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AP – As the economy recovers, energy prices are rising and that is placing extra strain on families’ budgets.

Greeks are angry at the country’s previous for getting the country into the debt crisis, and angry at other European states for pressuring Greece to meet its debt obligations. Greek public sector workers are seething at new austerity measures, which include steep pay cuts.

Voters in Iceland have rejected a referendum that planned to spend billions of dollars to repay Britain and the Netherlands for debts spawned by the collapse of an Icelandic bank. Britain’s treasury secretary said he expects to get back several billion dollars that Iceland owes, but admitted it could take many years.

Wanna know what movies might get your neighbor’s vote? A New York Times interactive has a breakdown of top Netflix rentals by ZIP code.

Reuters – China must have 11 percent industrial output growth this year to achieve its GDP target of 8 percent, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong said on Friday.

AP – French utility GDF Suez SA on Thursday cut a core earnings target after sharply lower gas prices kept 2009 net profit flat.

Prime Minister George Papandreou awaits European Union support after ordering budget measures that officials say will save the country $6.5 billion and would include cutting government workers’ Easter, Christmas and vacation bonuses by 30 percent each.

It’s been seven weeks since a massive earthquake flattened much of Port Au Prince, and many areas in Haiti. Relief groups are helping to reconnect families, make sure aid is distributed evenly, and get Haitians accustomed to life after the quake.

The Winter Olympics will next be held in the resort town of Sochi, Russia. Travel agent Soava Shirokov says he is already getting travel inquiries. He talks about sochi’s attractions and what visitors can expect when they arrive in the “Russian Riviera.”

In a way that’s not always obvious to the public, embargoes do a lot to shape coverage of science and medicine. Whether that’s a good idea or not is getting more scrutiny.