, with plenty of alcohol to share around. Yet when it was searched by the Metropolitan Police, the horrors he inflicted upon women soon became clear when officers found secret cameras with recordings of serial rapes, and a twisted trophy box full of his victims' possessions. Among the stashed belongings were a red lipstick, earrings, hair ties and clip-on hair extensions. Behind the facade, the 28-year-old was a serial sexual predator, targeting fellow Chinese students before drugging them and raping them while they lay unconscious. After being convicted of 11 rapes against 10 women, he has now been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 24 years, as one of the UK's worst sex offenders. Following an international appeal, a further 24 women have come forward, suspecting that they too have been raped or assaulted by Zou. The Chinese national, who was studying for a PhD in engineering at UCL, had previously enjoyed a busy social life while living in London and was described by police as seeming very self-assured. Born in China's Guangdong Province, his father works in what was described as a state-owned enterprise, and his mother is a teacher, his trial was told. Zou studied in the UK for several years and could afford to pay thousands per month in rent. He had also undergone facial surgery and had a hair transplant. Zou first came to the UK to study in Belfast in 2017, before moving to London two years later, where he was known to enjoy trips to Soho, and nightclubs around the city. While in the capital, and during trips to his native China, he would contact women mainly on social media apps such as WeChat, before inviting them back to his flat for drinks or to study. There, he spiked their drinks and raped them, often filming the attack on hidden or handheld cameras to keep as a souvenir of his depravity. Police studied the footage to work out whether the attacks had taken place in his London flat or during his trips back to China. They found sedatives in his flat as well as the drug MDMA. Zou told investigators he brought some drugs back from China, while others he bought in nightclubs in London. His crimes were finally uncovered in November 2023, when a woman told police she had been attacked by Zou and he was questioned by police. Although he had studied in the UK for several years in English, he refused to speak English during his trial at Inner London Crown Court, and used an interpreter during his police interview. After a month-long trial, Zou, was found guilty of raping three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim. Zou 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. Detective Superintendent Vanessa Britton said that on the surface, Zou was 'a model student' with an active social life. 'He came across in interview as really self-assured,' she said. 'I think the interviewers described him as charming. 'Clearly, the evidence and the videos show him in a completely different light.'
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Foreign students face uncertainty under Trump's shifting visa policies
Santa Barbara, California – Far away from US President Donald Trump's public confrontations with elite universities like Harvard and Columbia, students at the bustling University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) are finishing up their final exams under the sunny skies shining above the nearby beach. Despite the distance and pleasant weather, students here still feel the cloud of uncertainty hanging over them, created by Trump's rhetoric and policies towards foreign students. 'The overall mood across the room [among international students] is that people are looking for other options,' said Denis Lomov, a 26-year-old PhD student from Russia who has been at UCSB since 2022 studying climate change politics and energy transitions. Since coming into office this year, the Trump administration has revoked the student visas of hundreds of foreign nationals, slashed funding for science and research programmes, arrested and tried to deport foreign nationals involved in pro-Palestine campus activism, and suspended student visa appointments. For international students at universities like UCSB, where nearly 15 percent of all students are from outside the US, the rhetoric and policies have left students wondering about their futures in the country. 'It makes you wonder if maybe you'd rather go somewhere else,' Lomov told Al Jazeera, adding that he is still several years away from completing his PhD. Like his fellow international students, he said he has started to consider whether his skills might be more valued in places like Canada or Europe after he finishes his programme. 'I think it's the unpredictability of these policies that makes me fear about the future, both with me being a student, but also after I graduate,' he said. The Trump administration's actions against universities and foreign students have met mixed results in the courts. On Monday, in one of the Trump administration's first significant legal victories in those efforts, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from Columbia University over the government's cuts to the university's federal funding, based on allegations that the university had not taken adequate steps to curb pro-Palestine activism in the name of combatting anti-Semitism on campus. In another ruling, also on Monday, a judge extended a restraining order pausing Trump's efforts to block incoming international students from attending Harvard as the case makes its way through the legal system. Trump has also threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status and has frozen more than $2.6bn in research grants. Harvard has also filed a lawsuit challenging those cuts. Several universities in the UC system, including UCSB, have warned international students against travelling outside of the country, a restriction that poses serious complications for their academic work and their personal lives. 'People are considering whether they'll be able to go home and visit their families during their programme,' said Anam Mehta, a US national and PhD student at UCSB. 'They're being extra cautious about what they post online out of concern about being questioned at the airport,' added Mehta, who is also involved with the UAW 4811 academic workers union. These concerns, he said, could also stymie the ability of international students to conduct field work in foreign countries, a common feature of graduate research, or attend academic conferences abroad. Some students — and even university administrators themselves — have noted that it is difficult to keep up with the raft of policy announcements, media reports, lawsuits, and counter-lawsuits that have unfolded as Trump presses his attacks on higher education. 'There have been frequent changes and a lot of these policies have been implemented very quickly and without a lot of advanced notice,' Carola Smith, an administrator at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC), said, noting that prospective international students have reached out with questions about whether they are still able to study in the US. Smith says that between 60 and 70 different national identities are represented on campus and that, in addition to international students paying higher tuition fees than US students, their presence on campus provides a welcome exposure to a wider variety of perspectives for their classmates and creates connections with people from other parts of the world. With student visa appointments currently suspended, Smith predicted the number of foreign student enrollments could drop by as much as 50 percent in the coming year. The stress of keeping up with shifting developments has also been paired with a more abstract concern: that the US, once seen as a country that took pride in its status as a global destination for research and academics, has become increasingly hostile to the presence of foreign students. 'Harvard has to show us their lists [of foreign students]. They have foreign students, almost 31 percent of their students. We want to know where those students come from. Are they troublemakers? What countries do they come from?' Trump said in March. The administration has also said that international students take university spots that could go to US students, in line with a more inward-looking approach to policy that sees various forms of exchange with other countries as a drain on the US rather than a source of mutual benefit. 'They're arguing that they don't need international students, that this is talent they should be cultivating here at home,' says Jeffrey Rosario, an assistant professor at Loma Linda University in southern California. 'You can see a throughline between this and their tariffs abroad, based on this form of economic nationalism that says the rest of the world is ripping us off,' added Rosario, who has written about the government's history of trying to exert influence over universities. For Lomov, the student from Russia, the atmosphere has him wondering if his skills might find a better home elsewhere. 'I left Russia because I didn't feel welcome there, and my expertise wasn't really needed. That's why I left for the United States, because I knew the United States provides amazing opportunities for academics and research,' said Lomov. 'But now it feels like maybe I'm back in the same place, where I have to leave again.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘I'm at my wit's end': My niece paid off her husband's credit card, but fell behind on her taxes. How can I help her?
My niece is a highly educated person. She holds a Ph.D. in science, has a good personality and people genuinely like her. She has worked as a freelancer for the same company for over five years. The owner of the company sends her a check every month and a 1099 at the end of the year. I have mentioned to her a few times that she should talk to the owner about simply employing her so her tax load would not be so heavy and she would get employee benefits. However, the owner has all kinds of excuses and promises to do so, perhaps next year. And here is the problem: My niece, as smart and brilliant as she is, is not very good with her money. She got married a couple of years ago and she and her husband bought a house right away. She paid some of her husband's credit-card debt and other expenses. As a result she got behind on her estimated taxes for this year and last year. Israel-Iran clash delivers a fresh shock to investors. History suggests this is the move to make. Why Tom Lee says the odds favor a stock-market rally after the Fed decision My mother-in-law, 95, has $400K in stocks. Would it be smarter taxwise to gift it to her kids — or leave it to them in her will? 'I prepaid our mom's rent for a year': My sister is a millionaire and never helps our mother. How do I cut her out of her will? I'm 75 and have a reverse mortgage. Should I pay it off with my $200K savings — and live off Social Security instead? She also carries a high student-debt load. Her husband pays his taxes separately. His student debt is minimal, and he puts money into his 401(k). She does not have any IRA or any savings. I love my niece dearly and, being older, I would like to make her a beneficiary of my savings and investments. I am not a rich person, but I worked my whole life, and I am a good saver. Here is my dilemma: Knowing what I know, it seems foolish to make her my beneficiary. I want to help her, but I have no idea how. I have tried to talk to her about finances, but she refuses to talk about it. She has some serious health issues, so I am hesitant to press the topic. I am at wit's end. I have no idea what I can do and how I can help her. The Aunt Related: I'm 75 and have a reverse mortgage. Should I pay it off with my $200K savings — and live off Social Security instead? Here's the brutal truth: You can't live your niece's life for her. You're at your wit's end for that reason. There's only so much you can do to influence your niece. You can't go back in time and advise her on what course to choose to limit her student debt or maximize her financial prospects. You can't undo her decision to pay off her husband's credit-card debt at the expense of neglecting her own taxes and falling out of favor with the Internal Revenue Service. You can't get her to live her life the way you would like her to live it, even if it would mean a better outcome financially. You can't force her to see the world through your eyes and your lived experience. She has made her own mistakes and she will continue to make her own mistakes. Willfulness gets us out of bed in the morning, but it also leads us to make the same errors over and over again. Now, understandably perhaps, you want to leave your niece, who is a kind and intelligent woman, money after you're gone. But this raises more issues and concerns: You want to make sure that she does not squander this good fortune and, based on experience, you fear that is exactly what she will do: dig other people out of fiscal holes and dig herself into bigger ones, all while making intemperate investment decisions. The answer to your niece's workplace dilemma is probably to find another job. As a more senior member of the family, you can give her your opinion, even if it's unsolicited, but you can't expect her to follow your advice. Yes, it would be great if she had an emergency fund, a home that she and her husband could pay off over time and a 401(k) or the equivalent with an employer match so she could build up her investments. Maybe all that will happen in time. The best way to ensure from beyond the grave that your wishes are followed is to set up a trust. 'An incentive trust is designed to encourage good financial habits,' according to the Cote Law Group, which is based in Marshfield, Mass. 'Instead of unrestricted payouts, the trust can be structured to provide funds only when certain conditions are met. For example, the trust could match [your niece's] income dollar for dollar, encouraging employment.' Such a trust could provide funds for education, to pay off student debt, to make a down payment for a home purchase or for business investments rather than for discretionary spending, the law firm adds. It could also, for example, require your niece to complete a financial-literacy course before accessing funds. This approach helps instill financial responsibility while providing years-long financial support, it adds. A spendthrift trust, meanwhile, prevents the beneficiary from selling, borrowing against or misusing their inheritance, the Cote Law Group says. It's useful for people who have a 'history of overspending, concerns about gambling or substance abuse and/or a habit of making risky financial decisions.' With a spendthrift trust, creditors and lawsuits cannot access the funds and the beneficiary cannot demand early payouts, the law firm says. That may not be the answer you're looking for. Your niece is not you. She will continue to follow her own dreams and make her own mistakes, and she may allow her heart to rule over her practical instincts until the time comes when she asks herself, 'How did I make these mistakes?' That may happen or it may not. In the meantime, what can you do? Continue to appreciate all the gifts she does have to offer, and lead by example instead. Related: 'I've yelled, screamed and cried': My mother gave $400K to online scammers. She still gives them Apple gift cards. What can I do? Previous columns by Quentin Fottrell: My husband will inherit $180K. I think we should invest the money. He wants to pay off his $168K mortgage. Who's right? 'I'm at a loss': My boyfriend of nearly 10 years is naming his elderly parents as beneficiaries and giving them power of attorney. Am I right to be upset? 'We have no prenuptial agreement': Will my wife be able to take my money if I transfer it to my retirement account? Israel-Iran conflict poses three challenges for stocks that could slam market by up to 20%, warns RBC I'm 51, earn $129K and my 401(k) has $165K. Can I afford to retire when my husband, 59, draws Social Security at 62? These defense stocks offer the best growth prospects, as the Israel-Iran conflict fuels new interest in the sector 'I'm 68 and my 401(k) has dwindled to $82,000': My husband committed financial infidelity and has $50,000 in credit-card debt. What now? 'He failed in his fiduciary duty': My brother liquidated our mother's 401(k) for her nursing home. He claimed the rest. Sign in to access your portfolio
Khaleej Times
5 days ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Student killed days before graduation, grieving mother accepts PhD
A moment of celebration turned into one of profound grief when engineer Nadia Ayman Nasif tragically passed away in a car accident just days before she was due to receive her PhD from the University of Sharjah. Her mother, Engineer Farah Abdulrahim Al Hasani, accepted the degree on Nadia's behalf during the graduation ceremony, surrounded by an audience that stood in solemn tribute. Applause echoed through the hall, mingled with tears and prayers, as her name was called with the honorific "may God have mercy on her". The ceremony was a bittersweet culmination of a dream Nadia had worked tirelessly to achieve. According to a report by Emarat Al Youm, Nadia had promised her mother that she would one day hand her the doctoral certificate herself. Although her life was cut short, her family fulfilled her final wish by accepting the degree in her memory. Her mother shared how she entered the hall alone, the same hall they had shared from Nadia's undergraduate days, feeling her daughter's presence with every step. "She was with me," she said, recalling the overwhelming emotion as she climbed the stage to accept the award. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. Nadia's father, Ayman Walid Nasif, expressed his pride and heartbreak. "It was a moment filled with unbearable pain and indescribable pride," he said, admitting he couldn't bring himself to walk the stage. Instead, he watched his wife accept the weight of the family's sorrow and pride. Nadia's sister, journalist Shahd Nasif, described her as "the backbone of the family", adding that Nadia had mentored her from a young age and even taught her in elementary school. Her brother, Engineer Mohammed Nasif recalled Nadia's anticipation of the ceremony. "She made it feel like Eid in our home," he said. "When her name was called, and the audience rose in prayer and applause, the moment became one I will never forget." He added, "Her recognition didn't end with her passing. It extended beyond, as she truly deserved." Nadia leaves behind a three-year-old son, whose future will carry the echoes of her voice and the legacy of her ambition. Known for her academic excellence and remarkable perseverance, she completed her bachelor's, master's, and PhD in structural engineering at the University of Sharjah over 12 years, all with honors. Her doctoral research focused on fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) concrete systems and integrating artificial intelligence for structural safety monitoring. Despite being early in her academic career, Nadia published 12 peer-reviewed research papers, eight of which were ranked in the top Q1 journals globally. Her research citation impact stood at 1.74 — 74 per cent above the global average in her field. She had recently been accepted for a postdoctoral research opportunity at the University of Dubai, where she planned to lead innovative projects in AI-driven structural monitoring, a vision she was deeply passionate about but never got the chance to see realised. Nadia's passing is a loss to her family and the academic and engineering communities. However, her story continues to inspire, reminding students and professionals alike that ambition leaves an enduring legacy despite life's harshest trials.
Washington Post
13-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
‘Plato and the Tyrant' humanizes the famous philosopher
In my roughly 10 years of philosophical education — four in college, one in a master's program and five as a PhD candidate — it never occurred to me that Plato was a person. Of course, I read and discussed him in countless seminars and lectures, but he was always conscripted to serve as an avatar of an intellectual tradition or an emissary of a philosophical tendency — as everything but a flesh-and-blood human being.
