Features

WASHINGTON — Across the world, girls are more likely than boys to blame academic failure on a lack of talent, according to a large study on gender stereotypes recently published. 

Paradoxically, the idea that males are inherently more brilliant was most entrenched in countries that are more egalitarian. 

Such stereotypes have been explored in the past, but the new work, published in the journal Science Advances, has the advantage of encompassing 500,000 students across the world, making it possible to compare between countries. 

It used data from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment, a study conducted every three years to learn more about the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in math, reading, and sciences.

The 2018 survey included the sentence: “When I am failing, I am afraid that I might not have enough talent.”

The result: in 71 of the 72 countries studied, even when performance was equal, girls were more inclined to attribute their failures to a lack of talent than boys, who were likelier to blame external factors. The sole exception was Saudi Arabia.

Contrary to what one may expect, the differences were most pronounced in wealthy nations.

Within wealthy OECD countries, 61 per cent of girls said they agreed with the statement, compared to 47 per cent of boys — a difference of 14 per cent. 

In non-OECD countries, the gap was still present, but the difference was just eight per cent.

The difference was also greater among higher-performing students compared to those of average performance. 

Glass ceiling

“We have no perfect explanation for this paradox,” study co-author Thomas Breda, of CNRS and the Paris School of Economics, told AFP.

But the apparent oddity has been observed before, for example in terms of self-confidence, and of boys being more likely to study sciences and math.

It shows, according to Breda, that “as countries develop, gender norms do not disappear, but reconfigure themselves”.

One hypothesis is that countries with more freedom ultimately leave more room for individuals to fall back into old stereotypes.

These countries are also very focused on individual success, and so place a greater premium on the notion of talent itself.

In societies that don’t assign as much value on talent, there’s less room for people to apply stereotypes.

The researchers further showed that there is a strong correlation between the idea of being less talented and three other indicators studied as part of the PISA survey. 

The less talented that girls believe they are compared to boys, the less confidence they have, the less they enjoy competition, and the less willing they are to work in male-dominated occupations such as information and communication technology. 

The three indicators are often cited as reasons that may contribute to the existence of the glass ceiling stopping women from accessing the highest positions.

Taken together the result “suggests that the glass ceiling is unlikely to disappear as countries develop or become more gender-egalitarian”, the authors said in the paper.

A proposed solution: “Stop thinking in terms of innate talent,” said Breda.

“Success comes from learning through trial and error. If we deconstruct the concept of pure talent, we will also deconstruct the idea that girls are less naturally endowed with talent than boys.”

PARIS — Including peanuts in children's diets early in life could help stave off allergies against the legume, which can be fatal and affect swathes of youngsters globally, according to a recent study.

Researchers found that introducing peanut products to babies and infants, and gradually increasing exposure, led to greater tolerance for the common allergen. 

The peer-reviewed study, published in The Lancet, involved 146 peanut-allergic children aged between zero and three over two-and-a-half years.

Of the group, 96 were given peanut protein powder every day, with the dose increasing progressively to the equivalent of six peanuts. The other children received a placebo of oat flour. 

Twenty of the children who received peanut powder showed allergy remission, meaning no allergic reaction occurred six months after the therapy ended. 

One child in the placebo group showed remission.

Six months after the treatment, the children in remission could tolerate a dose equivalent to 16 peanuts.

An additional 20 children who received peanut powder were considered 'desensitised', meaning they had a higher allergic threshold but were not considered in remission.

These children could tolerate a dose equivalent to between six and 12 peanuts six months after the treatment ended.

The youngest children in the study experienced remission the most often, and the best results were in those under 12 months.

"Very early interventions may provide the best opportunity to achieve remission", said co-author Stacie Jones.

'Considerable burden'

Peanut allergies affect two per cent of children in Western countries, according to the study, and can last a lifetime. 

Affected children must avoid eating peanuts and have self-injectable adrenaline available to fight allergic shocks, which can be fatal if they are accidentally exposed.

Exposure can even occur when a child hugs someone who has just consumed peanuts.

"There are no treatment options, resulting in a considerable burden on allergic children and their caregivers to avoid accidental exposure," said co-author Wesley Burks.

"In severe cases, this can restrict peanut-allergic children's freedoms, particularly when it comes to navigating daycare or schools and public spaces where access to a safe diet is in jeopardy," he added.

Previous studies have produced similar results but the length of the latest studies makes it unique.

Although it provided important results, it may not reflect the behaviour of the children's bodies in real-world conditions.

The study was conducted under close medical supervision, and adrenaline injections were administered on 21 children during the trial.

SEOUL — South Korean supergroup BTS return to the stage in Seoul to play for their adoring home-grown fans for the first time since 2019 on Thursday, after tickets for the three-night stadium concerts sold out in minutes.

While COVID-19 emptied arenas and shut clubs worldwide, the K-Pop septet thrived during the pandemic — scoring a string of number one hits, expanding their global fanbase and reaping record profits.

Despite most of the band catching the virus, the trailblazing musicians barely missed a beat as the world locked down — using social media, fancams, and livestreams to cement their position as the world’s biggest and most influential boyband, analysts say.

“Oddly enough, I think that the pandemic may have helped BTS to grow their worldwide fame,” said “K-Pop professor” CedarBough Saeji of Pusan National University.

“So many people who were stuck at home and desperate for something new fell down the rabbit hole of BTS,” Saeji told AFP.

The group’s feel-good songs were a “perfect” antidote to COVID blues, she said, and their digital native fans, well used to livestreaming gigs and social media engagement, pivoted naturally to virtual concerts.

Even BTS’ first-ever No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 “Dynamite” wouldn’t exist without COVID: “We were trying to convey the message of healing and comfort to our fans,” band member Jin told Esquire.

The floppy-haired musicians, all in their 20s and often sporting earrings and lipstick, appeal to a generation comfortable with gender fluidity.

They are credited with generating billions for the South Korean economy, and their label HYBE enjoyed a surge in profits despite holding fewer concerts during the pandemic.

The global music industry saw performance revenues collapse as venues closed, but recorded-music revenue grew significantly, thanks largely to subscription streaming services, industry data showed.

K-Pop rise

People are drawn to BTS because their music “reflects the world’s complexity and human experiences”, said Candace Epps-Robertson, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. 

“We want to hear how others process challenging emotions and obstacles,” she told AFP.

K-pop followed the success of Japan’s J-pop in the 1990s and quickly won a strong following in Asia, but had struggled to cross the Pacific.

BTS are widely credited for bringing K-pop into the mainstream in the US, and analysts say the pandemic supercharged their role on the world stage.

The group was invited to the United Nations General Assembly last year — their second visit — to deliver a speech about embracing change.

This “shows another dimension that previous K-pop acts didn’t have”, said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor at King’s College London.

When three members tested positive for the virus — two more were later infected — Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organisation chief, wished them a fast recovery on Twitter, adding a reminder about the importance of vaccinations.

That tweet garnered tens of thousands of engagements, and researchers said BTS — all vaccinated — had become “the most significant driver of health discourse” on social media.

Record profits

Despite fewer concerts, HYBE enjoyed a record-setting year in 2021 posting more than $1 billion in sales, driven by online content and albums.

Even before the pandemic, social media had been a key tool for BTS to connect with their largely female fans — collectively known as ARMY.

The group has always livestreamed concerts to accommodate their global fanbase, a practice that made “the transition to online-only, streamed concerts at least slightly easier”, said Jenna Gibson, a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago.

In 2020 BTS were forced to call off what was supposed to be their largest international tour with almost 40 gigs, though they held some concerts online.

The group’s first in-person show since the pandemic was at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in November, with the four-night run grossing $33.3 million, according to Billboard.

The same can be expected for this week’s concert, part of their “Permission to Dance on Stage” tour, but for fans, the resumption of the “communal experience” of live music is key, Gibson said.

“Fans truly missed that during the pandemic,” she said.

PARIS — Helen McLaughlin says she was suffering so much that she would burn herself with a hot bottle “just because that was a nicer pain than the one that I was in”.

But when her medical scans kept coming back clear, the doctors in London made her feel like “there’s nothing wrong with me — it’s in your head”.

Her story will be familiar to millions because the disease plaguing her — endometriosis — is suffered by one in 10 women worldwide.

But endometriosis is so under-researched, and often takes so long to be properly diagnosed, that it has come to symbolise how illnesses that only affect women have long been ignored by a historically male-focused medical establishment.

McLaughlin was 16 when she had her first symptoms of endometriosis, where the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus instead grows on the outside.

When she told her GP in Britain that she was having her period every other week, he prescribed her the pill.

When she was 25 — nearly a decade after that first misdiagnosis — she started getting increasing pain after her period — “a quite intense pulling feeling in my tummy”.

A year later it had spread to her legs and she was “in pain 24 hours a day, seven days a week”.

“I had difficulty walking in and out of hospital, I couldn’t work, I was put on 25 tablets a day — just pain management.”

Change only came when a friend of hers said they had heard of another person with similar symptoms who had endometriosis. 

However when McLaughlin mentioned endometriosis at her hospital, “they were really dismissive” and she was again discharged with painkillers.

“I ended up writing a three-page letter to the general surgeon just begging him” for the surgery to search for endometriosis, which neither scans nor blood tests can conclusively detect.

“That’s how I got diagnosed.”

Not a ‘pink sparkly day’

Now 37 and living in London, McLaughlin said International Women’s Day, on Tuesday, “can’t be seen as this — to use the stereotype — pink sparkly day”.

“It’s a day that needs to be taken seriously, because there is so much that affects women that just isn’t addressed in the male world.”

A 2020 British parliamentary report found that women with endometriosis waited an average of eight years for a diagnosis, despite more than half seeing the doctor over 10 times with symptoms.

A 2019 analysis of studies in the US showed it is even more difficult for women of colour to get diagnosed with endometriosis.

British feminist cultural historian Elinor Cleghorn has a similar story to McLaughlin.

When pain gripped her from “hip to ankle”, her family GP said he couldn’t see anything wrong with her, speculating it was gout.

“Might I ask if an attractive young woman such as yourself might be pregnant?” the doctor asked Cleghorn, according to her 2021 book “Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World”.

When informed that she was on the pill, the doctor concluded, “It’s probably just your hormones.”

After a decade of pain and frustration, a rheumatologist finally discovered the real cause: Lupus.

Women help men first

French neurobiologist Catherine Vidal said the “so-called ‘nature’ of women, the representations of them as weak creatures, have long permeated medicine”.

Woman and girls are significantly more likely to suffer from depression than men and boys, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Again, hormones have been traditionally blamed. 

But the WHO said gender norms that resulted in women having less autonomy, while carrying greater societal expectation, was to blame — as well as the trauma some carry as victims of gender-based harassment and violence.

Claire Mounier-Vehier, a cardiologist at the University Hospital of Lille, said another problem was that “women feel less concerned about their own health and often put it second to their family or work”.

A French survey showed women called an ambulance an average of 15 minutes later than men when having a heart attack.

A 2019 European Society of Cardiology study also found that “women call an ambulance for husbands, fathers and brothers with heart attack symptoms but not for themselves”.

“We have to stop believing that when a man collapses, he is having cardiac arrest but that when it’s a woman, it’s a fainting spell,” Mounier-Vehier said.

Audi’s economy-minded petrol version of its prestigious executive saloon segment, it is testament to how things have changed that the A6 40 TFSI’s output is only just shy of the highest performing incarnations of its early 1990s Audi 100/200 predecessor.

More aggressively stylised than Audis of yesteryear but conservative by current design directions, it is, however,  also unsurprising that the contemporary entry-level A6 is far more advanced and better equipped than the very first Audi V8 full luxury model of that era.

Defined and dramatic

The more traditional and upright of Audi’s executive class offerings, the A6 may not have quite the dramatic presence or rakishly swooping fastback style of its’ otherwise near identical A7 “four-door coupe” sister model, but is the more practical, spacious and focused choice.

Without the pretence of being saloon and coupe wrapped into one, the A6 offers a sense of clarity and purpose that ultimately eludes trendier executive segment vehicles, whether the low-slung A7 or its high-riding Audi Q5 crossover relation.

Launched in 2018, the latest A6 incarnation is sportier and more sculpted in design, with more defined surfacing, sharper crease lines, in-built boot-lid spoiler and subtly muscular wheel-arches. Its slim, browed headlights are, meanwhile, horizontally bisected by an LED strip and flank a bigger, more dramatic and vast low-slung hexagonal grille. With a flowing roofline and more coupe-like profile, the A6 nevertheless remains a distinctly three-box saloon, with the entailing space and visibility benefits, and sensibly dignified and elegantly classic demeanour.

Efficient engineering

Powered by an innovative adapted Miller-cycle version of Audi’s turbocharged direct injection 4-cylinder engine family, the A6 40 TFSI is set up for performance and much enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions when driven at partial load, as c most cars are most often driven.

With intake valves closing earlier than usual, and with shorter compression and longer expansion phases, the 40 TFSI’s compression phase is similar to a smaller engine, but offers the advantage of a larger engine’s expansion phase.

Also featuring specially adapted combustion chambers, intake ducts, piston recesses, and increased fuel injection pressure, the 40 TFSI’s valve-lift system also operates to ensure responsive power and torque delivery. Clever and effective, the 40 TFSI’s revised combustion is combined with an electric waste-gate and an exhaust manifold integrated in the cylinder head for optimised thermal management. Driving the front wheels, the 40 TFSI’s engine is mated to a slick and responsive seven-speed dual clutch gearbox with reduced weight and friction.

Composed and confident

Developing 187BHP over 4200-6000rpm and 236lb/ft throughout 1450-4200rpm, the A6 40 TFSI is responsive and consistently confident, with little turbo lag and a generous mid-range torque band providing on the move versatility, and underwriting power build up. Accelerating through 0-100km/h in 8.1-seconds and capable of 233km/h, the 40 TFSI is smooth and refined, and reasonably brisk, while a broad range of gear ratios well-exploiting output for performance and efficiency. Automatic coasting, low aerodynamic drag and its stop/go system meanwhile also enhance fuel efficiency.

Front-driven with low-mounted in-line engine positioned just ahead of equal length drive shafts, the A6 develops superb traction and mechanically well-suppresses torque-steer. If somewhat nose heavy with such architectural layout, the modern A6 well disguises its front-biased weighting, while sophisticated five-link suspension helps it feel considerably more agile and balanced than predecessors. Capable in front-drive specification, the A6 is, however, best when fitted with Audi’s iconic high traction Quattro four-wheel-drive system, while optional four-wheel-steering significantly enhances agility, manoeuvrability and stability.

Classy and comfortable

Tidy and responsive turning into corners the A6 grips well and is composed through fast sweeping corners. Pushed against its dynamic limits, the A6’s electronic stability controls meanwhile suppress its instinct for gradual under-steer. Settled in vertical movement, the A6 is smooth driving and refined at speed or in town, with its suspension finding a happy medium between firm and forgiving. Comfortable over most bumps and imperfections, ride quality can be slightly stiff over sudden sharp low speed bumps, when fitted with low profile tyres.

More spacious than its predecessor, the A6’s conservatively classy cabin incorporates quality materials and textures, and is best in darker tones. Meanwhile, it is airier and with better visibility and headroom than the hunkered down A7. Comfortably accommodating taller passengers in front and well in the rear, its driving position is alert, well adjustable and comfortably supportive. Good visibility meanwhile encourages driving confidence. Extensive standard and optional safety, driver assistance, infotainment and convenience features include twin infotainment screens and configurable Virtual Cockpit instrument panel.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2-litre, turbocharged, in-line 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 82.5 x 92.8mm

Compression ratio: 11.7:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 7-speed dual clutch automated, front-wheel-drive

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 187.4 (190) [140] @4200-6000rpm

Specific power: 94.4BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 111.5BHP/tonne (estimate)

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 236 (320) @1450-4200rpm

Specific torque: 161.3Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 190.5Nm/tonne (estimate)

0-100km/h: 8.1-seconds

Top speed: 233km/h

Fuel capacity: 73-litres

Length: 4,939mm

Width: 1,886mm

Height: 1,457mm

Wheelbase: 2,924mm

Overhang, F/R: 920/1,095mm

Headroom, F/R: 1,054/973mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1,467/1,436mm

Elbow room, F/R: 1,527/1,501mm

Luggage volume: 530-litres

Unladen weight: approximately 1,680kg (estimate)

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Turning circle: 11.1-metres

Suspension: Five-link

Brakes: Ventilated discs

Tyres: 245/45R19

By Andrew Marszal
Agence France-Presse

LOS ANGELES — Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter”, a drama about the challenges and taboos surrounding motherhood, was named the year’s best indie film at the Spirit Awards on Sunday.

Gyllenhaal — until now primarily known as an actress in films such as “The Dark Knight” and “Secretary” — also won prizes for best screenplay and best director, for her debut effort in both fields.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards honour low- and mid-budget movies, and the glitzy gala held at Santa Monica beach near Los Angeles could provide a much-needed boost for smaller films like Gyllenhaal’s ahead of this month’s Oscars.

“The Lost Daughter,” based on Elena Ferrante’s novel, is in the running for three Academy Awards including best actress for Olivia Colman, who plays a mother estranged from her children and harbouring guilt for her failings in raising them.

“My film is in an unusual language — it’s the language of the minds of women,” said Gyllenhaal, before dedicating her final prize for best feature to “women in film”.

While only films made for less than $22.5 million can compete for Spirit Awards, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars turned out for the event, and streaming giant Netflix emerged as the day’s big winner with six awards.

Beyond the honours for “The Lost Daughter”, Netflix earned two prizes for 1920s race drama “Passing”, including best supporting actress for Ruth Negga, and one for South Korean smash hit series “Squid Game”.

Stars Kristen Stewart and Javier Bardem were among several who used the event to speak out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Taylour Paige won best actress for her portrayal of a stripper who becomes embroiled with a prostitution scam in “Zola”, a black comedy based on a viral Twitter thread. 

Simon Rex — a former MTV host who began his career by appearing in adult films — won best actor for “Red Rocket”, about a washed-up porn star.

Rex said his career had been “in the toilet” before director Sean Baker approached him to make the tiny film, which sees him running naked down the streets of a small Texas town while wearing a prosthetic penis.

“Thank you so much for recognising my fake penis,” joked Rex.

“This movie was made for $1 million with a 10-person crew with no permits,” he added.

“We were hiding from police. We were hiding from neighbours. I was running down the street butt-naked. 

“If this doesn’t embody the spirit... of independent film, I don’t know what does.”

‘Free this film’

The Spirit Awards are typically held the day before the Oscars, but this year were held three weeks prior, meaning voting for the season-concluding Academy Awards has not yet taken place.

Deaf actor Troy Kotsur cemented his Oscar frontrunner status by earning another best supporting actor prize for his role in “CODA”.

The film follows high school teen Ruby as she juggles her musical ambitions with her deaf family’s dependence on her to communicate with the “hearing” world.

“Summer of Soul [...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised]” — musician Questlove’s first movie about the huge “Black Woodstock” festival that took place in 1969 Harlem — won best documentary.

The film brings to light long-lost and never-before-seen footage of the star-studded concert, which was attended by 300,000 people and featured Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Mahalia Jackson.

Questlove — real name Ahmir Thompson — said it “took a village of people to free this film from its 50-year sentence sitting inside of a basement”.

Each year, the Spirit Awards gives the prestigious Robert Altman Award to a film’s director, casting director and cast.

“Mass”, a harrowing drama in which a school mass shooting victim’s parents sit down with the mother and father of the attacker in a bid to find closure, received the pre-announced honour.

The Oscars take place in Hollywood on March 27.

By Ghadeer Habash
Internationally Certified 
Career Trainer

How can you decide to be happy? Is happiness a choice? Can you choose to be happy? How can you make yourself happy? Are you chasing happiness or know friends who do?

Many people think that happiness is related to owning something, having more, something better, something new. They may believe that they will be happy if they move to their dream house, buy a new car, change their smartphone to the latest model, buy a certain brand, or get that luxurious watch or that diamond ring they longed to have.

There’s no harm in wanting these things, but many people have to depend on external factors to get them. This usually leads to disappointment. Perhaps you are:

• Waiting for your parents, spouse, or kids to fulfil your dreams

• Waiting to change your job in order to be happy

• Waiting to get married, or to have kids to be happy

Well, you can stop waiting for the future to happen in order to be happy!

The biochemistry 

of happiness

We’ve all heard that happiness does not come from the outside, it comes from within. Many doubt the adage that “you are responsible for your own happiness”. But it’s true! Happiness comes from within because it’s all about chemicals in your body. Yes, it’s biochemistry.

The way we feel is related to the magical hormones or neurotransmitters level in our body; if you come to know what these are, how they work and how to boost them, you will increase your daily dose of happiness.

Dopamine is the “feel good” neurotransmitter that drives your brain‘s reward system. To stimulate dopamine, consider:

• Eating chocolate, preferably dark chocolate 

• Drinking coffee

• Eating fresh fruits and vegetables

• Eating whole grain foods

• Taking Vitamins C and E

• Listening to music

• Getting a good night’s sleep

• Completing a small task

Oxytocin is the bonding hormone; it is released when we feel connected to people. To stimulate oxytocin, consider:

• Taking care of a pet 

• Hugging more often

• Holding hands

• Cooking a meal and sharing it with loved ones

Serotonin is a mood stabiliser that improves sleep, reduces anxiety and increases happiness. To stimulate serotonin, consider: 

• Getting some sunshine

• Going for a walk

•Practising meditation

• Doing some cardio

Endorphins are the brain’s natural painkiller, reducing stress and increasing pleasure. To stimulate endorphins, consider:

• Doing some exercise

• Eating dark chocolate

• Laughing more (watch some comedy)

• Using essential oils

The activities you pursue, the foods you consume, the quality of people you spend time with all have an effect on our happiness hormones. To reduce stress and increase your happiness hormones, consider:

• Exercising as often as possible

• Bringing dark chocolate to work

• Investing in healthy relationships

• Enjoying more time around those who make you happy (kids, pets, etc)

• Consuming less sugar and more fresh fruits and veggies

• Spending some time in nature

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

WASHINGTON — Add one more crater to the long list of pockmarks on the lunar surface.

According to orbital calculations, a rocket hurtling through space for years crashed into the Moon on Friday, but the strike wasn’t directly observed, and there might be a wait for photographic evidence.

The impact would have taken place at 7:25am Eastern Time (1225 GMT), on the far side of the Moon, said the astronomer Bill Gray, who was the first to predict the collision.

Racing through the cosmos at around 9,300kph, the roughly four ton object should make a crater “10 or 20 metres across”, Gray told AFP.

Its speed, trajectory, and time of impact were calculated using Earth-based telescope observations.

“We had lots [and lots] of tracking data for the object, and there is nothing acting on it except the forces of gravity and sunlight,” he said, with the latter pushing the cylinder gently away from the Sun.

“Unless the object was removed by an occult hand, it hit the Moon this morning.”

The identification of the rocket has been a subject of debate, since there is no official entity responsible for listing and tracking junk in deep space.

Gray, an independent contractor who has created orbital calculation software used by NASA, hunts for and monitors human-made debris, so that scientists do not confuse it for asteroids and study it unnecessarily.

He initially thought what he was seeing was a SpaceX rocket, but later changed his mind and said it was a third-stage booster of Chang’e 5-T1, launched in 2014 as part of the Chinese space agency’s lunar exploration programme.

Beijing denied responsibility, saying the booster in question had “safely entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was completely incinerated”.

But according to Gray, the statement by China’s foreign ministry conflated two missions with similar names, and was actually talking about a rocket launched much later.

Whatever the case, only NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and India’s Chandrayaan-2, both of which orbit the Moon, will be able to image the crater.

The US space agency said in late January it wanted to survey the crater, but said that finding it would be a challenge that might take “weeks to months”.

According to Gray, both probes are able to observe any region on the Moon once a month.

It’s not unusual for rocket stages to be abandoned to the cosmos after serving their purpose of launching spacecraft.

But this would mark the first time an unintentional collision with the Moon has been projected.

Spacecraft have been intentionally crashed into the Moon before for scientific purposes, such as during the Apollo missions to test seismometers.

LOS ANGELES — Reality TV star Kim Kardashian's marriage to Kanye West officially ended Wednesday when a Los Angeles judge finalised her divorce from the rapper now known as Ye.

Kardashian appeared before the court virtually but Ye was represented only by his lawyer, who brought no objection to the end of the marriage.

Ye had publicly fought the separation, including with social media posts imploring Kardashian to reconcile.

Kardashian filed for divorce last year after months of press reports about marital strife and as Ye battled with mental health issues.

"I very much desire to be divorced," Kardashian wrote in a declaration filed to the court last week.

"I have asked Kanye to keep our divorce private, but he has not done so," added the 41-year-old megastar.

Lavish wedding

"I believe that the court terminating our marital status will help Kanye to accept that our marital relationship is over and to move forward on a better path which will assist us in peacefully co-parenting our children."

The couple have four children: eight-year-old daughter North, son Saint, six, daughter Chicago, four, and two-year-old son Psalm.

The pair, who began dating in 2012 and married in a lavish ceremony in Italy two years later, rapidly became one of the world's most instantly recognisable couples.

But their union ran into trouble with reports of bizarre outbursts from Ye, 44, who suffers from bipolar disorder.

In 2020, the mercurial entertainment mogul launched a bid for the US presidency with a rambling speech in which he revealed shocking personal details about his daughter, and broke down in tears.

He also posted tweets that accused his wife and mother-in-law of trying to lock him up.

Kardashian has previously called on the media and public to show "compassion and empathy" over her husband's erratic behaviour.

It is the first divorce for Ye and the third for Kardashian, who came to fame with the US reality TV series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" which followed the lives of her family members in Los Angeles.

Chicago-raised Ye burst onto the rap scene via his production skills, before delivering a string of critically acclaimed and bestselling studio albums.

He has made a public turn to Christian evangelism in recent years.

Last August he filed to legally change his name to his longtime nickname "Ye," saying it was for "personal reasons."

The pair began dating while Kardashian was going through divorce proceedings with second husband Kris Humphries.

Kardashian is now in a relationship with 28-year-old comedian and actor Pete Davidson.