Countries with strict social rules and behavioral etiquette such as the United Kingdom may foster drinking cultures characterized by unruly or bad behavior, according to a new report on alcohol and violence released today by International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP). The report lists 11 cultural features that may predict levels of violence such as homicide and spousal abuse.

Violence against women in a family also has serious consequences for the children's growth, health, and survival. Kajsa Åsling Monemi from Uppsala University has studied women and their children in Bangladesh and Nicaragua and shows, among other things, that children whose mothers are exposed to violence grow less and are sick more often than other children.

In a paper published in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics, Dartmouth researchers document the alarming numbers of young adolescents age 10-14 who are exposed to graphic violence in movies rated R for violence.

Matthew Lee, professor of sociology at LSU, has taken an intense look at the phenomenon of violence in rural areas. His article, “Civic Community in the Hinterland: Toward a Theory of Rural Social Structure and Violence,” will be published in the prestigious journal “Criminology.”

* A new Australian study examines the relationship between alcohol-outlet density and violence over time.
* All three types of outlets examined – hotel pubs, bars and packaged-liquor outlets –had positive relationships with assault rates.
* Hotel pubs and bars were the biggest drivers of violence in inner-city areas, while packaged-liquor outlets were more important in suburban areas.

A video showing Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir inciting violence against Australian tourists has been made public.

At least eight people were killed and dozens of others injured in the violent standoff between security forces and thousands of opposition protesters in Yerevan that ended early Sunday following a state of emergency declared by President Robert Kocharian.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched a multi-year campaign to end violence against women and girls. From U.N. headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Premature birth can have serious effects on the development and growth of children. In many parts of the world, preterm deliveries are increasing in frequency.

Crude historical depictions of African Americans as ape-like may have disappeared from mainstream U.S. culture, but research presented in a new paper by psychologists at Stanford, Pennsylvania State University and the University of California-Berkeley reveals that many Americans subconsciously associate blacks with apes.

Violence is continuing in western Kenya, despite an agreement between the government and main opposition to attempt to end the unrest.

The supporters of Benazir Bhutto hit the streets in Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta on Friday, blocking roads and vandalizing vehicles. Reports further say that at some places, the angry protestors also pelted stones at the police personnel.