Dueling concerts scheduled

Dueling concerts are being staged this week on both sides of Venezuela’s border with Colombia. After billionaire Richard Branson announced an aid concert in Colombia on Friday to benefit Venezuelans suffering from the country’s humanitarian crisis, Nicolas Maduro’s government ordered up a rival concert of its own.

Maduro denies any economic crisis exists, and has blocked urgently needed food and medicine from the United States that is being warehoused on the Colombian border from entering Venezuela, claiming the relief effort led by opposition leader Juan Guiado is part of U.S.-orchestrated “coup” to oust him from power.

Branson told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that the concert he’s throwing on Friday will save lives by raising money for “much-needed medical help” and other aid for crisis-torn Venezuela. Minutes later, Maduro’s government announced what it called a “massive” concert for Friday and Saturday on the Venezuelan side of the border.