21.   Some delegates claimed the virtual absence of resort developers and tour operators meant the meeting was little more than an intellectual exercise.

22.   The virtual absence of a debate over genetically modified farming in Spain contrasts sharply with the rest of Europe.

23.   But the decline of the Shining Path has been evident in the virtual absence of attacks in the past year.

24.   This virtual absence of party politics results in a high degree of consensus, says an official glossy brochure vaunting the delights of the island.