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24,000, now live across the ocean in New Zealand, 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) away.
• The stories, songs and language that developed into the Niuean culture over more than 1,000 years are at risk of vanishing.
• Speedo Hetutu, 54, attended the old school in the town of Avatele before it was abandoned and later used for workouts. There used to be six primary schools on the island; now there is only one. Other buildings where people used to work, pray or live now sit empty and in disrepair.
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Ukraine government denies president will be at World Cup final in Brazil
• KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko won't be attending the World Cup final in Brazil on Sunday, a government statement said, denying assertions by Brazilian officials that he would be there.
• On Saturday, a Brazilian official said Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin would be in a VIP area at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro for the match pitting Argentina against Germany -- a situation that could have paved the way for an encounter for renewed peace talks on ending the conflict between pro-Russian and pro-Western forces in Ukraine.
• But while Ukraine's official presidential website said Poroshenko was invited by Brazil's president, like other heads of state, it said he wouldn't be going.
• "However, considering the situation that Ukraine now finds itself in, the head of state believes it is not possible to attend the final of the World Cup," the statement said.
• A Brazilian government official had earlier said Poroshenko was persuaded by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to fly to Rio and watch the match with her. Merkel, along with French leader Francois Hollande, are the key European leaders trying to broker peace in Ukraine.
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Expected World Cup protests fizzled out, but anger remains over Brazil's economic woes
• IRAJA, Brazil (AP) -- The protesters who many feared would wreck Brazil's World Cup party failed to show up. While the national team fell short of claiming the coveted championship, the country at least can say the tournament that wraps up with Sunday's title game has gone off with only scattered demonstrations.
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