Election protest in Afghanistan...Shiites march in Iraq...Russia combat alert

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Tensions are escalating over what Western officials had hoped would be a smooth transfer of power in Afghanistan. Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets today to protest against alleged fraud in last week's presidential runoff, bringing out hundreds of riot police. Former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, has accused electoral officials and others of trying to rig the vote against him.

BAGHDAD (AP) — There's been a show of force in Baghdad and other cities in southern Iraq by Shiite militiamen. Thousands paraded with heavy weaponry, signaling their readiness to take on Sunni militants who seized much of the country's north. The parades were staged by followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr against the al-Qaida breakaway Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and allied Sunni militants.

MOSCOW (AP) — Officials say some 65,000 troops will take part in military drills accompanying a weeklong combat alert in central Russia ordered by President Vladimir Putin today. It comes a day after Ukraine ordered a cease-fire with pro-Russian rebels -- a move which Moscow has dismissed as being without substance. The first day of the cease-fire in Ukraine was marked by more fighting along the border.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ahead of a planned summit on working families next week, President Barack Obama has used his weekly media message to lament what he called outdated workplace policies. He says child care, family leave and workplace flexibility aren't frills anymore, they're basic needs. For the Republicans, Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan criticized Obama's record on energy development as abysmal.

LONDON (AP) — Self-styled Druids, new-agers and thousands of revelers have watched the sun rise above the ancient stone circle at Stonehenge to mark the summer solstice — the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. English Heritage, which manages the monument, says some 36,000 sun-watchers gathered about 80 miles southwest of London. Police say the event was peaceful.