July 27 0400 UTC Brief

In France and Spain Wildfires driven by extreme heat, strong winds, and prolonged drought are still tearing through parts of southwestern France near Bordeaux, with firefighters backed by military personnel working to slow the spread. Authorities say about 250,000 people have fled as flames move across areas of France and Spain. In the U.S. Police in Seattle are investigating a shooting near the Space Needle and the Bite of Seattle festival site that left at least four people injured, including a child. One victim was reported in critical condition, and officers told people to avoid the area while they secured the scene. In Texas, authorities say a man fatally shot his ex-girlfriend, a 17-year-old mother, and her brother in Humble. The Harris County sheriff’s office is investigating the killings. In Britain Four men have been charged with murder after the stabbing death of 24-year-old Arad Niakan in Leicester. Separately, an Afghan asylum seeker has avoided prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl during a family sightseeing trip in London, a case that sits somewhere between appalling and depressingly familiar. In business A new look at small business lending in Australia says credit remains tight, with banks still leaning heavily on property collateral and higher borrowing costs. The piece points to government-backed lending models in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France, where public guarantees help lenders take on more of the risk businesses are expected to carry alone. In Ukraine Russia and Ukraine traded strikes again, with Kyiv saying Russian attacks killed six people, including a child at a supermarket in Chernihiv, and Moscow saying Ukrainian strikes killed four. The latest exchange adds to a war that keeps landing hardest on civilians.