Life is less easy than might be expected in an oil-rich state with a government that subsidises food, health and education.

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He may not have then predicted the way in which cod liver oil - rich in an essential fatty acid called omega-3 - would be seized from the shelves of health shops and supermarkets by a later generation of parents convinced it would help their child excel at school.

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In addition, the battle for control of Kirkuk, a city in an oil-rich region, must still be resolved.

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Basra may be part of the country's oil-rich south, but it wallows in its own sewage and trash.

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"It should be kept firmly in mind that the USSR is a relatively rich country in terms of its oil, gas, gold, diamonds, platinum and other highly marketable commodities, " noted Robinson.

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Outside of oil and gas projects and a few specific infrastructure projects (ports like Jebel Ali and airports like Dubai), far less real economic development has happened in the oil-rich parts of the Arab world than would be expected based on their great endowment of human and natural resources.

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The dramatic migration pattern can be chalked up to the rapid development of an oil- and gas-rich shale formation in the western part of the state.

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And if he turned out to be Congo-Brazzaville's kingmaker, he would have great influence in an oil-rich country with a major port on the Atlantic coast.

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