Photos of missing tennis player online

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, Shen Shiwei, 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 threetime Olympian and former No. 1-ranked women’s doubles player, is safe and let her speak freely.

Meanwhile, the editor of a newspaper published by the party said Peng would “show up in public” soon.

Shen works for CGTN, the English-language arm of China Central Television that is aimed at foreign audiences. His Twitter post came after CGTN last week distributed a statement it said came from Peng that retracted the accusations against Zhang.

The editor of Global Times, an English-language newspaper published by the Communist Party, said on Twitter he had confirmed from unidentified sources that the photos “are indeed Peng Shuai’s current state.”

Conard fires in August. He has also been charged with setting timber ablaze, according to the indictment, which was filed Thursday.

The fires were in the vicinity of the Dixie fire, in areas of the Shasta Trinity National Forest and the Lassen National Forest. The fires were extinguished before they could destroy any buildings.

If convicted, Maynard faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of arson.