Vietnam and the European Union on Thursday upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam's highest diplomatic level, as both recalibrate trade amid disruptions to global finance driven by U.S. tariff pressure.

The upgrade places the EU on the same diplomatic footing as the United States, China and Russia and was announced during a visit to Hanoi by European Council President António Costa.

The leaders of Britain and China called Thursday for a "comprehensive strategic partnership" to deepen ties between their nations at a time of growing global uncertainty.

Neither publicly mentioned Donald Trump, but the American president's challenges to the post-Cold War order was clearly on their minds.

The European Union on Thursday announced sanctions on 15 Iranian officials, including top commanders and officials of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, over Tehran's deadly crackdown on nationwide protests.

Six Iranian organizations, including bodies responsible for monitoring online content in Iran, were also included in the sanctions list.

A conglomerate based in the United Arab Emirates said Wednesday it is closing its operations in Lebanon and laying off all employees following a dispute with authorities in the crisis-hit country.

The announcement by the Dubai-based Al Habtoor Group came two days after it said it will take legal action against Lebanese authorities over claims of investment losses of $1.7 billion.

Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City are among the giants of European soccer preparing for a nervy final round of matches in the opening phase of the Champions League on Wednesday.

All face the prospect of being consigned to the playoffs on a bumper night of 18 matches in Europe's elite club competition.

José Mourinho praised new Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa ahead of Benfica's match against his old club in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Mourinho coached Arbeloa at Madrid in the early 2010s. He called him "one of my boys" and one of the "special players" that he was in charge of during his career.

In a hectic last round of the Champions League opening phase Wednesday, 16 into eight just won't go.

With all 36 teams playing in 18 games that kick off simultaneously, at 2000 GMT, only table-topping Arsenal and second-place Bayern Munich have sealed direct entry to the round of 16 with guaranteed top-eight finishes.

After a walkover and an in-match retirement, 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic will meet two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

Djokovic dropped the first two sets of his quarterfinal 6-4, 6-3 Wednesday to fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti but was up a break in the third when the 23-year-old Italian retired with an injured right leg.

Three Texas siblings who perished in an icy pond were among several dozen deaths in U.S. states gripped by frigid cold as crews scrambled Tuesday to repair hundreds of thousands of power outages in the shivering South and forecasters warned the winter weather is expected to get worse.

Brutal cold lingered in the wake of a massive storm that dumped deep snow across more than 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) from Arkansas to New England and left parts of the South coated in treacherous ice.

The ambitious free trade agreement between the European Union and India underscores the EU's efforts to ink new global partnerships at a time when the Trump administration has rattled a continent deeply tied to Washington on trade, defense and diplomacy.

The agreement announced Tuesday reflects a new priority for the 27-nation EU, the world's largest trading bloc, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs because of opposition to American control of Greenland, only to back off days later. It follows trade deals struck or pending over the past year with India, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico and the five Mercosur nations of South America.