Academy Awards bets are open, but a man will definitely win for best director. DW looks at the data following the all-male nominations in the category.

Disturbing new research has revealed that women who are operated on by a male surgeon, are more likely to die. Annette Young talks to the study's co-author, Dr Angela Jerath, from the University of Toronto. Also as outrage continues over the rising rate of femicide in France, we take a look at what steps are being tan by French authorities to prevent male perpetrators from reoffending. Plus we meet the female space engineers who are working on the Ariane 5 space project to unlock the secrets of humankind's final frontier.

Women have long been left to bear the responsibility of contraception. But more and more young men seem willing to share or even take on this burden. Some 37 percent of French men aged 18-30 would be prepared to use a free male contraceptive pill and 22 percent would agree to have a vasectomy, according to a recent study. Yet male contraception remains a taboo. The French medical community shares little information about existing methods, while scientific studies to broaden the spectrum of options are almost non-existent. Our team reports.

With a precise and delicate touch, Debonheur Koli paints the nails of his clients in his nail salon in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic. While the manicure and pedicure industry in the West is dominated by women, in Bangui, it's man's work.

Staff at Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri, say a female ball python has produced seven eggs despite having no contact with a male in over 15 years. The snake, identified by the number 361003 is over 50 years old, and the oldest ever documented in a zoo. Herpetologists are carrying out genetic sampling to find out if the python reproduced sexually or asexually, as snakes can store sperm for delayed fertilization.

For days, groups of anxious residents - young and old, and mostly male - kept night vigils on streets, armed with machetes, bottles and other household items. Braced for an attack that emanated from rumours that a group of up to 200 armed robbers was on the rampage. Even though hundreds were later arrested in Lagos to Ogun State, the situations seem to be under control by the Nigerian Police Force who seems to be overwhelmed at first.

Male and female tourists in Saudi Arabia can now sleep in the same hotel room without proof of marriage, the kingdom's officials have announced. Another change will allow women to book hotel rooms by themselves.

Kenya will include intersex category, along with 'male' and 'female', in the section on gender in her next month's census. Intersex is a term that describes people who are born with a variety of characteristics that do not fit into traditional conceptions of female or male bodies.

Nigeria records more than 100,000 cases of autism annually. As the globe marks World Autism Month, internal medicine physician Dr Nesochi Okeke-Igbokwe takes us into the world of autism, and explains why early recognition, as well as behavioural, educational, and family therapies, may reduce symptoms and support development and learning of people living with autism.