Image caption, The hikes are part of immigration policy changes introduced to manage Japan's growing foreign population Japan has raised fees for foreigners looking to reside in the country, with the cost of permanent residency going up 20 times to 200,000 yen ($1,270; £955). Those seeking permanent residency must now also meet new income, pension and Japanese-language requirements. Long lines formed outside immigration offices earlier this week as applicants sought to beat the fee hikes, with Tokyo's main immigration bureau reporting wait times of over seven hours. The fee increases are part of a series of changes to Japan's immigration policy under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, which aim ito manage its rapidly growing foreign population. In July, Japan implemented a five-fold increase in visa fees for all foreigners - its first visa fee hike in 50 years.

Loudoun County homeowners say noise from nearby Amazon Web Services and Microsoft data centers is constant and growing. Residents are urging sound barriers and property tax relief.

Pakistan says it has carried out air strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan used to store and launch drones, some of which were used in cross-border attacks. The air strikes on Thursday were carried out as tensions grow between the former allies over attacks by armed groups in Pakistan, which triggered their worst fighting in years in February. The air strikes were "deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate, and strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan", Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X. He condemned a "deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones" on Wednesday. "This constitutes a blatant violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity and is a grave and unacceptable act of aggression," he said.

Trump offers warm welcome as China's Xi arrives for US visit To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. US President Donald Trump has greeted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with a military flyover and 100ft (30m) red carpet to kick off their three-day summit in Washington. In a rare move, Trump met China's premier at the airport as the US Air Force band marched on the tarmac and US and Chinese flags flew. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday evening in Maryland. The high-stakes visit - Xi's first trip to Washington since 2015 - is expected to include closed-door meetings, a state dinner, and plenty to discuss, from AI, to the Iran war and Taiwan, and an extended trade truce.

Two more civilians died last night, says Halia, before her phone connection cuts off. She is trapped in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, which she says is constantly shelled and cut off from food and water. Three days later she tells me the two who were killed were a husband and wife. They were bringing home a bag of food from the closest neighbouring town of Radensk, 23km (14 miles) away, but were unable to get home before a curfew imposed by Russian occupation authorities. They were then killed by a drone.

Steve Cargil's family has farmed the flat, dry land around Uvalde, a small city in southwest Texas, since 1953. Cargil, 67, had always assumed that one of his three children would eventually take it over, the way he had from his father. But that assumption took a hit one night in 2018 after a violent hailstorm. Cargil and his son, Ryan, had spent months nursing crops of cabbage and onions to harvest. Then a storm rolled through and destroyed them overnight.

Plus: hackers claim they've stolen data on almost all FBI employees. When Shubnam saw an Instagram video of a Delhi protest they had attended, they realized a content creator wearing Meta smart glasses had recorded them surreptitiously. The mocking reel drew millions of views, along with transphobic abuse and AI-generated memes. Experts warn that many others will experience similar ordeals as smart glasses go mainstream. The risks are particularly acute in India, where covert recording and the circulation of images without consent are already pervasive. The bigger issue is that the smart glasses aren't just being used to turn ordinary people into targets of viral "pranks."

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Safety Net Look Up Versus Mashable Selects Creator Playbook In My Bag Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off All Series Dozens can fly over one house in a day. Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. I could see this being irritating.

Versus Say More Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Creator Playbook In My Bag Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off Mashable Voices All Series Everyday people have dug up contracts, questioned data access, and persuaded some towns to cancel their Flock deals. Olivia Tauber is the deputy editor of digital culture, covering creators, media, movies, beauty, and more. Based in New York, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Complex, and Interview Magazine. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from NYU and a Bachelor's from the University of Michigan. She also runs Fan Mail, a weekly pop-culture newsletter.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud faces a federal lawsuit alleging the city spent taxpayer money on Ramadan displays while ignoring requests for Easter and Passover recognition.