The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union. The Commission operates in the method of cabinet government, with 27 Commissioners. There is one Commissioner per member state, however Commissioners are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 27 is the Commission President (currently José Manuel Barroso) appointed by the European Council with the approval of the European Parliament. The present Barroso Commission took office in late 2004 and is serving a five-year term. The term "Commission" can mean either the college of Commissioners mentioned above, or the larger institution; including the administrative body of about 25,000 European civil servants who are divided into departments called Directorates-General. It is primarily based in the Berlaymont building of Brussels and its internal working languages are English, French and German. (more...)

The Common Treecreeper is a small passerine bird. It is very similar to other treecreepers, and has a curved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long stiff tail feathers which help it creep up tree trunks. It can be most easily distinguished from the very similar Short-toed Treecreeper, which shares much of its European range, by its different song. The Common Treecreeper has nine or more subspecies which breed in different parts of its range in temperate Eurasia. This species is found in woodlands of all kinds, but where it overlaps with the Short-toed Treecreeper in western Europe it is more likely to be found in coniferous forests or at higher altitudes. It nests in tree crevices or behind bark flakes, and favours introduced Giant Redwoods as nest sites where they are available. The female typically lays five or six pink-speckled white eggs in the lined nest, but eggs and chicks are vulnerable to attack by woodpeckers and mammals, including squirrels. The Common Treecreeper is insectivorous and climbs up tree trunks like a mouse, to search for insects which it picks from crevices in the bark with its fine curved bill. It then flies to the base of another tree with a distinctive erratic flight. This bird is solitary in winter, but may form communal roosts in cold weather. (more...)

U.S. housing starts came in below expectations at 975k in May, a month-over-month decline of 3.3%, according to data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday morning. The consensus was looking for a decline to 980k level.

Now available for all to download is a trial version of the Spore Creature Creator. This tool will allow you to create your own completely unique creatures, which you can then use in Spore later this year.