Of course, this is not the only example of how snooping on customers without their knowledge can lead to a bad news day.

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It may even provide an example that will spur other companies to tackle their own problems without having to rely on the state to bail them out when things get too frothy.

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"We have to do a lot of work with their communities so that they are able to return without being lynched or subjected to reaccusation, for example if a cow jumps over a fence and knocks down something, " says Adwoa Kwateng-Kluvitse, ActionAid's country director in Ghana.

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Klau argued that a feature of recent ballots in Europe has been the readiness of voters to change their governments without turning to the political extremes, pointing to Spain's election last November as an example.

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