澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-01-01

（单词翻译）

People around the country have enthusiastically welcomed the new decade. World weather threatened to derail plans for fireworks in a number of capital cities. But Sydney again hosted a spectacular¹ show - more than one and a half million people watched it from the city's foreshore. It also attracted a global audience of a billion people.

Countries across Asia and the Pacific have also been ringing in the New Year. Hong Kong's famous fireworks display lit up the harbor². In Japan, thousands of balloons were released³ as Tokyo's electric light board flashed 2010. And in South Korea, celebrations had a more traditional feel.

A gunman has gone on a shooting rampage in Finland, killing⁴ five people at a suburban⁵ shopping mall. He later shot himself. Finnish police said the man killed his ex-girlfriend in a nearby apartment before heading to a mall near Helsinki.

And changes to Australia's workplace relations laws come into effect today. The Fair Work system marks the official death of Howard government's Work Choices. The changes include new laws about wages and working hours. And businesses with fewer than 100 workers can no longer sack⁶ someone without good reason. The Opposition⁷ says the changes will be bad for the economy.