Since 2002, the UN-backed voluntary repatriation programme has helped more than 3, 725, 000 people return from abroad, mainly from Pakistan and Iran.

BBC: Life in Afghanistan

Costa Ricans are waiting to see when (or if) he will return from abroad to face a congressional committee anxious to question him.

ECONOMIST: Corruption in Costa Rica: Not so Swiss after all | The

The most popular time of year for weddings was in December, when expatriate Nigerians return from abroad and can face a schedule of weddings seven days a week.

CNN: My big, fat Nigerian wedding: Inside Lagos' bridal boom

The assault was delayed for days, first to allow President Hamid Karzai to return from a trip abroad, and then to give Afghan officials time to try to convince tribal elders from Marjah to align themselves with the government and talk the town's young men into putting down their arms.

WSJ: U.S. Starts Afghan Surge

Unionists say that the government somehow found a way of financing the return of thousands of Montenegrins from abroad who were in favour of independence.

ECONOMIST: A minnow emerges