Many saw its collapse as not just the demise of a national institution (it claims to be Asia's first airline), but also the loss of a vital form of transport.

ECONOMIST: The Philippines

"At a time when the arts face continuing cuts to public funding, this kind of private philanthropy is a vital form of income without which this series would not be possible, " he said.

BBC: Welsh National Opera welcomes ?1.2m Getty family gift

The United States is surely right to seek to minimise its own casualties, but if war can be waged by one side without any risk to the life and limb of its combatants, has a vital form of restraint been removed?

ECONOMIST: The ethics of warfare

Internationalised Domain Names form a vital part of the ecosystem necessary to foster the growth of local languages online and consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Cyrillic.

UNESCO: Communication and Information