A century-old church in France has become a hub for indoor climbers after it was converted into a climbing facility in 2022.
Located in Paris, the former church was rebuilt by Climbing District, a training spot for climbing and exercising. The church-converted climbing gym has offered climbers unique experience in a rather unusual venue as popularity for rock climbing is growing.
"We are standing in an old chapel that dates back to the middle of the 19th century which was converted into a climbing wall in November 2022. So we went through seven months of works here, and today, we've got a wall of 13 meters' high. We welcome roughly 300 people every day," said Antoine, co-founder of the Climbing District. Debuting at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, sport climbing is relatively new to the Olympics, yet it has become a favorite activity for millions around the world. There are two disciplines in Paris, namely speed-climbing up walls and a combined event of wall-climbing plus bouldering, which is performed on lower walls without a rope.
"It's a great place to make friends, and friends that have the same passion as you. So that's just awesome," said Kelly, a climber.
Starting to learn sport climbing about a year ago, Kelly has now become a sport climbing enthusiast.
"Even when I don't climb, I think about it, when I eat, when I sleep," she said, adding "I think about it all the time."
The ongoing 2024 Paris Olympic Games has reignited people's interest in the niche sport of climbing, with the host country also using this opportunity to encourage people to get more active as figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that almost half of women and 30 percent of men are physically inactive.
Church-converted climbing gym gains traction in France
A high-level mediation team from the African Union (AU) Commission has been dispatched to Juba, capital of South Sudan, to try to ease the rising tensions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, and help resolve the current political crisis in the country.
Riek Machar and several senior officials have been detained since clashes erupted in January between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces and the opposition fighters.
Machar was accused of instigating violence in Nasir in the northern part of the country.
The mediation team says it plans to engage Machar, but that meeting is yet to take place.
The AU is urging South Sudanese political leaders to resolve the current disagreement through dialogue.
Machar heads the largest opposition group that has an armed wing in the country, known as SPLM/A-IO.
South Sudan's government says it's still investigating Machar for being allegedly involved in clashes between government troops and armed civilians affiliated to SPLM/A-IO in Nasir.
"The mandate of the RTGoNU (the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity) is simple; that we stop war, we form a revitalized government of national unity so that we return security, sustainable peace in the country," said Martin Elia Lomuro, South Sudan's Minister of Cabinet Affairs.
Meanwhile, Machar's party members are calling on president Kiir to order the release of their leader.
The group argues that the arrest of Machar means the 2018 peace deal which ended five years of violence in the country has partially collapsed.
The government reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the 2018 peace deal.
It says Mr. Machar is in conflict with the law and that the implementation of the peace deal should not be used as cover to commit crime. However, until now, South Sudanese law enforcement agencies have not charged Machar with any offense in a court of law.
South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, signed a peace deal in 2018 that ended a civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar. Nearly 400,000 people died in the civil war.
Relations between Kiir and Machar, who have dominated South Sudan's politics for decades, remain strained. The clashes and latest political tensions between the two leaders have unsettled many citizens and the international community.
AU dispatches Panel of Wise to address ongoing instability in South Sudan
