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Peng Shuai – the Chinese tennis star in eye of storm after #MeToo claims

AFP

Concerns over the safety of Peng Shuai have prompted the Women’s Tennis Association to suspend all tournaments in China, after she made sexual assault allegations against a former top politician in Beijing.

The Chinese tennis star alleged on November 2 on the Twitter-like Weibo that she had been “forced” into sex by former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli, with whom she said that she had a long-term on-off relationship. The post was swiftly deleted and Peng was not seen publicly for nearly three weeks.

The 35-year-old reappeared as a guest at a youth tennis tournament in Beijing and then held a video call with Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.

Concerns about her wellbeing have persisted, however, and the WTA’s Steve Simon said Wednesday he could not “in good conscience” hold events in China.

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So who is Peng Shuai?

– Doubles number one –

Peng is one of China’s biggest sports stars, winning the women’s doubles at Wimbledon in 2013 alongside Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei for her first Grand Slam title.

A second followed at the French Open in 2014 — again with her long-time friend Hsieh — and Peng spent 20 weeks that year ranked number one in doubles.

She also enjoyed her best Grand Slam singles run in 2014, reaching the semi-finals of the US Open.

She has won 23 WTA doubles and two singles titles, earning prize money of nearly $10 million.

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Peng is currently ranked 191st in the world in doubles and has not been seen on the WTA Tour since the Qatar Open in February 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic shut down global tennis for almost five months.

– Six-month ban –

Peng was in August 2018 banned from tennis for six months and fined $10,000 for attempting to force Hsieh to withdraw as her doubles partner for Wimbledon 2017 after the sign-in deadline.

“Although the offer was refused and Peng Shuai did not subsequently compete at The Championships, it constituted a breach of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program,” the Tennis Integrity Unit said, accusing Peng of using “coercion” and “the possibility of financial reward” to Hsieh to withdraw.

– Heart defect –

Peng was born in January 1986 in Xiangtan, in the central province of Hunan, to a father who was a policeman. The city also happens to be the hometown of the founder of communist China, Mao Zedong.

She grew up in “an ordinary family” according to local media and was introduced to tennis at the age of eight by her uncle, a former tennis coach.

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Peng’s fledgling career was nearly cut short when doctors said she would need an operation to treat a heart defect at 12.

She insisted that the operation go ahead despite her family’s concerns about undergoing the procedure at such a young age, because she “loved tennis too much”, she once said.

She travelled alone to the United States at 15 to further her training — armed only with an electronic dictionary.

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Tehran engulfed in toxic cloud after strikes on fuel facilities

Tehran woke up under a sky that shifted from gray to black following strikes on fuel infrastructure, as the city has become engulfed in a toxic cloud that is turning daily life into a public health and environmental emergency.

Residents warn that what is falling from the sky is no longer just rain, but a mixture of oil and pollutants. Attacks on fuel depots have triggered prolonged fires, releasing thick plumes of smoke that continue to spread across the العاصمة.

For several days, facilities have remained ablaze, while a dark layer has settled over streets, homes, and even water reserves. Authorities have urged the population—more than nine million people—to remain indoors, especially vulnerable groups.

The extreme toxicity is linked to mazut, a dense petroleum byproduct with high sulfur content still used in Iran due to industrial limitations and sanctions. When burned, it releases hazardous particles that, when combined with moisture, result in contaminated rainfall.

The situation is worsened by Tehran’s geography. Surrounded by mountains, the city is affected by a temperature inversion phenomenon that traps pollutants near the ground, preventing their dispersion and creating a stagnant layer of toxic air over the population.

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Residents have reported symptoms such as eye and skin irritation, headaches, and respiratory difficulties. Emergency agencies have also warned of potential chemical burns caused by acid rain.

Long-term concerns are mounting, as prolonged exposure to fine particles and heavy metals could lead to serious health conditions, including lung damage and cancer.

Contamination is also spreading to water sources and agricultural land, threatening the food supply in a country already facing water scarcity.

At a regional level, the environmental impact is expanding, with oil spills reported in the Persian Gulf, affecting marine ecosystems and fishing communities.

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FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Arrested in Mexico and Deported to U.S.

Authorities in Mexico announced Thursday that Samuel Ramírez Jr., a U.S. citizen accused of murdering two women and listed among the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, was arrested in the northern state of Sinaloa.

Ramírez Jr., 33, was detained Tuesday in Culiacán just 1 hour and 13 minutes after being added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Ten Most Wanted list, the agency said in a statement.

The suspect, who was born in California, has already been deported to the U.S. state of Washington, where he faces charges related to the fatal shooting of two women at a bar in Federal Way in May 2023.

A court issued an arrest warrant for Ramírez in November last year, and the FBI initially offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture, later increasing the amount to up to $1 million.

“To protect individuals’ privacy and ensure continued cooperation from the public, the FBI does not confirm the identity of those who provide information,” the agency said in its statement.

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UN experts warn Nicaragua runs vast transnational network to monitor exiled dissidents

Nicaragua maintains an “extensive” transnational network to monitor and intimidate opposition figures living in exile, affecting “hundreds of thousands” of people, the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua warned on Tuesday.

In a statement, the experts said their report “details an extensive transnational architecture of surveillance and intelligence used to monitor, intimidate and attack the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans living abroad.”

The report, which will be presented on March 16 to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, states that the structure maintained by the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo includes the army, the police, migration authorities and diplomatic missions.

According to the statement, “the government has arbitrarily stripped 452 Nicaraguans of their nationality, left thousands more exiled in a situation of de facto statelessness, and prevented many from returning to Nicaragua.”