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One reader was surprised by how many people responding to Annalisa Barbieri’s advice column equate successful parenting with independence

Reading the comments below Annalisa Barbieri’s latest advice column online ( I wish my son wanted to spend more time with me, 28 June ), I was struck by how many people equated successful parenting with raising independent adult children.

But life isn’t always that straightforward. There is a largely invisible generation of midlife parents still caring for adult children who remain Neets – not in employment, education or training. Many are living with neurodivergence, severe mental illness, post-Covid syndrome or chronic ill health.

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The industry is reeling at the moment from Sony 's announcement that it'll be ending new physical discs for PlayStation consoles in 2028 . Though the pivot appears quite sudden, barring more extraneous market factors, a new report suggests it's been coming for some time, and the main factory involved is already changing direction.

This comes from ORF Salzburg , an Austrian outlet who spoke to the head of Sony's flagship disc-producing plant in Thalgau about the shifting tide in business. Apparently, some 600,000 discs come out of the facility every single day, 50% of which are for PlayStation devices.

It was once part of a small phalanx of factories, with two based in the United States, but one of those was shuttered in 2011 and the other pivoted toward the auto industry. As of 2022, it's been all based in Thalgau, according to Dietmar Tanzer, the president of Sony DADC, and as translated by The Verge , it's since been treated as the centre of Sony's disced operations.

But since from 2028 onwards, those 300,000 pieces of circular plastic won't be going to PlayStation-related systems, the focus will apparently be on making microlenses, a practice that began coming in toward the end of 2024, The Verge notes. These are made using transparent discs, and per the report, Sony's recently allocated €30 million into the technology for manufacturing them, and there's potential to move into auto-motion too. It's claimed that employees are planned to be retrained extensively in the future, with plans to begin mass production of microlenses potentially as soon as next year.

Alas, the choice to discontinue physical games on PlayStation consoles wasn't made in a hurry, and it appears Sony's not about to give up on a start-of-the-art factory like in Thalgau. I'm relieved to see it doesn't appear jobs are being lost on this front, anyway, which was among my fears when hearing about the shift away from allowing us to buy discs in boxes.

This is a small upside thus far, and the industry's been collectively voicing their concerns and disappointments. The future of game preservation and consumer rights in the medium is in danger of regressing further. At least we'll have good microlenses.

Former PlayStation boss warns Sony won't be able to replicate a key factor to the PS2's success "in the current generation" due to hardware costs.

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The next Opel Astra may move away from the traditional hatchback shape.

Opel CEO Florian Huettl says an estate version is already locked in.

The new compact model will ride on Stellantis’ new STLA One platform.

Wagons are quietly leaving the European market, but a few automakers see them as a way to stand apart from the endless run of hatchbacks and SUVs. Opel looks to be one of them. The Stellantis brand is reworking the recipe for the next-generation Astra, walking away from the familiar hatchback shape while making clear the estate isn’t going anywhere.

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The current Astra landed in 2021 as a close relative of the Peugeot 308, and both cars picked up mid-lifecycle updates in late 2025 to keep pace with the VW Golf and Toyota Corolla. A successor is already locked in, though, with Opel confirming it will arrive before the decade is out.

More: Stellantis Confirms The Next Astra And Corsa Land Before 2030

The Astra has carried hatchback and estate bodies since the original showed up 35 years ago, long after sedans, coupes, and convertibles fell off the roster. The next one could be the car that finally breaks that pattern, and it starts with the shape buyers have always taken for granted.

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The facelifted Opel Astra lineup.

Our colleagues from Auto Express spoke with Opel CEO, Florian Huettl, asking him whether the compact hatchback needs to evolve. His answer left the door open. “It doesn’t mean necessarily that the new Astra is a traditional hatchback,” he said.

Surprisingly, the CEO added: “I can tell you that there will be a station wagon, because that’s what our home market in Germany requires, and this is what we will serve” revealing that interior space will be one of the focus points for the next generation.

More: A Designer’s Son Asked For A Shark In 2004, And This Stellantis Brand Has Been Hiding Them In Its Cars Ever Since

The move cuts against the grain of what some mainstream rivals are doing right now. Just last week, the President and CEO of Hyundai Europe came close to confirming the death of the i30 Wagon , with the company steering its R&D money toward higher-margin SUVs instead.

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New Platform, New Possibilities

Opel Astra Sports Tourer

The next Astra will ride on the new STLA One architecture. Huettl said the car will “certainly be a BEV ,” though the platform handles more than electric power, which is why Opel is “currently looking at the right calibration of the powertrain offer.”

More: Stellantis Puts Cheap Cars Under $30,000 Back On America’s Menu

The CEO revealed that while Opel sells plug-in hybrid variants of the Astra and the Grandland, their sales are “by no means at the same level of importance as the fully electric or the hybrid variants.”

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He added that range extender setups are “quite interesting,” although early examples of the technology “may struggle to digest” driving on German highways at 130-140 kmh (81-87 mph). That could change down the line, potentially with help from Stellantis’ Chinese partner Leapmotor .

Production To Remain In Germany

Opel Astra

Despite the recent layoffs from its R&D facilities at the Russelsheim headquarters, the new Astra will be manufactured at the same plant, backed by fresh investment.

More: Stellantis Swears Its Rebadges Won’t Be Lazy, But Only Four Brands Get 70% Of The Cash

A major Astra makeover isn’t the next thing on the calendar, though. Opel has more new models coming first, starting with a new generation of the smaller Corsa expected in 2027, followed by a Leapmotor-based compact SUV and a fresh Mokka. And unlike Stellantis stablemates Citroen and Fiat, both busy with the 2CV and the next Pandina as budget EVs, Opel isn’t chasing that segment.

An official teaser of an upcoming compact SUV based on Leapmotor underpinnings.

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Yet another record-size cruise ship is about to debut — this time in Europe.

Dubbed Legend of the Seas, the 20-deck-high Royal Caribbean vessel will sail from Civitavecchia, Italy, on Saturday on a maiden voyage that will take it to Marseille, France; Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and La Spezia, Italy before a return trip to Civitavecchia.

Built at the giant Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, Legend of the Seas is the latest ship in Royal Caribbean's much-ballyhooed Icon Class series , which is setting new records for ship sizes.

Two earlier vessels in the two-year-old series — Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas — each are about 6% bigger than the previous size leader among cruise ships, Royal Caribbean's four-year-old Wonder of the Seas .

Like both of its sisters, Legend of the Seas measures about 248,660 gross tons. But it's a foot longer than the two earlier Icon Class vessels, making it the new world's largest cruise ship — if only by a tad.

Room for nearly 10,000 people

Like its sisters, Legend of the Seas is able to hold up to 7,600 passengers with every berth full — a record-breaking number that tops any other vessels afloat by a significant amount.

Add in 2,350 crew members, and Legend of the Seas, like its sisters, can sail at times with nearly 10,000 people on board — also a record for a cruise vessel.

Legend of the Seas is loaded with top deck amusements. ROYAL CARIBBEAN As is typical for the world's largest cruise ships, both Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas debuted in Florida, the cruise capital of the world. But Legend of the Seas will sail in the Mediterranean through late October, when it will reposition across the Atlantic to Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades .

Related: The 7 types of Royal Caribbean ships, explained

That makes it by far the largest cruise vessel ever to debut in Europe.

Legend of the Seas' Mediterranean sailings, mostly seven nights in length, will begin in Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) and Barcelona.

After repositioning to Florida, it'll operate alternating six- and eight-night sailings to the Western Caribbean and Southern Caribbean with calls at some ports such as Falmouth, Jamaica and Willemstad, Curacao that haven't traditionally seen Icon Class ships .

All Legend of the Seas voyages will also feature calls at Perfect Day at CocoCay , Royal Caribbean's hugely popular private island in the Bahamas.

Designed for families

Like the two other vessels in the Icon Class series, Legend of the Seas has been designed with families in mind.

The Icon Class series of ships boasts more cabins offering extra bunks to accommodate families with children than earlier Royal Caribbean vessels. They also have more amenities geared to families, including new-for-the-line outdoor "neighborhoods" called Surfside that are dedicated to families with young children.

A merry-go-round for young kids at the Surfside area. ROYAL CARIBBEAN The Surfside areas, notably, feature splash areas for babies and kids, pools and lounge spaces for parents, family-friendly eateries and shops.

The Icon Class ships also feature seven pools and the largest water parks ever built on a cruise ship, with a record six waterslides each. No other vessels come close to such extensive water attractions on a cruise ship.

Related: Royal Caribbean ships ranked from newest to oldest

Among new features on Legend of the Seas are a Hollywood-themed Supper Club and new food venues at the top-of-the-ship AquaDome Market.

New entertainment offerings include a version of Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", which played on Broadway and London's West End.

Initial fares for seven-night sailings on Legend of the Seas in the Mediterranean start at $1,480 per person, based on double occupancy. Fares for sailings out of Florida start at $1,582 per person, based on double occupancy.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship

A beginners guide to picking a cruise line

The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship

The ultimate guide to what to pack for a cruise

A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines

21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly

Top ways cruisers waste money

The ultimate guide to choosing a cruise ship cabin

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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Sony teased a new RX10 on its Instagram, writing 'The Wait is over'

Its previous bridge camera was the RX10 IV from 2017, which is discontinued

This latest in the series will arrive on July 9 at 7am PT / 10am EDT / 3pm BST

Sony just dropped exciting news for fans of its versatile bridge cameras — a new RX10 camera will be revealed next week.

The teaser on Sony's Instagram reveals a surprising amount of detail, including the release date plus a silhouette of the next RX10, which from we can glean some info about its lens.

Perhaps the most surprising part of all is that Sony is launching a new RX10 in the first place. Its most recent bridge camera was the Cyber-Shot RX10 IV which was released all the way back in 2017, and has been discontinued for more than two years.

The RX10 IV is still regarded as the best bridge camera available, which tells you everything you need to know about this space, which has been largely dormant for years, save for a tired Lumix re-release and the occasional cheap Kodak model .

Despite the RX10 IV's skills, we can only hope that Sony has a little more in store for the next RX10, because an upgrade on the mark IV could be super interesting. The teaser (below) gives us a little snippet of what we can expect.

A post shared by Sony | Alpha (@sonyalpha)

A photo posted by on

The most obvious point to note is the release date, which will be July 9 at 7am PT / 10am EDT / 3pm BST. I predict that putting a Sony bridge camera back in stores will be a popular move, especially among enthusiast wildlife photographers desiring a versatile telephoto lens in a lightweight setup.

Otherwise, there's one little clue, and that's the part of the teaser when the lens is extending upwards. We can't see the focal length of the lens, but we can see the aperture range, which is f/2.4 to f/16.

That aperture range is identical to the RX10 IV, which features a 25x optical zoom with a 24-600mm focal length range. The other details in that lens silhouette also look the same as those in the RX10 IV; the Vario Sonnar T* and twin control rings.

It's harder to glean much else from the teaser — the silhouette of the camera body looks similar to the one before it, but it could very well be different.

We won't have long to wait to find out more, with the next RX10 coming in less than a week.

What do you think of Sony's teaser? Is this the next Sony camera you were hoping for? Have your say in the comments.