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Torrential rain in Rawalpindi has turned streets into ponds and flooded homes, disrupting daily life and prompting authorities to issue alerts.

The water level in the Nullah Lai has risen once again, triggering warnings for nearby communities and concerned agencies. The rising water in Nullah Lai has reached 10 feet at Katarian and 9.5 feet at Gawalmandi, where a pre-alert has been issued.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), rainfall measurements include 65mm in Saidpur, 51mm in Golra, 110mm in P.Bokra, and 94mm in the Kutchery area.

In several areas of Rawalpindi, rainwater has entered homes, with some houses submerged under several feet of water. Streets in Shale Village, Tench Bhatta, and People’s Colony are submerged, leaving residents trapped inside their homes.

Inner city streets have also turned into waterlogged zones.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) and the Cantonment Board have been unable to cope with the three days of continuous rain, with their drainage efforts failing to prevent flooding.

Underpasses and roads throughout the city, including key routes like Murree Road, Liaquat Bagh, Mall Road, and Saddar Bazaar, have transformed into mini-lakes.

Business activities have come to a standstill, and the traffic system is completely paralyzed, with traffic wardens nowhere to be seen. Shops in Mochi Bazaar, Mori Bazaar, and Sadiqabad Chowk have also been flooded.

In Sharon Colony and Kent John Colony, along the banks of the Sawan River, water levels have risen to three feet inside homes, destroying valuable household items worth millions.

Residents of low-lying areas have begun to evacuate temporarily.

WASA Managing Director Muhammad Saleem Ashraf stated that heavy rain continues in the catchment area of Nullah Lai.

He emphasised that WASA Rawalpindi is on high alert, with rain emergency measures in place. Heavy machinery and personnel have been deployed in low-lying areas for drainage.

He added that while the flow of water in Nullah Lai is currently normal, they are closely monitoring the situation and are prepared to handle any emergency.

A Russian missile struck a supermarket in the Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka in the front-line Donetsk region on Friday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 43 others, Ukrainian officials said.

Heavy black smoke clouds rose from the destroyed building in images and videos posted by officials. The interior minister later said the blaze was put out.

“Russian terrorists hit an ordinary supermarket and a post office. There are people under the rubble,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X. Emergency services continued working out the rubble looking for survivors, he added.

Kostiantynivka lies just about 13 kilometers from the active combat line in Ukraine’s east. Ukrainian government-held parts of the Donetsk region regularly come under Russian shelling and air strikes.

This week Russia has been fighting what it says is an armored cross-border assault by Ukrainian troops in its Kursk region. The Kyiv military has not commented on that operation yet.

“No situation on the battlefield can justify targeting civilians,” Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on X, reporting an updated death toll in Kostiantynivka.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians although it has killed thousands of them during the 29 months since it launched its full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian regional governor Vadym Filashkin initially said Russia used artillery but later said it carried out the attack with a Kh-38 air-to-surface missile.

Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s largest private postal company, said its cargo office in the supermarket was damaged in the strike.

“All our employees are alive. One colleague received a concussion – he is getting all the necessary help,” the company said on X.

Residential houses, shops and more than a dozen cars were as well damaged in the attack, according to the interior minister’s post on Telegram.

Donetsk region is one of the hottest areas of fighting as Russia targets areas in the direction of the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

South Korean Olympic silver medallist pistol shooter Kim Ye-ji, whose cool demeanour and appearance when competing at the Paris Games made her a social media sensation, collapsed at a news conference on Friday, apparently due to stress and exhaustion.

Kim was speaking at the event in Imsil, the county that she represented for seven years in the southern part of South Korea, when she collapsed, a county official said by telephone. Kim regained consciousness and was taken to hospital, he said.

The 31-year-old did not receive CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) as some media reported, the official said.

Kim would stay in hospital for observation until she had recovered fully, he said, adding she was likely suffering exhaustion after participating in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Kim who won the silver medal in the 10-metre air pistol event has become a social media phenomena due to the futuristic glasses she wears to improve precision and her cool style which earned her the nickname the “smiling assassin” at home.

On Wednesday, Kim thanked Tesla chief Elon Musk for making her famous after he said on his social media platform X that she “should be cast in an action movie. No acting required!”

An 18-year-old Iraqi national was detained in Vienna in connection with investigations into an alleged plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in the Austrian capital, Austria’s interior minister said on Friday.

The Iraqi comes from the same circle as the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said.

The Iraqi suspect swore allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group on Aug. 6, but it remains unclear whether he had a direct link to the planned attack, Karner said.

More suspects will be questioned and properties searched as investigators continue to look into the plot, he added.

The main suspect, who had also vowed loyalty to IS, was planning a lethal assault among the estimated 20,000 “Swiftie” fans set to gather outside Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, prompting the cancellation of all three shows due to security concerns.

The 19-year-old, who quit his job less than two weeks before the planned attack, saying he “had big plans”, has made a full confession in custody, according to authorities.

Two other Austrian youths aged 17 and 15 were detained on Wednesday over the alleged plot.

The 17-year-old, who had been given a job with a company that was providing services at the stadium, has so far refused to give evidence, according to Karner.

The boy, who also appears to have been radicalised, was already known to authorities.

The 15-year-old continues to be questioned intensively by police, Karner added.

Austrian authorities are reported to have received information about the Swift concert threat from US intelligence, as Austrian law does not allow the monitoring of instant messaging apps, which the suspects had used to communicate.

“Cooperation with foreign partners and services is essential and reciprocal. This made it possible to prevent a tragedy in Vienna,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.

Swift, whose next scheduled performance is in London next week, has not commented on the concert cancellations.

British police have said there is nothing to indicate that the Vienna plot would have any effect on the London show.