Talk Africana

In Ancient Egypt, women suspected of being pregnant were made to urinate on barley and wheat seeds as a form of a pregnancy test. If the barley grew, it was a boy. If the wheat grew, it was a girl. If none grew, she was not pregnant.

France's armed forces ministry has provided local authorities with a 210-page booklet containing the names of 100 Africans who fought for France in World War Two, so that streets and squares may be named after them.

Akodessewa Fetish Market in Lome, Togo is recognized as the largest fetish market in the world, a place where Voodoo practitioners can find anything they need for their rituals. The market features monkey heads, skulls, dead birds, crocodiles, skins,...

Joseph Cinque (Sengbe Pieh) was a Sierra Leonean slave who led an uprising on the Spanish slave ship, La Amistad. Later Pieh and the other slaves involved in the revolt were put on trial for the death of two...

The researchers found that more than half of 45- to 49-year-old mothers have experienced the death of a child under age five. Nearly two-thirds have experienced the death of any child, irrespective of age. Though the child mortality rate has...

The Gambia is considering a bill sponsored by the government to repeal a 24- year-old law banning skin-bleaching creams. The law prohibits their importation, sale, possession and use. Those pushing for the law to be repealed say it is discriminatory against...

Nigerian-British writer, Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, has been named the author of the year at the British Book awards, the first black writer to ever win the category. The British Book awards, also known as the Nibbies, are produced by...

Belgium's King Philippe has expressed his "regrets" for "acts of violence" and "suffering" of the Congolese people during the colonial period. He made the remarks in a letter to Democratic Republic of Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi on the country's 60th...

A pair of sacred statues that a Nigerian museum commission and protesters claimed were looted during the country's 1960s civil war have been sold for €212,500 (£194,183) at auction in Paris. The Igbo statues were sold by the Christie's auction...

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), has for the first time in its hundred years of existence, elected a Ghanaian, Valentina Mintah, as a member of its Executive Board. The seven-member executive board was announced at the 2020 meeting of...