Barack Obama will Wednesday invoke the Cold War history of German-US solidarity, on a long-awaited first visit to Berlin as president, but will face sharp questions on US spy snooping programmes. Almost 50 years to the day since John Kennedy declared "Ich bin ein Berliner" and 26 years since Ronald Reagan exhorted "Tear down this wall!" Obama will argue that a new generation must muster for history's fresh challenges.

By Mark Felsenthal, Hamid Shalizi and Dylan Welch WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - The United States will meet the Taliban this week for talks aimed at achieving peace in Afghanistan, where U.S.-led forces and the insurgents have fought a bloody and costly war for the past 12 years, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The Taliban opened an office in Doha, the Qatari capital, on Tuesday to help restart talks and said it wanted a political solution that would bring about a just government and end foreign occupation of Afghanistan.

Brasilia, Jun 18 (EFE).- President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday proposed a new regulatory framework for mining in Brazil, one of the world's biggest producers of iron, bauxite, gold, nickel, manganese and other minerals. Rousseff said her plan calls for a new government agency that would regulate mining activity and create a new concessions regime. The new concessions "will run for 40 years, extendable for another 20," and the concession holders must comply with "clear legal obligations, with an emphasis on protecting the environment," she said.

WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew won't win any prizes in penmanship, but his official signature which will go on the nation's currency is at least a slight improvement over the loopy scrawl he had a few months ago. The Treasury Department unveiled the new signature on Tuesday. It takes the Bureau of Engraving and Printing about 18 weeks to put new engraving plates into production. That means Lew's signature will not show up on the various currency denominations until sometime this fall.