In this Thursday’s Mirror Daily Digest, we’ve pulled together the biggest stories of the day from a serial rapist being sentenced to the real reason Kate Middleton missed Ascot yesterday.
MET Police and CPS issue statement after Zhenhao Zou sentencing
Welcome to the Mirror’s Daily Digest, where we pull together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Sport teams and more. This Thursday, we’re featuring everything from the PhD student who was sentenced for raping and drugging 10 women to Buckingham Palace’s explanation for Kate’s Ascot absence and the hottest day of the year being declared.
This afternoon, serial rapist Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 24 years after raping and drugging 10 women. Elsewhere, Buckingham Palace set the record straight on Kate’s Ascot absence and the Met Office has declared this Thursday the hottest day of the year so far.
PhD student who drugged and raped 10 women jailed for life
This afternoon, our news team was in court as Zhenhao Zou, 28, was sentenced after being found guilty of raping and drugging 10 women and filming several of the disgusting attacks. The serial rapist Chinese PhD student has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 24 years.
Zhenhao Zou, 28, attacked women in London and China between 2019 and 2023. The vile criminal filmed nine of the sexual assaults as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings. He lured young women back to his plush properties, plied them with a cocktail of drink and drugs before attacking them and filming it on hidden spy cameras.
Zou, who was found guilty on March 5, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court. He will spend 22 years and 227 days in prison before he could leave on parole, taking the number of days he has already spent in prison into account – meaning the 28-year-old cannot be released from jail before 2048.
Read the full story here.
Palace sets record straight with explanation on Kate’s absence at Royal Ascot
Following Kate’s shock absence from Royal Ascot yesterday, Buckingham Palace has set the record straight with an explanation for why the Princess of Wales missed the event. Kate’s absence left Prince William to attend the event solo, joining King Charles and Queen Camilla in the first carriage of the procession.
Kate’s sudden absence surprised many people, given the fact that her name had already been printed in the day two programme and shared by the Royal Ascot social media accounts. However, the Palace soon clarified that Kate’s non-attendance at the event was the result of a “miscommunication”.
The confusion began when the Royal Ascot X and Instagram pages, seeming to confirm that Princess Kate would be riding in the first carriage alongside King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William. However, just moments later, Kensington Palace issued a statement saying Kate would not be coming.
Read the full story here.
Hottest day of year declared – but Met Office predicts tomorrow will be warmer
In news that won’t come as a surprise to anybody in the UK, the Met Office has declared this Thursday the hottest day of 2025 so far. Temperatures hit 32.2C this afternoon, according to the Met Office’s latest weather forecast.
However, Scorching temperatures are also expected tomorrow (33C) and on Saturday (34C) – absolutely smashing the threshold for an official heatwave in England. The roasting conditions led the UKHSA to upgrade its heat health alerts across England to amber, meaning there is a risk of death to vulnerable people.
The new highest temperature of 2025 was recorded in Wisley, Surrey, days after the record was last broken when Santon Downham in Suffolk hit 29.4C.
Read the full story here.
Lauryn Goodman reveals calls from social services over Kyle Walker children
This morning, our Showbiz team broke the shocking story that trolls ‘called social services on Lauryn Goodman children with Kyle Walker’. The star shared her nightmare experience with a notorious gossip website.
The reality TV personality, 34, has faced savage slurs from what she dubs “keyboard warriors” on “toxic” site Tattle Life. The website has seen influencers and celebrities’ private and intimate information posted and gossip to be spread about them.
Tattle Life allows for members to post anonymously about anyone and anything they want, which has led to some heartbreaking consequences for those written about including businesses ruined and some even resorting to self-harm. Among those talked about on the site include Katie Price, Alice Evans, Stacey Solomon and Molly-Mae Hague.
Read the full story here.
World’s biggest shark tracker live as 14ft monster mapped after
“Contender”, the world’s largest great white shark, is being tracked by scientists at OCEARCH. According to experts, the massive predator could visit many places in the Northeastern US and Canada, including some tourist hotspots. Although there are “two primary locations” where he might be spotted in the summer.
Scientists at OCEARCH, a non-profit organisation that researches large marine animals, have been tracking “Contender”, the 30-year-old adult male shark, since January. The predator was first tagged in the North Atlantic, 45 miles off the Florida-Georgia coast. The beast is a staggering 13ft and 9 inches long and estimated to weigh a whopping 1653 lbs.
It took six people, including three fishermen and scientists, to tag and release “Contender”, which is then electronically tracked through the Argos satellite system, according to Dr Harley Newton, OCEARCH Chief Scientist & Veterinarian.
Read the full story here.
READ MORE: We stop the best dressed women in Ascot’s Royal Enclosure to find out their outfit details
