Los Angeles (AFP) - Fallen world number one Tiger Woods is taking a break from tournament golf in a bid to get his faltering game back in shape after the worst round of his career.

In a statement posted on his website, Woods said the last fortnight -- which included a disastrous 82 at the Phoenix Open and a mid-round withdrawal at Torrey Pines -- had been "very disappointing."

Woods, who has plummeted to 62 in the world rankings, said the back pain that forced him to pull out after 11 holes of the first round at Torrey Pines wasn't related to the surgery he had last year and that with daily physical therapy he was improving.

But he does not know when he will tee off again in a tournament, just the latest hiccup in a turbulent career marked by marital infidelity and mounting injuries.

"Right now, I need a lot of work on my game and to still spend time with the people that are important to me," he said. 

"My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf. Like I've said, I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I'm ready, I'll be back."

Woods, 39, said he still hoped to play the Honda Classic in Florida, which starts on February 26. That was his next scheduled start.

"But I won't be there unless my game is tournament-ready," he said. "That's not fair to anyone. I do, however, expect to be playing again very soon."

- Career-low ranking -

Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record of 18 majors held by Jack Nicklaus, carded an 82 in the second round at Phoenix on January 30, missing the cut by 12 strokes.

He endured another setback last Thursday at Torrey Pines, where his eight titles include his most recent major -- the 2008 US Open.

Woods, who could be seen grimacing and rubbing his back during the round, was two-over for the day and well off the pace when he spoke to his playing partners and walked gingerly away, hopping onto a golf cart to the parking lot and departing.

He said his back stiffened up during the morning fog delay and "just never loosened back up again."

Woods, whose world ranking is his lowest since he turned professional in 1996, said last week his back trouble felt different from the pain he dealt with early last year, when he opted for surgery to ease a pinched nerve and missed the Masters and US Open while recovering.

He made his return in June, missing the cut in the US PGA Tour's National at Congressional and finishing equal 69th at the British Open -- the worst 72-hole major finish of his pro career.

Overall, in six PGA Tour events since he returned to competition at the National, Woods has missed three cuts -- including at the 2014 PGA Championship -- and withdrawn twice.

"Next week I will practice at Medalist (Golf Club) and at home getting ready for the rest of the year," Woods said. "I am committed to getting back to the pinnacle of my game."

The first major of 2015, the Masters, will be held at Augusta National April 9-12.

Woods has won the Masters four times, but has never donned a green jacket without first winning a tournament earlier that season.

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Imagine "This Is Spinal Tap," but instead of rock musicians, the subjects were vampires. 

That's exactly what we get with "What We Do In The Shadows," a faux-documentary from New Zealeand co-written, co-directed and starring Jemaine Clement, better known as one-half of the comedy/folk duo "Flight of the Conchords."

The premise is simple — a documentary camera crew follows around a group of flatmates/vampires in their natural habitat and showcases their day-to-day life, which isn't all drinking blood and sleeping in coffins.  It's a lot like "The Office" ... if it were set in New Zealand and starred vampires.

"Shadows" pokes fun at vampires themselves by making careful references to the films that paved the way. Everything from the classic "Nosferatu," to more modern vampire films like the "Twilight" series and even Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula" from the early 90s are alluded to, among many others. 

The humor is fairly dry and deadpan, often featuring normally mundane roommate situations like who's going to do the dishes suddenly become hysterically funny when vampires hundreds of years old are bickering about it.

"What We Do In The Shadows" arrives in a limited amount of theaters this weekend with little fanfare, which is a real shame considering I laughed harder during this film than any other mainstream comedy in recent memory.

The chemistry between the film's writers/directors/stars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi is fantastic, and every character has their high moments.

If you want to watch the movie on the big screen but don't live in New York or LA, you can donate to the film's KickStarter campaign and help support its release in the states. 

The film is a must-see for fans of Christopher Guest films, "Flight of the Conchords," horror, or anybody who just needs a good laugh.

Check out the first 6 minutes of the film:

"What We Do In The Shadows" opens in NY & LA this weekend.

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On Thursday morning, we'll get the best-performing indicator of the US labor market: initial jobless claims.

For a while now, Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson has been stressing that the weekly print is noisy, particularly with the volatility the end-of-year season brings.

In a note Wednesday ahead of Thursday's latest weekly report, Shepherdson wrote: "We strongly recommend looking at each week’s data only in the context of the trend; the weekly observations are more noise than signal. The trend in claims is close to all-time lows as a share of the workforce, and is consistent with very strong payroll gains."

Last Friday, the monthly jobs report showed that nonfarm payrolls in the US grew by 257,000 in January. 

But just how good has the claims data been?

This chart, via Alexander Ineichen at Ineichen Research & Management, shows that the 4-week moving average of initial jobless claims is at the lowest level in at least eight years.

Last week's release showed new jobless claims rose by 278,000 for the week ended January 31, compared to an expectation of 290,000.

The consensus for last week's claims in data due Thursday morning is 288,000.

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Washington (AFP) - Bob Simon, an award-winning war reporter and longtime correspondent for the "60 Minutes" news show, died in a car accident. He was 73.

CBS News, which produces "60 Minutes", did not immediately provide additional details on the crash but paid tribute Wednesday to Simon and his five-decade-long career.

Based in Saigon from 1971-72, Simon covered the Vietnam War including the end of the conflict. He was on one of the last helicopters out of Saigon in 1975, CBS said.

Simon won many awards for his work -- including 27 Emmys --and covered a slew of stories including the violence in Northern Ireland from 1969-71, as well as from war zones across the globe including Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, the Gulf War and former Yugoslavia.

"It is such a tragedy made worse because we lost him in a car accident, a man who has escaped more difficult situations than almost any journalist in modern times," said CBS News Chairman and "60 Minutes" Executive Producer Jeffrey Fager.

"Bob was a reporter's reporter. He was driven by a natural curiosity that took him all over the world covering every kind of story imaginable.

"There is no one else like Bob Simon," Fager said. "All of us at CBS News and particularly at '60 Minutes' will miss him very much."

According to the New York Post, Simon died when the car he was in crashed into another vehicle.

Colleagues and contemporaries were quick to pay tribute. 

Bob was for the last five decades, simply one of the best, in my opinion ... at getting a story, telling a story, writing a story and making it simply unforgettable," said CNN's Anderson Cooper, who worked with Simon at "60 Minutes."

"He was a warrior-poet who loved life and loved people," said Cooper.

Simon's death comes during a tumultuous week in the US broadcast media world, with "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart announcing he is quitting and the suspension of NBC's star anchor Brian Williams for embellishing an Iraq war story.

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Sanaa (AFP) - The United States, Britain and France rushed to close their embassies over security fears in Yemen, with US staff destroying top-secret documents and abandoning vehicles at the airport.

The hasty exit came as thousands joined rival demonstrations over last week's Shiite militia takeover, which was widely condemned as a coup.

Long on the front line of the US war against Al-Qaeda, Yemen has descended into chaos since the militia, known as Huthis, seized the capital Sanaa in September and ousted the parliament last week.

The United Nations has demanded the reinstatement of the Western-backed leader Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi -- who resigned last month and is under effective house arrest -- but its efforts to broker a deal have failed so far.

After weeks of internal deliberations and drawing down staff, Washington finally closed its Sanaa embassy over the "deteriorating security situation," evacuating staff to Muscat late Tuesday on a private Omani jet. 

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki thanked Oman's sultan for his help as well as Qatar, saying most staff were now en route back to Washington.

All the US Marines also left the country, taking commercial flights. Officials stressed that there were still US special forces on the ground to carry on the fight against Al-Qaeda.

US officials refused to say how many people were evacuated, but there were said to be dozens of Marines in Sanaa -- a larger than usual contingent.

- Sensitive materials destroyed -

Before evacuating, the Marines "destroyed their heavy weapons and crew-served weapons, machine guns and such," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.

The Marine Corps said in a statement that no personal weapons had been handed over to Yemeni authorities, saying these had been smashed with sledgehammers.

Computers, documents, telephones and other sensitive materials were also destroyed, local embassy employees told AFP.

Psaki refused to go into specifics, other than to say that normal procedures had been followed, adding "we take every precaution necessary".

A wrecking crane was used to destroy numerous vehicles, while those used to evacuate the embassy staff were seized by militiamen at Sanaa airport.

They included three cars used by Ambassador Matthew Tueller and his staff, and more than 25 vehicles used by the Marines in charge of security, airport sources said.

Militiamen were later seen taking up positions around the embassy.

Psaki said the seizure of the vehicles was "completely unacceptable" and urged the Huthis to "respect international conventions" regarding the embassy site.

Britain also evacuated its diplomats, with a senior official saying: "Regrettably we now judge that our embassy staff and premises are at increased risk."

France called on its 100 or so citizens in Yemen to leave the country and said it would close its embassy from Friday over mounting security fears.

Arab Spring protests in 2011 had raised hopes of democratic reform after more than three decades of iron-fisted rule by veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh.

But Saleh's departure from office in early 2012 left a power vacuum that the Huthis and Al-Qaeda have vied to fill.

In Sanaa, the militiamen fired warning shots and used batons and daggers to disperse hundreds rallying against them, while thousands of their supporters gathered in Change Square.

Washington has been at pains to stress its battle against Al-Qaeda and the jihadists' Yemen branch will continue.

"There continue to be Department of Defense personnel ... on the ground in Yemen that are coordinating with their counterparts," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. 

They were carrying out "the counterterrorism actions that are necessary to protect the American people and our interests around the world".

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is considered the jihadist network's most dangerous branch.

- US hopes to return -

"We hope to return" to Sanaa, Psaki insisted however.

The exodus of Western diplomats came despite assurances from militia leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi.

"Some people are raising concerns among diplomatic missions so that they flee the country," he said.

"These fears are unfounded. The security situation is stable."

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdolahian also criticised the "hasty action" of closing the embassies, insisting the Huthis were fighting "corruption and terrorism".

Huthi, often accused of receiving support from Tehran, has repeatedly portrayed his militia's advance into Sunni-majority areas as a battle against jihadists and called for Western support.

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Cairo (AFP) - An Egyptian court is to begin a retrial of Al-Jazeera journalists Thursday, including a Canadian awaiting deportation, after an appeals court said their initial trial failed to show Muslim Brotherhood links.

The appeals court on January 1 ordered the retrial of three Al-Jazeera journalists after overturning a lower court's verdict which found them guilty of aiding the outlawed Islamist movement.

One of the defendants, Australian Peter Greste, has since been released under a new law that allows the deportation of foreign nationals on trial in Egypt.

The lower court had sentenced Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed to up to 10 years in jail for spreading "false news" in their coverage of protests after the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The three journalists of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera English were arrested in December 2013.

Their arrest sparked a global outcry and calls for their release led by Washington and the United Nations.

Since the retrial was ordered, Fahmy has renounced his Egyptian citizenship to also benefit from the deportation law.

However the third journalist, producer Mohamed, faces an indefinite period in jail as he only has Egyptian nationality.

The Court of Cassation said it ordered the retrial since the lower court's verdict "lacked evidence to support its ruling".

"The criminal court was hasty in pronouncing its verdict," it said.

"The court did not wait for medical and legal reports which it had requested after several defendants spoke of being under physical and moral pressure" to make confessions, the appeals court said.

The journalists were among 20 defendants initially tried by the lower court.

Of the rest, 12 were Egyptians found guilty of belonging to a "terrorist organisation". Two defendants were acquitted, while the other three -- also foreigners -- were convicted in absentia.

- Producer to seek bail-

The journalists' initial trial came against the backdrop of strained ties between Egypt and Qatar, which supported Morsi.

The Islamist leader was toppled by then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on July 3, 2013, before the latter was himself elected president.

Defence lawyers say the new court could drop proceedings against Greste after the opening session Thursday.

Canada, for its part, said last week that Fahmy's release was "imminent".

Fahmy's family had expected him to be freed soon after Greste's deportation, but he is still in custody and they have called his retrial their "worst nightmare".

As for Mohamed, his wife Jihan Rashid said the family is "paying the price for being Egyptian" as he faces an indefinite period behind bars.

Mohamed's only options are an acquittal or a presidential pardon, which Sisi's office has said could only come after the retrial.

"We will ask for him to be released on bail," said Mohamed's lawyer, Mostafa Nagui.

In November, Sisi enacted a decree apparently tailored for Greste and Fahmy: foreigners on trial or convicted in Egypt could be deported back home to stand trial or serve out their sentences.

Both Australia and Canada have made clear they will not put Greste and Fahmy on trial.

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Paris (AFP) - Media freedom suffered a "drastic decline" worldwide last year in part because of extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram, the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders said in its annual evaluation released Thursday.

"There has been an overall deterioration linked to very different factors, with information wars, and action by non-state groups acting like news despots," the head of the Paris-based group, Christophe Deloire, told AFP.

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Nothing official came out of yesterday's tense Eurogroup meeting. Greece and its eurozone partners are still at odds on how to handle Athens' finances after a bailout deal expires this month, with sources offering conflicting versions of the eventual outcome of a Eurogroup finance ministers' meeting on Wednesday. Two official sources told Reuters that, while there was no deal yet, a common statement was being drafted that could leave it open for Greece to extend its current financing.

But Greece's finance minister says the country will "absolutely not" leave the euro. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, asked on arrival at his first meeting of the Euro Group if Athens might leave the euro zone, replied "absolutely not".

Australian unemployment jumped and the Aussie dollar plunged. Australia lost 12,200 jobs in January and the unemployment rate jumped to 6.4%. The market was expecting a slight increase of 5,000 jobs and an increase in the unemployment rate to 6.2%. That surprise sent the Australian dollar bellow 0.77 US dollars. 

US crude oil inventories are at their highest in at least 80 years. A report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday said that US Crude inventories rose by 4.9 million barrels last week. This was more than the 3.6 million barrel increase that was expected. "At 417.9 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are at the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years," the EIA wrote in its release.

Pilots are walking out at Lufthansa. Pilots at Lufthansa's budget airline, Germanwings, started a two-day strike on Thursday as German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) seeks to put pressure on management in a long-running row over pay and conditions. 

The Bank of England's inflation report is coming. The UK's quarterly report on economic conditions from the Bank of England is out at 10:30 a.m. GMT (5:30 a.m. ET). Analysts are expecting the Bank to hold its current line against an early rate hike while inflation is low.

French, German, Ukrainian and Russian leaders will reportedly sign a deal. Leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France will sign a document following all-night talks in Minsk on solving the Ukraine conflict, a diplomatic source said on Thursday. The source would not provide details of the nature of the document. 

Asian markets surged. Japan's Nikkei climbed 1.85%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently up 0.38%, and the Shanghai Composite Index is 0.48% higher just ahead of the close.

Honda CEO Ito will reportedly pursue another two years in the job. Honda Motor CEO Takanobu Ito, under fire for how he is dismantling the traditional way the Japanese car maker sources parts and technologies, has resisted moves for his ouster and will fight on for another two-year term, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter. 

Switzerland is outlining new immigration curbs against the EU. After a referendum a year ago, Swiss authorities are outlining how immigration curbs against the EU will apply. According to the FT, they'll include quotas on foreign workers in Switzerland for more than four months.

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Minsk (AFP) - There is "no good news yet" from a marathon four-way peace summit in Minsk, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told AFP on Thursday, as Russia is imposing "unacceptable" conditions.

"Unfortunately there's no good news yet," Poroshenko said of the talks involving the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and German. "There are conditions that I consider unacceptable," he said, declining to elaborate. "The (negotiations) process is ongoing."

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New York (AFP) - Celebrities are jetting in, gluten-free cocktails are concocted and designers are unveiling their 2015 fall/winter collections: a frozen New York kicks off its multi-million-dollar Fashion Week Thursday.

Hot on the heels of haute couture shows in Paris, the fashion glitterati is flocking to admire the best and brightest in US design, where young talent rubs shoulders with fashion barons Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.

But it's not just the jet-set tripping through snow on stilettos. Fashion is big business in New York, where twice yearly fashion weeks generate nearly $900 million for America's biggest city.

Here's what you need to know as more than 270,000 people watch the 350 shows that kick off the 2015 fall/winter season before the juggernaut shifts to London, Milan and back to Paris.

CELEBRITY SHOE-IN

Fresh from his on-stage protest against Beyonce not winning album of the year at the Grammys, rap star Kanye West makes his New York fashion debut on Thursday with a collection for Adidas.

MOVING ON

Fashion house Oscar de la Renta shows its first collection by British-born Peter Copping, appointed creative director shortly before the Dominican-born master designer died in October.

MOVING OUT

It's the last time the Lincoln Center will host Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week after a New York state judge ruled that it disrupts an adjacent park.

Most designers have already left, holding catwalk shows in hotels or prominent buildings across the city, but for now organizers are keeping quiet on where the new home will be come September.

HOT TALENT

The big names are Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Prabal Gurung, Vera Wang, Michael Kors, Victoria Beckham and Zac Posen. 

Dozens of young designers are snapping at their heels, among them Thomas Wylde Maison, Ready to Fish and Thaddeus O'Neil.

VARIETY SHOW

Inspiration will be as eclectic as ever. Tommy Hilfiger has chosen the 60s and 70s, Tory Burch has eyes for Marrakesh, Michael Kors mined night and day, Jason Wu is hot for desire and Marchesa an opium dream.

MEN'S ROOM

Men will be overshadowed by women for the last time. In July, New York gets its own men's fashion week, joining the likes of London, Paris and Milan that already showcase fashion for the sexes separately.

BOTTOM LINE

Fashion is one of the largest industries in New York and generates $887 million in economic activity, employing 180,000 people and coughing up nearly $2 billion in tax revenue a year.

Fashion Week brings about $547 million in direct visitor spending, which is more than the 2014 Super Bowl, the New York Marathon and the US Open tennis championship.

BOTTOMS UP

Vodka company Ciroc, for which music mogul Sean Combs is brand ambassador, has concocted three official cocktails, and to honor the carb-conscious fashion brat pack, they're gluten free.

DISEASE, GUNS AND BOMBS

British supermodel with a temper Naomi Campbell is hosting a charity fashion show and clothing auction to raise money for Ebola victims.

The hemorrhagic fever gets a second look when charities including the International Rescue Committee host a pop-up lounge to showcase a protective suit for medics who treat Ebola patients.

Donna Karan and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg host an event to spotlight efforts to end gun crime and save lives.

The Peace Bomb project, which fashions unexploded ordnance from the Vietnam War into jewelry, is to showcase its designs on the sidelines.

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Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis had his first Eurogroup meeting yesterday, with the focus entirely on his own country. Nothing official has emerged, but according to one report, a statement was within minutes of being agreed before it was torpedoed by Athens.

This, from the Financial Times' Peter Spiegel, is reportedly the statement that the finance ministers almost signed off on:

The Greek authorities have expressed their commitment to a broader and stronger reform process aimed at durably improving growth prospects. At the same time, the Greek authorities reiterated their unequivocal commitment to the financial obligations to all their creditors.

On this basis, we will now start technical work on the further assessment of Greece’s reform plans. The Greek authorities have agreed to work closely and constructively with the institutions to explore the possibilities for extending and successfully concluding the present programme taking into account the new government’s plans.

If this is successful this will bridge the time for the Greek authorities and the Eurogroup to work on possible new contractual arrangements. We will continue our discussions at our next meeting on Monday 16 February.

According to Spiegel, Varoufakis had actually agreed to the deal before it was vetoed by Athens.

For Greece's government, "present programme" at the end of the third paragraph is likely to be the bit they objected to. Athens does not want to explore the possibility of extending their current bailout agreement. PM Alexis Tsipras and Varoufakis have repeatedly said that the bailout agreement is over.

The fact that the word "bridge" is in the last paragraph is likely a concession to Varoufakis (who has been pushing for a bridge loan to tide Greece over through the summer), but it appears it's just not good enough to sign up to. He's said that Greece is now in a "post-bailout era".

Varoufakis also wasn't very pleased at Spiegel's reporting:

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Britons are obsessed about the housing market.

Whether it is about the value of their home, what areas are up and coming and, of course, where the next move will be - Brits love to talk about it.

It may come as no surprise then that Zoopla racked up 50 million visits last month.

Zoopla owns two of the UK's most popular residential property websites: PrimeLocation and Zoopla.

To put this into perspective, the population of Britain is around 65 million. Visits to the websites can mean repeat users but the number is still pretty huge.

Interestingly, Zoopla said that 60% of its traffic now comes from via mobile and it received 5 million app downloads.

"We are delighted that our focus on delivering the best features and tools for consumers has resulted in record traffic with over 50 million visits to the Group's sites in January," said Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Zoopla Property Group in a statement.

"We continue to benefit from the shift to mobile and have now passed the significant milestone of over 5 million app downloads as consumers increasingly use our services to search and research the property market at work, home and on the move."

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Lille (France) (AFP) - 08:03 GMT - WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the trial of ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on pimping charges.

The 65-year-old is expected to appear for a third day of testimony at the Palais de Justice in Lille where he stands trial with 13 others. He could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of charges of procuring prostitutes as part of an organised group.

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Seoul (AFP) - The daughter of Korean Air's chairman was jailed for one year Thursday over a now notorious on-board "nut rage" incident that triggered an uproar over the behaviour of South Korea's elite business families.

Prosecutors had demanded a three-year sentence for Cho Hyun-Ah, who was a Korean Air executive vice president at the time and was charged with violating aviation safety law, obstructing justice and assaulting a member of the cabin crew.

The charges all stemmed from an incident in which Cho forced the chief purser off a December 5 New York-Seoul KAL flight, compelling the taxiing plane to return to the gate so he could disembark.

The 40-year-old had taken exception to being served macadamia nuts she had not asked for -- and in a bag, not a bowl.

The district court in Seoul ruled that Cho had illegally altered the course of the plane, judging that an aircraft was "in flight" from the moment it begins to move.

Cho had treated the flight "as if it was her own private plane", justice Oh Sung-Woo said.

"It is doubtful that the way the nuts were served was so wrong," Oh added.

In passing sentence, the judge indicated that Cho had failed to show enough remorse for her actions, even though she had submitted some letters to the court expressing repentance for her behaviour.

Cho, who has been in custody since her arrest on December 30 and attended the court in a green prison outfit, stood silently throughout the ruling, her head bowed.

She had pleaded not guilty to most of the charges, including physically assaulting the chief steward, Park Chang-Jin, who says she made him kneel and beg for forgiveness while jabbing him with a service manual.

The case triggered a huge public backlash.

Cho was seen as emblematic of a generation of spoilt and arrogant offspring of owners of the giant family-run conglomerates, or "chaebols," that dominate the South Korean economy.

Like Cho, many are given senior positions in the family business, sometimes after a token period "learning the trade".

In the past, chaebol owners have appeared to be above the law. Those convicted of gross fraud have either received lenient sentences or been granted pardons after just a short time in jail.

Cho resigned from all her posts and publicly apologised for her behaviour, which her father and KAL chairman Cho Yang-Ho also criticised as a "foolish act".

The story hit international headlines and Justice Oh said in his ruling that "damaged the dignity of the country."

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Ukraine is getting a massive IMF bailout to prop up its struggling public finances, announced early Thursday.

Here's the full text of IMF managing director Christine Lagarde's statement, and here's the crucial bit:

I am pleased to announce that the IMF team working in Kiev has reached a staff-level agreement with the Ukrainian government on a new economic reform program that would be supported by an Extended Fund Facility of SDR 12.35 billion (about $17.5 billion, €15.5 billion) from the IMF, as well as by additional resources from the international community. I intend to recommend this program for consideration to the IMF Executive Board. This new four-year arrangement would support immediate economic stabilisation in Ukraine as well as a set of bold policy reforms aimed at restoring robust growth over the medium term and improving living standards for the Ukrainian people...

The change in the IMF-supported program (from Stand-By Arrangement to Extended Fund Facility) will itself provide more funding, more time, more flexibility, and better financing terms for Ukraine to implement its reform agenda. These IMF resources will be complemented by other bilateral and multilateral financing. In addition, as the Ukrainian government has previously announced, it intends to hold consultations with the holders of their sovereign debt with a view to improving medium-term sustainability. From these various sources taken together, a total financing package of around $40 billion is estimated over the four year period.

That's the meat of it: The IMF is giving $17.5 billion, and combined with other financial assistance Ukraine is getting, it all amounts to about $40 billion in support over the next four years. The overthrow of Ukraine's previous government and the war in the east of the country have been a huge hit to the country's public finances.

That's the only good news this morning. The Minsk peace talks seem to be falling apart, at least according to Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. According to the BBC, he said that Russia's position is still "unacceptable" and that there is "no good news yet". 

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Maurice Lévy, the CEO of Publicis Groupe, says 2015 will be the year the French advertising agency holding group will be "back on growth" following its $3.7 billion acquisition of US-based digital marketing company Sapient which it believes will give it strength versus rivals in the fast-growing digital advertising space.

After a torrid first nine months of the year, in which Publicis Groupe CEO and chairman Maurice Levy has previously admitted he was distracted by the failed $35 billion merger with US agency holding group Omnicom, Publicis pulled it back in the fourth quarter to report a 4.3% lift in revenue for the full year to €7.23 billion. 

Organic growth was up 3.2% in the fourth quarter and 2% in the full year. Meanwhile, headline profit rose 4.7% to €829 million and EPS increased 2.8% to €3.64.

That return to organic growth in the quarter was largely due to a strong performance in emerging markets, particularly in Greater China, Russia, Brazil, India, and Turkey. The USA posted 2.8% growth, but both France and the UK reported negative growth of -1.2%. 

Publicis - which owns agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Starcom MediaVest, and Leo Burnett - completed its acquisition of Sapient last week. In an interview with EuroBusiness Media, Lévy described the strength the addition now offers Publicis versus rivals:

"Why Sapient is so important? Maybe let’s start with something which is extremely important, which is “Where are we today?” and “Where are the businesses going to?” There are two giant forces which are converging and transforming everything. One is the fact that that we are in an era of convergence: convergence of business models, convergence of digital, convergence of tools, everything is changing quite radically the way we are doing business. At the same time, we are in this empowerment age of consumers. And if our clients are not taking into account these two giant forces, they are at the risk of being ubered! This is what I call uberization coming from Uber."

As a result of the Sapient buy, and market moves generally, Lévy believes 2015 will be the year in which digital represents more than 50% of Publicis' business. By 2018 he estimates that will to 80%. Digital currently generates 42% of Publicis' revenue.

Despite having confidence for the full-year 2015,Lévy warned that Q1 will be a tough quarter, followed by a "steady" Q2 and Q3, and then "full steam" in Q4. Growth will be led by digital, emerging markets and a better performance from Publicis' creative agencies, Lévy forecast. In his interview with EuroBusiness Media he said:

"So, all in all, I think that the people who have been watching us for many years will feel reassured by the kind of growth that we will be delivering in 2015 which, as I said, will be starting from a low base and going up progressively, like a kind of snake, or a wave if you prefer. And, at the end of the year, we will be in a great, great position for 2016 because – but that’s another story, as Kipling was saying – we will have also the Sapient acquisition."

Media researchers ZenithOptimedia forecast the global advertising market to grow by 4.9% in 2015, with agency revenue growth expected to be between 3% and 3.5%. 

The big task for Publicis in the year ahead will be the integration of Sapient: A company with more than 13,000 staff, more than half of which are based in India.

The acquisition will result in the creation of a platform to be named Publicis.Sapient, which the companies say in statement will create the "largest and most advanced" platform focused exclusively on digital transformation and "the dynamics of an always-on world across marketing, omni-channel commerce, consulting and technology." Publicis.Sapient will also house other Publicis digital agencies including DigitasLBI, Razorfish Global and Rosetta.

Publicis.Sapient will be led by Sapient CEO Alan Herrick. He first joined the Sapient in 1995 and became the company's chief and a member of the board of directors in 2006. He was named co-chairman of the board in June 2012. 30 other senior Sapient executives will also enter into long-term employment agreements with Publicis.

SEE ALSO: Publicis CEO Admits Earnings Statement Contains 'Pure Rhetoric' And Lousy Results Are His Fault For Being Distracted

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Brussels (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund and conflict-torn Ukraine have reached a preliminary deal on a new financial rescue plan worth $17.5 billion dollars that could be a "turning point" for Kiev, Christine Lagarde said Thursday.

Talks have been underway in Kiev for days to reach an agreement on Ukraine's fourth IMF bailout in ten years, with the last package in April 2014 failing to stabilise Kiev's finances as it battles pro-Russian separatists in the east.

"I am pleased to announce that the IMF team working in Kiev has concluded a staff-level agreement with the Ukrainian government on a new economic reform programme that would be supported by an extended fund facility of about $17.5 billion (15.5 billion euros) from the IMF," Lagarde told a news conference in Brussels.

The announcement came as Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko was holding marathon peace talks in Minsk with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

Lagarde said the new arrangement would support "bold policy reforms" by Kiev, which is under pressure from Western governments and creditors to cut corruption and overhaul its finances, even as it battles the rebels.

"It is an ambitious program; it is a tough program; and it is not without risk," Lagarde said.

"But it is also a realistic program and its effective implementation, after consideration and approval by our executive board, can represent a turning point for Ukraine."

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Good morning! Here's what you need to know for Thursday.

1. The International Monetary Fund has agreed to a $40 billion (£26.2 billion) bailout for Ukraine's economy. 

2. Greece rejected a deal over its debt crisis at an emergency meeting of Europe's finance ministers on Wednesday. 

3. US President Barack Obama has officially asked Congress for authorisation to use military force against Islamic State militants.

4. After all-night negotiations in Belarus, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany are said to be close to reaching a a deal on a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, where a war has been raging ever since Russia annexed Crimea last March.

5. Russia has lost its ability to detect ballistic missiles from space, due to technical problems that have delayed the launch of early warning satellites. 

6. The former Korean Air executive infamous for her "nut rage" incident that forced a flight to return to the gate, has been sentenced to one year in prison.

7. CBS news anchor Bob Simon was killed in a car crash at the age of 73.

8. After three failed attempts, SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket and landed it vertically in the ocean on Wednesday.

9. The disgraced captain of the Costa Concordia has been sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of causing a shipwreck that led to the death of 32 people.

10. Britain began testing driverless cars in four cities as part of a £19 million project.

And finally ...

A glitch on the United Airlines website enabled travellers to purchase return flights from London to Newark for as little as £50 (about $70). 

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According to several sources, many people are losing their jobs at Yahoo today.

Management is describing the firings as part of an organizational realignment, or restructuring, and not as a general layoff.

We are unclear about how many people are being fired. The cuts are across multiple groups. 

A source close to Yahoo employees tells us, "People [are] kind of shell-shocked."

We've heard that some of the cuts are coming in Mike Kern's group. He is the senior vice president of product homepage and verticals. We're told that engineers are not being let go, but product managers, designers, and program managers are.

One source, in touch with Yahoo employees but not one, told us that dismissed employees are being offered two months severance, though their 2014 year-end bonuses are being withheld.

We reached out to Yahoo for comment on this story, and will update it with any response.

Mayer has been under pressure to cut costs at Yahoo since before she formally accepted the job in 2012. Instead of deploying broad layoffs, Mayer has favored a system that ranks employees and dismisses those with poor scores.

Yahoo's year-end is upon us, and it is possible that today's widespread firings are part of that program.

The system is unpopular with many employees. In 2013, employee gripes over it culminated in a meeting where Mayer read to employees from a children's book.

We would like to hear from more Yahoo employees about today's events. Email nicholas@businessinsider.com.

Nicholas Carlson is the author of "Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!"

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Pebble Beach (United States) (AFP) - J.B. Holmes and Justin Hicks made the most of perfect California weather to seize the lead at the $6.8 million Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with John Daly a surprising early contender just a stroke adrift.

The red-hot Holmes, fresh off a playoff loss to Australian Jason Day at Torrey Pines on Sunday, opened his round with an eagle at the par-four 10th hole on the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of three courses in use in the first three rounds of the US PGA Tour event.

He nabbed seven birdies and one bogey before he was done with an eight-under 64, and Hicks joined him atop the leaderboard with a bogey-free round that included six birdies and an eagle at Pebble Beach's par-five 18th.

A string of familiar faces were lined up behind them on seven-under -- Daly perhaps the biggest surprise among them.

The two-time major champion, now 48 and without a US PGA Tour win since 2004, birdied the 18th on Pebble Beach for a 65 that put him tied with Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker, Chesson Hadley, Dudley Hart and J.J. Henry.

Hart and Henry also carded 65s on Pebble Beach, which in benign weather is typically the easiest of the three courses in the rotation.

Furyk, Snedeker and Hadley all posted seven-under 64s on the par-71 Monterey Peninsula layout.

But Daly, as famous these days for his colorful clothing, off-course antics and hulking frame as his golf, stole the show.

"They don't come easy and they don't come often," Daly said of his bogey-free round. "I'm happy about it and hopefully I can just keep the same rhythm I had today. I don't know how or why. I just found something on the range."

Daly, who did win a 54-hole pro-am event in Turkey in December, averaged 322 yards off the tee.

"As long as I still hit the driver well and hit some fairways," he said, "I still think I can compete."

Furyk, making his season debut, is seeking his first win in a tournament in which his best finish was a tie for third in 1998. Snedeker won the title in 2013.

Alex Prugh had the best score at the par-72 Spyglass Hill, a six-under 66 that earned him a share of ninth place with Australians Rod Pampling and Matt Jones, and fellow Americans Nick Watney, Pat Perez and Max Homa.

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