* 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.

An alarming rise in drug-related problems amongst militia in southern and central Somalia, which has not been under the control of any type of government for more than a decade, is reported in a study published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

A task force that includes researchers from the University of Cincinnati is revealing new findings after examining domestic violence-related deaths in Hamilton County, Ohio, from 1997-2006. Of the 48 people who died of domestic violence over that period, 94 percent of the victims were female, 77 percent were either separated or considering separation from their partner at the time of their death, and 43 percent died of a gunshot wound fired by their spouses.

Approximately 50 percent of Americans over the age of 12 currently drink alcohol, according to a 2003 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. While the majority of people who drink alcohol do not become violent, overwhelming evidence implicates alcohol in the expression of violence.

Some 200 representatives of the world's religions will meet later this month in the southern Italian city of Naples to discuss a range of issues focusing on violence in the world. The meeting is being organized by the Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio and the Archdiocese of Naples.