In an interview with The New York Times earlier this week, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates called harsh cuts to the US development aid organization USAID "stunning."

Gates predicted the cuts, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, would likely lead to an increase of childhood deaths in poor countries "from 5 million to 6 million" in the next few years, rather than what should have been a reduction from 5 million to 4 million.

Whether Musk might go on to be a great philanthropist, as he has previously pledged, remains to be seen, Gates said. "In the meantime, the world's richest man has been involved in the deaths of the world's poorest children," he told the paper, referring to Musk's orchestration of the massive cuts to foreign aid under the second administration of US President Donald Trump.

In response, Musk defended himself on his social media platform X, writing: "Gates is a huge liar."

The New York Times interview coincided with the announcement this week by the Gates Foundation that it would give away the multibillionaire's fortune much more quickly than previously planned.

"There are too many urgent problems........

© Deutsche Welle