Chirac to visit Merkel in Berlin next week

President Jacques Chirac will hold talks and dine with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Thursday in what could be his last overseas trip before leaving power. Chirac's office announced the trip Friday, without saying what the two leaders would discuss. It did not say that the trip would be the 74-year-old Chirac's last as president. But time is running out for more overseas travel: Chirac's term expires May 16 at midnight, and France will chose his successor three days after he and Merkel meet.