Lescott finally gets England call... after Liverpool defender Johnson joins casualty list

Lescott finally gets England call... after Liverpool defender Johnson joins casualty list

Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has been called up to the England squad after Glen Johnson was forced to pull out of Wednesday's friendly against Holland.

Lescott has been in excellent form for City this season but was left out of Stuart Pearce's squad to face the Dutch as the caretaker manager wanted to use the game to look at younger talent.

Lescott said at the time: ‘It’s strange, but I’m not one of those involved, so it’s a chance for the younger players to show how good they are.’

But the 29-year-old could now add to his 14 caps after Liverpool defender Johnson returned to his club on Tuesday afternoon.

Europe’s banks hungry for second helpings

Europe’s banks hungry for second helpings.
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It has been likened to a sugar rush for markets, especially for government bonds issued by heavily indebted eurozone nations. But will the European Central Bank’s second offer of cheap three-year loans to banks on Wednesday inject new life into the rally?

The answer to one of the most important questions for markets is expected by analysts shortly after 10am London time on Wednesday. The reaction will be closely watched. Mario Draghi’s ECB has been credited with the improved sentiment this year, not just in eurozone sovereign debt but in other risky assets too.

MWC2012: 'Facebook should have been a mobile app'

MWC2012: 'Facebook should have been a mobile app'
Bret Taylor, Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer, has said that if Mark Zuckerberg were designing the site today, it would have been for phones not computers.

Speaking after a keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Mr Taylor said that “Facebook would have been a mobile application if the technology had been available when Mark Zuckerberg was building it in his dorm room”.

He claimed that phones offered a more natural experience of the social network, because they allowed more rapid sharing of pictures and material due to their permanent connectivity. Mr Taylor also highlighted the way that phones instantly alert users if they are tagged or mentioned on the site. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has previously said that he regards his company also as "mobile first".

Down to the wire in 2-man GOP race in Michigan

Down to the wire in 2-man GOP race in Michigan.
(AP) — Republican Mitt Romney fought Saturday to prove he is the strongest challenger to President Barack Obama, an increasingly difficult task given the tight race in his native state of Michigan against surging conservative Rick Santorum.

In the final weekend of campaigning before Tuesday's Michigan and Arizona primaries, Romney focused on central and southeast Michigan's urban and industrial centers in hopes of pulling ahead of Santorum.
With a Michigan victory, Santorum could solidify his place as a real threat to Romney heading into Super Tuesday, the 10-state sweepstakes on March. Santorum's victories so far have come in lower-turnout party caucuses.

While Romney kept most of his attention on the Democratic incumbent, he also worked to lay doubt about the core principles of his lightly funded main GOP rival.

Apple forced to suspend push email service in Germany

Apple forced to suspend push email service in Germany
Apple has been forced to stop push email for iCloud and MobileMe users on iOS devices while they are in Germany.Push email allows users to see their messages on their devices automatically as soon as they are delivered.

However, the ability to receive emails by other means such as by opening the Mail app is unaffected.

Earlier this month a German court ruled that Apple's push technology infringed a Motorola Mobility patent.

Apple says it believes Motorola Mobility's patent are invalid and is appealing the decision.

This latest patent litigation only affects iOS devices. Apple's push service to desktop and laptop computers, and other services such as Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync are not effected.

Apple Is Said to Pay About $50 Million for Search Startup Chomp

Apple Is Said to Pay About $50 Million for Search Startup Chomp
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., the world’s most valuable company, acquired San Francisco-based Chomp Inc., which helps users sort through the widening array of software applications for mobile devices.

The Cupertino, California-based company paid about $50 million for Chomp, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the specifics are private. Apple confirmed the deal yesterday, without disclosing the purchase price.

“We buy smaller technology companies from time to time and generally don’t comment on our purposes or plans,” said Amy Bessette, a spokeswoman for Apple.

Chomp’s software lets people search through the hundreds of thousands of downloadable applications available for Apple’s iPad and iPhone, as well as gadgets running Google Inc.’s Android operating system. Users can enter queries such as “tip calculator” or “kids games” to get different options of apps that fit those descriptions. Apple’s App Store has been criticized by some developers as difficult to navigate beyond the few programs in featured areas on the site.

Manchester United v Ajax – as it happened

Manchester United v Ajax – as it happened
Manchester United progressed to the next round despite suffering for long periods during their second-leg defeat.
Full-time: United crawl through to the last 16 of the Europa league. This was a highly entertaining game in which both sides were committed to attack. United had the better finishers, but Ajax had the more coherent creators and outplayed the hosts for long periods in the second half. Ultimately, however, Ajax's inability to convert their chances - which was partially down to a couple of fine saves from De Gea - cost the Dutch. An all-Manchester Europa League final is still on. United will have to beat Athletic Bilbao in the next round.

90+ 1min: Ajax dawdle over a throw-in, oddly. "Ajax will be really turning up the heat now," suggests Wiliam Peake. "Creating a Dutch oven, so to speak." Well, it is sqeaky bum time.

90 min: Anti-Fergie time: the fourth official says there will be only two more minutes.

89 min: Ajax are really going for it now, as you'd expect. But they'll need better crosses than the one Ozbiliz jsut produced: he launched it straight out of play as team-mates lined up in the box.

88 min: Evans booked for time-wasting. That it has come to this.