Photos of missing Chinese tennis star posted online

BEIJING (AP) — An employee of Chinese state TV has posted photos of missing tennis star Peng Shuai online in a new effort to dispel concern about her disappearance after she accused a senior leader of sexual assault. The photos appeared Friday on Twitter, which cannot be seen by most internet users in China. The state TV employee, wrote they were on Peng’s account on the WeChat message service with the comment, “Happy Weekend.” The ruling Communist Party faces mounting appeals from tennis stars and the sport’s professional tour to prove Peng, a three-time Olympian and former top ranked women’s doubles player, is safe and let her speak freely. The editor of a newspaper published by the party said she would show up in public soon.