Information Security & US & Life & Love & Fashion & Hacking & Passion

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- A group including former UN chief Kofi Annan and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter postponed a visit to Zimbabwe meant to highlight the country's humanitarian crisis after the government refused to cooperate.

Annan said the delegation, which had been set to arrive in Zimbabwe this weekend, needed "no red carpet treatment," but only the government's "permission to help the poor and the desperate."

"However the refusal of the Zimbabwean government to facilitate our visit in any way has made it impossible for us to travel at this time," Annan said.

The trio -- which also included rights activist Graca Machel, wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela -- wanted to find ways to ease the plight of Zimbabweans, nearly half of whom are in need of emergency food aid. In addition, a cholera epidemic sweeping the country has claimed several lives and spread to neighboring South Africa.

But the state-owned daily newspaper, The Herald, on Thursday said the three -- who belong to a group of senior statesmen known as the Elders -- were trying to boost the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), in power-sharing talks with President Robert Mugabe.

"The visit has been deemed a partisan mission by a group of people with partisan interests," The Herald quoted an unnamed government source.

"The Elders wrote to (Mugabe's) government on the intended visit, but they have been advised that while it appreciates the humanitarian concern by the group, it was important for them to plan their visit on a date that is convenient and agreed to by both sides."

When Annan announced the visit, he said it was purely humanitarian and would not touch on the negotiations that continue to drag on to form a unity government in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal with MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai in September but it is yet to take effect.

The MDC accuses Mugabe of grabbing all key ministries such as home affairs, information, local government, foreign affairs and defense. It said it wants an "equitable" distribution.

Annan, in announcing the postponement Saturday, said the group wanted to use their influence to get international aid to the millions of people in Zimbabwe in need of help.

Machel said she was "extremely disappointed."

"We want to talk to the people and hear their stories directly. We want people to know that we care, and that we will do all we can to help them. People are dying from hunger every day in Zimbabwe and hospitals are unable to treat the sick. With schools struggling to stay open, children are missing out on an education. One in four children has lost one or both parents. The government's attitude to our visit is deeply regrettable."

Carter noted that he supported Zimbabwe's liberation struggle -- led by Mugabe -- while he was the U.S. president.

"I am partisan. I make no apology for that. I supported Zimbabwe's liberation struggle and I oppose suffering and misery. But I am very sorry that we are unable to visit Zimbabwe. We will continue with our plans to learn as much as we can while we are here in the region, where millions of Zimbabweans inside and outside the country face a daily struggle for survival."

Annan and Carter said they would remain in South Africa to monitor the situation in Zimbabwe.

American Express Co. is seeking $3.5 billion in funds under the government's plan to directly invest in financial firms, according to a Wednesday report in The Wall Street Journal citing unnamed sources.

Earlier this week, American Express (nyse: AXP - news - people ) received approval from the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company, which is a similar structure to traditional commercial banks. The credit card company now has access to financing from the Fed and the ability to grow a large deposit base.

The increased funding opportunities through government programs, including the potential $3.5 billion investment, could be a huge boost to American Express as one of its primary sources of funding has nearly disappeared amid the ongoing credit crisis.

American Express relied on packaging pools of credit card debt and selling them to investors in the securitization market. As investors have shied away from purchasing all but the safest forms of debt, the market for credit card-backed securities has dwindled.

American Express is also facing a slowdown in the broader economy, which has led to more customers missing payments and cutting back on spending, hurting the company's profitability.

Third-quarter profit at American Express fell 24 percent to $815 million, or 70 cents a share, the company said last month. The card company took a $1.36 billion provision for loan losses, 51 percent higher than the year-ago quarter.

The $3.5 billion from the government could help alleviate some of the company's funding problem and help bolster reserves to protect against future losses.

The federal government today announced an expanded effort to bail out American International Group, including a partial government takeover of the company, as the troubled insurance giant disclosed massive losses over the past three months.

The new plan expands an existing government bailout program from $123 billion to $150 billion. But more significantly, it restructures the plan to include much less debt and instead provides direct government investment in the company.

Under the new plan, the government will buy $40 billion of AIG preferred stock, a step that puts AIG on par with major U.S. banks, which the government partially nationalized last month. Another $52.5 billion will be used to take troubled assets off of the company's books.

The new plan is an acknowledgement that an original bid to help the company was in fact weighing it down by requiring quick repayment and a high interest rate on government loans.

Federal officials announced the new AIG bailout at 6 a.m. -- shortly before the company reported that it had lost $24.5 billion from July through October. AIG has now posted losses of $37.6 billion for the first nine months of the year.

The federal government today announced an expanded effort to bail out American International Group, including a partial government takeover of the company, as the troubled insurance giant disclosed massive losses over the past three months.

The new plan expands an existing government bailout program from $123 billion to $150 billion. But more significantly, it restructures the plan to include much less debt and instead provides direct government investment in the company.

Under the new plan, the government will buy $40 billion of AIG preferred stock, a step that puts AIG on par with major U.S. banks, which the government partially nationalized last month. Another $52.5 billion will be used to take troubled assets off of the company's books.

The new plan is an acknowledgement that an original bid to help the company was in fact weighing it down by requiring quick repayment and a high interest rate on government loans.

Federal officials announced the new AIG bailout at 6 a.m. -- shortly before the company reported that it had lost $24.5 billion from July through October. AIG has now posted losses of $37.6 billion for the first nine months of the year.

American International Group Inc. late Sunday was reportedly near a deal for a revised bailout package from the U.S. government that would make borrowing terms easier for the troubled insurer.

A proposed $123 billion bailout package would be replaced with a new $150 billion package, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Details of the arrangement could be announced as early as Monday, when AIG is scheduled to report its third-quarter results, the Journal said. The plan reportedly would replace an $85 billion two-year loan with a $60 billion five-year loan at a lower interest rate.

The government also reportedly would inject $40 billion into AIG in exchange for preferred stock.

AIG representatives were not immediately available for comment.

The government had earmarked $85 billion in September for AIG's rescue. Another $37.8 billion was made available in October.