Brit

OASIS racked up a million album sales in the UK this year – without releasing a single new tune. 

Their reunion tour has fuelled a massive resurgence in their records, meaning two of their albums finished in 2025’s Top Ten, according to the British Phonographic Industry. 

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, along with their bandmates, also helped to drive an increase in vinyl purchases. 

This year, vinyl sales in the UK were up 13.3 per cent to 7.6million units.  

Oasis’ greatest hits collection Time Flies . . . 1994-2009 was the fourth most popular album of the year, while (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? was at No7 thanks to a reissue. 

Elsewhere, Taylor Swift’s The Life Of A Showgirl has been crowned the best-selling album of 2025.

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This, despite it only coming out in October, while Sabrina Carpenter has two records in the Top Ten. 

The figures have been released as part of a report by the BPI on recorded music consumption. 

It also tells how a new wave of British talent including Olivia Dean and Lola Young have helped UK recorded music grow for the 11th year, with 210million albums sold. 

And I’ve got my eye on a whole flurry of new stars including Sienna Spiro and Skye Newman as we head into the new year. 

British tourists have been warned by the Foreign Office after deadly fighting erupted between two countries, with rockets fired across the border and travel insurance likely voided in affected areas

British holidaymakers travelling along a well-trodden backpacking trail have been issued a stark warning by the Foreign Office following deadly clashes between two neighbouring nations.

The UK Foreign Office issued an urgent notice to all travellers heading to Thailand and Cambodia this holiday season – as parts of the country grapple with “regular attacks”.

Residents in areas of Thailand and Cambodia sought refuge last week as both countries launched volleys of rockets across their shared frontier. Both nations have blamed each other for violating a Trump-mediated ceasefire that brought an end to intense five-day hostilities earlier this year.

Authorities have urged British holidaymakers to avoid travelling within 50km of Thailand’s entire border with Cambodia. The only exceptions are a few islands, which should only be visited if absolutely necessary. These include Koh Chang, Koh Kood and the other islands in between.

If you’re planning a trip to Thailand, make sure to read all of the Foreign Office advice.

The escalation comes as Cambodia’s senate president Hun Sen vowed to mount a fierce battle against Thailand. Last week’s unrest included brutal airstrikes and saw at least 20 people killed.

An orange alert has been issued, covering Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat Province, alongside the districts of Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi, and Saba Yoi in southern Songkhla Province.

Approximately one million UK citizens travel to Thailand annually. In recent years, it has become commonplace for some visitors to take brief excursions over the land crossing into Cambodia by catching a coach from Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.

However, the frontier has remained shut for most of this year due to violent outbreaks, with current UK Foreign Office guidance as of this week advising that British citizens should steer clear of “all but essential travel” to areas within 31 miles of Thailand’s border with Cambodia.

The guidance states: “Land borders and crossings between Thailand and Cambodia continue to be suspended. Some tourist destinations in border areas, such as the Khao Phra Wihan/Preah Vihear temple, the Ta Kwai/Ta Krabey temple, and the Ta Muen Thom/Tamone Thom temple, are closed. There are also unexploded landmines in the border area. We advise against all but essential travel to the affected border areas.”

Whilst travelling to a region marked as ‘essential travel only’ by the Foreign Office isn’t against the law, doing so will likely invalidate your travel insurance – even if it remains valid in other parts of the same nation considered safe. This leaves you personally responsible for expenses such as medical emergencies, cancellations, or repatriation, and securing help from the British Embassy becomes considerably more challenging should problems arise.

What’s the reason behind the Thailand and Cambodia conflict and what part did Donald Trump play?

The ongoing strife between Thailand and Cambodia is a flare-up of a border disagreement that has been simmering for several decades, which until this year had only led to occasional skirmishes.

In May, the death of a Cambodian soldier in one such skirmish sparked an intensification of hostilities, culminating in five days of full-scale warfare in July. The fallout saw at least 48 fatalities and displaced 300,000 people.

A peace agreement mediated by Donald Trump was inked by the Thai and Cambodian governments in Malaysia in October, with the US President having threatened to withhold trade deals with either nation if they rejected the pact. However, this week saw a resumption of hostilities after the ceasefire was violated – with each party pointing the finger at the other for firing the first shot.

Thailand’s military alleges that Cambodia launched an assault on Thai positions with artillery, rockets and drone strikes earlier in December, following accusations of previous attacks in the days before. Conversely, Cambodia asserts that Thai forces initiated the conflict, in the Preah Vihear province.

SIMON Cowell could be locked in another copyright row after it emerged a group of British rockers also share the same name as his newly formed group.

Tattooed Scottish band December Tenth told the music mogul to get his lawyers to call them over the name dispute.

This week Netflix announced his new show Next Act will feature his latest band – December 10.

The seven-piece group – which conissits of Nicolas Alves, 16, Cruz Lee-Ojo, 19, Hendrik Christoffersen, 19, John Fadare, 17, Josh Olliver, 17, Danny Bretherton, 16, and Seán Hayden, 19 – released their new music earlier this week.

But they have an unexpected rivalry in the form of the Glasgow-based metallers, who are named after the date their pen pal was executed on death row.

They have challenged Simon after he and Netflix announced the new boy band with a very similar name to their group.

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In a post on social media the lead singer of the band said: “It came to light over the last few days that Simon Cowell, Netflix and Universal Music, are involved in a new boy band that share, to some extent, our name December Tenth.

“Now if anyone in Simon’s team, Universal or Netflix, would like to get in touch with ourselves and our legal team they can do so.

“I would like to point out, the hundreds of new followers we have over the last few days are most welcome, but I’m not entirely sure they are all genuine.”

The band, who formed in 2020, have also been swamped with messages with confused boy band fans who mistakenly followed them online.

He added: “Our social media accounts have blew up and we had no idea why. It turns out that Simon Cowell has released a new Netflix show, called “December 10”.

“We are now being inundated with well wishes from fans of the show thinking we are that band.”

It’s not the first time Simon has faced issues over a pop group’s name.

In 2011 X Factor was forced to change their girl band Rhythmix to Little Mix after a disabled children’s charity in Brighton with the same name threatened them with legal action.

Benidorm superfans, Roger and Sue Topp, have visited the Spanish beach resort more than 100 times – and this year they’re taking it a step further for their Christmas celebrations

Swapping Turkey for tapas and sprouts for sangria, one UK couple is set to spend Christmas Day in Benidorm – the Spanish seaside resort they’ve visited more than 100 times.

Roger and Sue Topp, from Leicester, have been travelling to Benidorm for more than 35 years and said they practically raised their children there, as it became their “second home.” Roger explained: “We used to do UK holidays, but it was always a gamble with the weather, then we came to Benidorm once, and that was it.

“It’s friendly, clean, safe, and the value is unbelievable. You can get a glass of wine for one to two euros and a full meal for less than you’d spend on a takeaway back home.” In the eyes of the couple, there’s nowhere else that quite compares to Benidorm with its sunshine, entertainment and community.

So much so that they visit the beach town around three times a year, flying from East Midlands Airport, and spend a lengthy period of time during the brisk British winter months. The couple stay at the popular Hotel Rio Park, located just a short 10-minute walk from Benidorm’s lively main strip, and this year it’s where they’ll be spending Christmas.

The couple, who have been married for 55 years, will fly to Benidorm on December 23, which impressively, will be their eighth visit this year alone. Their favourite buffet is already on the agenda, ditching the Brussels sprouts altogether, and they already plan to FaceTime their families at home, before celebrating in the winter sun.

“The first time we tried Christmas over there, we were blown away. The Rio Park Hotel puts on a feast for us, its breakfast, a huge traditional Christmas lunch, entertainment all day, and you can have as much wine and beer as you like. It’s brilliant and takes away so much stress, that’s why we’ve always loved TUI holidays,” they said.

They added: “We just love the Hotel Rio Park, it has everything you need and it is so close to the beach, plus the staff are just amazing and have become lifelong friends”.

When they’re not lapping up the hotel’s facilities, Roger and Sue spend time soaking up the sunshine of one of the sprawling golden sand beaches or wandering around the Old Town. But a Chinese buffet called Puente De Oro, where they can “eat like kings”, is one of their personal highlights.

“We love the Chinese buffet out there, you can get plates piled high and unlimited drinks for 19 euros. The food is fresh, delicious and amazing value. We go there all the time, sometimes there are big groups of 20 of us who are Benidorm regulars,” they revealed.

Not to mention the extensive selection of Tapas they get to devour. “There is a Tapas bar called Zodiac right near the Rio Park Hotel, and it does the most delicious 6 plates of tapas and a bottle of wine for 9 euros. You really can’t beat that. We go back time and time again because the quality is amazing and it’s a great price.”

Having booked their trips to Benidorm with TUI on multiple occasions, they’re well-known at their local store and credit the team for making it so seamless. “We pop in for a chat or a cuppa. They always look after everything for us, and they’ve become like family,” said Roger.

TUI Travel Agent Cameron Morton, who works at the Hinckley store, has been helping the couple book their Benidorm trips for more than a decade. “They’ve been booking with us in-store for around 10 years and usually plan three trips at a time for the year ahead. They love the Rio Park and won’t go anywhere else, they always say it feels like a home from home and that they meet friends there every time,” Cameron shared.

“Benidorm is such a great value destination, with affordable hotels, food and entertainment, which is why it works so well as a destination with TUI.”