Ikebana

Residents evacuated in Australia amid lengthy flood forecast
CNN December 30, 2010
Thirteen townships in Australia's flooded Queensland state were evacuated Thursday as forecasters warned it may be weeks before river levels start to stop.

Gobo

Australia's PM promises aid to flood-ravaged towns
CNN December 29, 2010
Australia's prime minister is promising aid to flood-ravaged towns in the country's northeast after half of Queensland was declared a disaster zone.

Hassaku

Russia defends verdict against oil tycoon
Moscow (CNN) December 28, 2010
Russia on Tuesday responded to international criticism over the conviction of a former Russian oil tycoon and his business partner on corruption charges.

Travelers continue to battle winter weather in New York, New England
New York (CNN) December 27, 2010
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has asked residents not to dial 911 unless calling about a life-saving emergency, as edgy travelers continue to face difficult weather conditions stemming from the fifth-largest storm in New York City's history.

Indian space rocket explodes soon after launch
CNN December 26,2010
A space rocket carrying communications equipment exploded soon after takeoff Saturday evening in India, the official national new agency reported.
The unmanned rocket strayed from its flight path and broke into pieces, according to the Press Trust of India.

Senryo & Manryo

Pope's Christmas message urges peace in troubled lands
Rome, Italy (CNN) December 25, 2010
In his traditional Christmas message delivered Saturday to crowds braving winter's chill, Pope BenedictXVI　urged peace in the Middle East and asked for God's comfort upon beleaguered Christian communities in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

Daidai

Violence up in Afghanistan, UN warns
CNN December 24, 2010
Afghanistan is seeing higher levels of violence this year than last year at this time, with 20% more civilians killed and the number of "security incidents" up by 66%, the United Nations says in a new report.

Negi

Greece rejects claim by Italian minister about origin of mail bombs
Rome (CNN) December 23, 2010
A top Italian official said that parcel bombs that injured people at two embassies in Rome on Thursday came from Greece -- a claim that an official in Athens rejected.

Tsubaki (Seiobo)

South Korea says it will hold large land and air drills Thursday
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) December 22, 2010
Tensions rippled across the Korean peninsula as South Korea geared up for its largest land and air winter drills on Thursday, maneuvers choreographed in the shadow of its reclusive tough-taking communist neighbor.

Tsubaki (Seiobo)

Going green to save the white of the Alps
CNN December 20,2010
In the Alps, the term "going green" is not necessarily a good thing.
while efforts to be more environmentally friendly are welcome, the reion is under threat from climate change that could mean in the future the snowy, white slopes in the winter are more a grassy, green color.

Shingiku

Severe weather crowds European airports with frustrated passengers
London (CNN) December 20,2010
Frustrated Passengers crammed Europe's major airports Monday as heavy snowfall forced new cancellations and delays for fliers across the continent.

Daikon

Korean tensions high as U.N. meets
CNN December 19, 2010
The U.N. Security Council met in an emergency session Sunday over the tensions on the Korean Peninsula as South Korea reaffirmed plans to hold live-fire military exercises this week.

Kinugasa-Endomame

Frigid weather blasts Europe
CNN December 18,2010
A blast of harsh winter weather socked Europe on Saturday morning, causing trabel chaos and sending temperatures into a deep-freeze ahead of a busy holiday travel week.

Robai

Assange condemns investigations
Beccles, England (CNN) December 17, 2010
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Friday that the sexual misconduct charges against him are little more than an effort to discredit him and his organization.

Broccolli

WikiLeaks' Assange walks free on bail
London (CNN) December 16, 2010
Julian Assange, the editor of Wikileaks, walked out London's High Court after being freed bail Thursday, nine days after he was arrested for questioning about alleged sec crimes in Sweden.

Mekyabetu

YouTube is five
BBC 15 December 2010
Five years ago, YouTube was officially launched. The site has helped launch international singing careers, played a role in election campaigns and cheered up millions of users who've logged on to watch everything from giggling babied to skateboarding ducks.

Daikon

Assange granted bail, but Sweden appeals
London (CNN) December 14, 2010
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assnage was granted bail Tuesday after a hearing at Westminster Magistate's Court in London, but a lawyer representing Swedish prosecutors immediately filed an appeal.

Soramame

Bretons fight to save language from extinction
An Oriant, France (CNN) December 13, 2010
At a busy creperie amid the cobbled medieval streets of Quimper in Brittany, northern France, a lunchtime crowd is enjoying hearty galettes packed with combinations of meats, cheeses and eggs.

Celery

Protesters made 'contact' with Prince Charles' wife
London (CNN) December 12, 2010
Protesters made "some contact" with Prince Charles's wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a demonstration in London last week, Home Secretary Theresa May said Sunday.

Hassaku

Cancun delegates reach climate change
Cancun, Mexico (CNN) December 11,2010
Delegates at the United Nations climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, approved an agreement early Saturday, despite objections from Bolivia and with praise from the Unitrd States government

Kinusaya-Endomame

Chinese dissident awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Oslo, Norway (CNN) December 10, 2010
An empty chair stood in for imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo as he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in absentia on Friday amid protests and condemnation from China.

Brocolli

Tuition hike protesters attack car carrying Prince Charles, Camilla
London (CNN) December 9, 2010
Protesters enraged by a Parliament vote to triple university tuition rate caps, attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Thursday night.

Hiroshima-na Tukemono

Companies stop Wikileaks payments
BBC 8 December 2010
Datacell, which accepts credit card donations for Wikileaks, has said it will take action if Visa Europe and Mastercard continue not to process these payments. The two credit card companies say they are not willing to work for Wikileaks any more.

Kinusaya-Endomame

Wikileaks' Assange jailed while court decides on extradition
London (CNN) December 7, 2010
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange handed himself over to police Tuesday, promptly appeared in court where he was denied bail, and left for jail in a police van.

Nabana

International Criminal Court looking into Korean incidents
CNN December 6, 2010
the International Criminal Court has opened a probe into the North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last month and the March sinking of a South Korean warship, allegedly by a North Korean submarine, to evaluate if the incidents constitute war crimes, the court said Monday.

chisha

Manga, hip hop and high fashion: The world of Takashi Mur
akami
CNN December 5, 2010
The Asian art scene is increasingly a force to be reckoned with, but one man can claim to have put Japanese contemporary art on the map.
Tokyo-born Takashi Murakami is the man credited with marrying Japanese subculture with contemporary fine art and turning it into a global brand worth millions dollar.

Manryo

U.S., Japan, S.Korea to meet on N. Korea
Washington (CNN) December 4, 2010
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Monday with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan to discuss North Korea.
Officials from China and Russia are not invited, even though they are members of the six-party talks on North Korea.

Wakegi

New stars discovered in the sky
BBC 3 December 2010
Scientists have discovered there are three times more stars in the sky than they had thought. New research in the "Nature" journal says this could mean there are people living on another planet like the earth.

Hakusai

China: Criticism for talks proposal unfair
CNN December 2, 2010
China complained Thursday that it was being criticized for proposing a return to six-party talks to defuse the tenons on the Korean Peninsula.

Kabu

Will the U.S. prosecute Julian Assange?
CNN December 1, 2010
U.S. authorities may be looking for just the right moment to try to detain WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange , who is the subjet of a wanted-presons alert sent to police agencies around the world. CNN's senior legal analyst said Wednesday.

Lemmon

Clinton arrive in Asia amid WikiLeaks commotion
CNN November 30, 2010
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed Tuesday in Astana, Kazakhstan, to begin a four-day trip abroad as the publication of classified U.U. State Department cables by the WiliLeaks site makes headlines around the world.

Takana

New leaks suggest China losing patience with N.Korea
CNN November 29, 2010
WikiLeaks documents posted on the website of the Guardian and the New York Times suggest China is losing patience with its long-time ally North Korea, with senior figures in Beijing describing the regime in the North as behaving like a "spoiled child."

Mizuna

Amid tension, U.S. and South Korea begin military drills
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) November 28, 2010
South Korea and the United States started joint military exercises Sunday, U.S. Forces Korea spokesman David Oten told CNN, prompting a furious response from North Kora.

Daikon

Diplomats try to head off hostilities in Korea
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) November 27, 2010
Diplomats worked to ease tensions in the Koreas on Saturday after North Korea warned of unpredictable "consequences" if the United States fulfills its vow of deploying an aircraft carrier to the Yellow Sea for joint military maneuvers with South Korea.

Hassaku

Puppets, running dogs, lackeys:North Korean news agency spares no one
CNN November 26,2010
"Running dogs,""imperialist lackeys,""criminal gangs" and "brigandish moves" -- that sort of propaganda language died with the Cold War, except in the offices of the Korean Central News Agency.

Biwa

Island, crabs and skirmishes: the Koreas' maritime mishaps
CNN November 25, 2010
Across the seas and oceans of Asia, islands and the waters around them are frequently a source of dispute and even military confrontation. Japan and Russia squabble over Hokkaido; Japan and China claim sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea (Senkaku to the Japanese, Diaoyu to China). Several nations lay claim to the Spratley islands. But the coastline of the Yellow Sea lay --where North and South Korea meet -- is the most explosive of all.

Momiji

US warships head to Yellow Sea for military drills
Incheon, South Korea (CNN) November 24, 2010
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington sailed toward volatile waters off the Korean peninsula Wednesday for planned military exercises with South Korea in a show of force designed to deter a further escalation of hostilities with North Korea.

Dodantsutuji (Planted on November 23)

After North Korean strike, South Korean leader threatens 'retaliation'
Seoul, South Korea November 23, 2010
Hours after North Korea's deadly artillery attacks Tuesday, South Korea's president said "enormous retaliation" is needed to stop Pyongyang's incitement, but international diplomats urgently appealed for restraint.

Senryo

Irish financial crisis threatens government
Dublin, Ireland (CNN) November 23, 2010
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen on Monday said he will delay any decision on whether go to ahead with national elections until the 2011 budget is passed and negotiations on the details of an international bailout package are finalized.

Kurogane

What does the Irish bailout mean?
Dublin, Republic of Ireland (CNN) November 22, 2010
Europe and the International Monetary Fund are discussing the final details of a rescue package worth up to 100 billion euros to bail out Ireland's banking sector. What are the implications of the bailout for Irish people and the rest of the world?

Tsuwabuki

Heritage on a plate
BBC Monday 22 November 2010
The French dining ritual has been added to Unesco's list of 'intangible heritage of humanity'. The list of 213 cultural traditions from around the world also includes Chinese acupuncture, the Peking Opera and Colombian music.

Tsuwabuki

Speculation rife over date, venue of royal wedding
CNN November 19,2010
Speculation was intense Friday over where and when Prince William will marry Kate Middleton, with may predicting the couple will choose the iconic, thousand-year-old Westminster Abbey.

Hassaku

Scientist capture antimatter atoms in particle breakthrough
CNN November 18, 2010
Scientists have captured a antimatter atoms for the first time, a breakthrough that could eventually help us to understand the nature and origins of the universe.

Sazanka

Naoto Kan: 'Japan has lost its vigor'
CNN November 17, 2010
As Japan's fifth prime minister in four years, Naoto Kan hopes the revolving door of Japanese politics will remain closed long enough for him to reinvigorate the country.

Nanten

Kate Middleton: From college sweetheart to queen in waiting
London, England (CNN) November 16, 2010
The woman set to walk down the aisle with the second in line to the British throne is the daughter of self-made millionaires from rural England.
Kate Middleton , 28, grew up in a small village of thatched cottages in Bucklebury, around rt miles west of London.

Mikan

Suu Kyi calls for dialogue with Myanmar government
Yangon, Myanmar(CNN) November 15, 2010
Freed activist Aung San Suu Kyi pledged Monday to keep working toward restoring democracy and improving human rights in Myanmar, saying she is not concerned about being detained again in the future.

Tsuwabuki

APEC leaders to work toward free trade area
Yokohama, Japan (CNN) November 14, 2010
World leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Sunday pledged to work towrd toward a tree trade area in the Asia-Pacific region.

Sazanka

'I'm very happy to see you all again,' Suu Kyi says after release
CNN November 13, 2010
Myanmar's ruling military junta freed democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest Saturday to a throng of joyous supporters who rushed toward her house once the gates were opened.

Tamanegi

Party members fear chances of Suu Kyi's release are dim
CNN November 12, 2010
Party members who had gathered by the hundreds at the National League for Democracy headquarters in Yangon, Myanmar on Friday were told to go home, dashing hopes that democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi would be released from house arrest.

Yuzu

China: A potential friend or foe?
November 12, 2010
In the months leading up to the G-20 summit, China has been branded as the bogeyman -- a scapegoat form many of the intractable problems that dysfunctional economies are now facing. Prickly topics include jb losses, trade imbalances are currency manipulation.