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Future beauty pageant contestants might want to be careful with all that loose talk about "world peace," unless they're willing to put up: after Miss Universe Paulina Vega expressed a desire to help end her native Colombia's 50-year civil war, she received an invitation from FARC rebels to join truce talks.

Vega, 22, a business student and model from Colombia's coastal city of Barranquilla, was crowned last month. Since then, she's said in interviews that she would be willing to travel to the negotiations in Havana, according to Reuters.

On Friday, the peace delegation of the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia posted this online:

"We have read with interest about your desire to contribute with your good offices to peace and reconciliation of the Colombian people," FARC's delegation to the talks wrote.

"We welcome your willingness to travel to Havana and we invite you," the statement said. "Be assured that we are willing to address your concerns and consider your views a valuable contribution to peace; we are waiting for your confirmation and your contribution."

The invitation didn't say how Vega might be expected to advance the peace efforts. She did not immediately responded to the offer.

Reuters adds: "Representatives at the talks have so far reached agreement on three of five agenda points, including land reform, an end to the illegal drugs trade and political participation for ex-guerrillas."

Miss Universe

FARC

Colombia

Egypt says that it will retry two journalists working for Al-Jazeera English who have been jailed for more than a year on charges of "giving a platform" to the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The announcement of the new trial, set to begin on Feb. 12, comes days after the journalists' colleague, Australian Peter Greste, was suddenly released and deported.

Following Greste's release on Feb. 1, Mohamed Fahmy, a dual citizen of Canada and Egypt, and Baher Mohamed remained in detention. The trio were arrested in December 2013 and convicted in June.

The three had been charged with "spreading false news," and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood of former Prime Minister Mohammed Morsi. Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years and Mohamed was given an additional three years on weapons charges.

Outside of Egypt, the convictions were widely viewed as a sham.

The Associated Press reports that:

"Canada's now-former Foreign Minister John Baird said earlier this month, just prior to his recent resignation, that ... Fahmy could be imminently released after renouncing his Egyptian nationality."

"It was not immediately clear how the retrial would affect that process."

Peter Greste

Al-Jazeera English

Egypt

Hoping to salvage something of a widely ignored truce in eastern Ukraine that was forged just months ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders are set for another summit in Minsk this week.

If all goes to plan, Merkel will join Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and French President Francois Hollande in the capital of Belarus on Wednesday.

In a flurry of activity in recent days that has surrounded a security conference held in Munich, Merkel and Hollande have led an effort to resuscitate the peace deal and forestall a possible U.S. move to provide arms to Kiev to fight Russian-backed separatists.

The Associated Press says: "The plan for a meeting Wednesday in the Belarusian capital emerged from a phone call between ... [Merkel, Hollande, Putin and Poroshenko]. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, described the call as 'intensive.'"

Seibert said the four parties had discussed "a package of measures" aimed at reaching "a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine," the BBC says.

The AP adds: "The aim is to draw up a package of measures that breathes new life into a much-violated September peace plan. Seibert and the French government said preparations for the summit will take place Monday in Berlin, without elaborating."

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by Reuters as saying "important decisions" would be taken at the summit. Poroshenko said in a statement that the meeting will lead to a "swift and unconditional cease-fire," according to Reuters.

Lavrov's professed optimism, however, was dampened by Agence-France Presse reports that Putin might be hedging. AFP quotes the Russian leader as saying the summit would only take place if the leaders agreed on a "number of points" before Wednesday.

"We will be aiming for Wednesday, if by that time we manage to agree on a number of points which we've been intensely discussing lately," Putin told Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, according to the French news agency.

Despite reports to the contrary, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry denied that there was a rift developing between the U.S. and Europe on how to settle the Ukraine conflict. Washington is said to be considering arms shipments to Kiev, something Merkel, in particular, has strongly opposed.

"There is no division, there is no split," Kerry said, according to the AP. "I keep hearing people trying to create one. We are united, we are working closely together."

Meanwhile, Britain, which has remained largely on the sidelines in the peace negotiations, accused Putin of acting like a "tyrant" over Ukraine.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also rejected the suggestion that the U.K. had become irrelevant to the talks. Speaking with Sky News, referring to Moscow's backing of the rebels, he acknowledged that "Ukrainians can't beat the Russian army."

"This man (Putin) has sent troops across an international border and occupied another country's territory in the 21st century acting like some mid-20th century tyrant. Civilized nations do not behave like that," Hammond told Sky, according to Reuters.

crisis in Ukraine

Secretary of State John Kerry

Germany

Russia

France

Brian Williams — the NBC Nightly News anchor who apologized earlier this week for misremembering that a military helicopter he was in during the 2003 invasion of Iraq had been fired upon — says he has temporarily taken himself off the air over the controversy.

In a statement released today, Williams said that "it has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the news, due to my actions.

"I have decided to take myself off of my daily broadcast for the next several days," Williams wrote, adding that colleague Lester Holt would be taking over his nightly anchoring duties during his absence.

"Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us," he said.

The move by Williams comes a day after news organizations reported that NBC had launched an internal investigation of the anchor's claim, which he backed away from when challenged by veterans. Despite having publicly recounted the false story several times over the years, Williams now acknowledges that he was in fact aboard a helicopter that came in behind the one that was hit by enemy fire.

As NPR's Krishnadev Calamur reported on Friday:

"Williams and his network, until this week, had said the helicopter had been hit by an RPG and forced down during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Following pushback from soldiers who were there, Williams apologized Wednesday."

"The story is the latest twist to the scandal that has tarnished the reputation of the NBC news anchor, and it comes the same day The New Orleans Advocate raised doubts about Williams' claim during his reporting of Hurricane Katrina. Williams had said he saw a body float by in the French Quarter, a part of the city that had remained largely dry during the 2005 storm that devastated the city."

Brian Williams

NBC

Iraq