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Hatoyama delivers 1st Diet speech, pledges to deepen ties with U.S.

He said the government will deepen the ''multilayered'' Japan-U.S. alliance in which the two countries will tie up and cooperate to address a raft of global challenges, including nuclear disarmament and the fight against climate change.

On other diplomatic issues, Hatoyama pledged to continue promoting the idea of forming an ''East Asian community'' for close regional cooperation in such areas as the economy, trade and the environment, and deal with the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Pakistan as ''the most critical issues'' facing the international community.

Internet Set for Major Change with Multilingual Addresses

The international group that regulates the Internet says it is likely to authorize the use of script from languages such as Arabic, Korean and Japanese for an entire Internet address for the first time.

Afghan President, Main Rival Reject Power Sharing

Afghanistan's president and his main electoral challenger say the country's political future should be decided at the ballot box, not through the formation of a coalition government. But President Hamid Karzai's primary political rival continues to express concern over electoral fraud that plagued the country's first round of voting in August.