In the first decade after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 the committee found 29 missing soldiers - and 22 of them decided to return home, while seven opted to stay in Afghanistan, RIA reports.

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" That was in 2003, when he decided to return home and reacquaint himself with Malaysia, which was in the last months of the 22-year rule of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and "to get a better understanding of my identity.

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After 10 days in hospital, he decided to forgo treatment and return home, his wife told local newspaper the Roanoke Times.

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Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, in the middle of an election campaign, also decided to bypass the funeral and return home.

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Mr Macleod decided to build the road to make it easier for his daughter to return home at weekends from school on the neighbouring Isle of Skye.

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While on leave at home in Oklahoma, he decided that he would not return to duty and took his family to Canada where he applied for asylum.

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And, yes, Haider had decided to stay on at the pub on the night of the crash rather than return home for his mother's 90th birthday, but family was the centre of his existence.

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