7-across – Residential area of Johannesburg which came to world attention in 1976 : SOWETO

8-across – The southernmost capital on the European mainland : ATHENS

9-across – Cuisine from the south-western US : TEX

10-across – Medical condition involving more than usually rapid breathing : TACHYPNEA

11-across – City which is home to the Italian stock exchange : MILAN

13-across – Soft Italian cheese whose name refers to its manufacturing process : RICOTTA

16-across – Minoan archaeological site in Crete : KNOSSOS

17-across – Mike __, former boxing champion : TYSON

19-across – Indian political party led by Narendra Modi : BHARATIYA

21-across – See 22 Down : TOK

23-across – See 19 : JANATA

24-across – Ariadne __, Poirot’s friend in the novels of Agatha Christie : OLIVER

1-down – Queen hit song from 1975 : BOHEMIAN

2-down – See 9 Across : MEX

3-down – Comic character created by Sacha Baron Cohen : BORAT

4-down – Disputed region between India and Pakistan : KASHMIR

5-down – See 1 : RHAPSODY

6-down – __ Elliot, the protagonist in Persuasion : ANNE

12-down – “The __ came down like a wolf on the fold” in 18’s The Destruction of Sennacherib : ASSYRIAN

14-down – 1960 film starring Sophia Loren and Jean-Paul Belmondo : TWOWOMEN

15-down – Former General Motors brand of cars : PONTIAC

18-down – George Gordon, Lord __, poet whose works include Don Juan : BYRON

20-down – American-Austrian sports equipment brand, particularly for skiing and tennis : HEAD

22-down – Social media platform : TIK

7-across – Tree cultivated especially in China and Japan for its yellow-orange fruit : LOQUAT

8-across – The Lebanese capital : BEIRUT

9-across – Yiddish-derived word for the kind of audacity shown by 2/3? : CHUTZPAH

10-across – The employer of, amongst others, Harry Bosch and Kate Lockley? : LAPD

11-across – The __; Constable painting used by 2/3 activists in a protest action : HAYWAIN

13-across – Astrological sign represented by the scales of justice : LIBRA

15-across – Ethnic group from the Niger delta : OGONI

17-across – City on the Tigris : BAGHDAD

20-across – The __, Leonardo painting used by 2/3 activists in a protest action : LAST

21-across – A colourful parrot : LORIKEET

23-across – Polymath known for his 1959 lecture, The Two Cultures : CPSNOW

24-across – A town in Nottinghamshire but a city in New Jersey? : NEWARK

1-down – The sixth book of the Old Testament : JOSHUA

2-down – Campaign group seeking to end fossil fuel extraction by 2030 : JUST

3-down – See 2 : STOPOIL

4-down – The Berlin subway system : UBAHN

5-down – Vermeer painting used by 2/3 activists in a protest action : GIRLWITH

6-down – See 20 Across : SUPPER

12-down – Ray __, actor whose films include Sexy Beast and Black Widow : WINSTONE

14-down – See 5 : EARRING

16-down – Pomace brandy from Italy : GRAPPA

18-down – See 5 : APEARL

19-down – The profession of Krusty, Bozo and Joseph Grimaldi? : CLOWN

22-down – Fruit – or person – from New Zealand : KIWI

7-across – German political party led by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla : ALTERNATIVE

8-across – Saint __, Catholic theologian known for his Confessions : AUGUSTINE

9-across – See 5 Down : TOK

11-across – See 3 Down : DITALIA

13-across – Trevor __, comedian born a crime? : NOAH

14-across – Allen Ginsberg poem which begins, “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness” : HOWL

15-across – Suffolk port : IPSWICH

16-across – Epithet given to Richard I : THE

17-across – See 16 : LIONHEART

21-across – See 7 : DEUTSCHLAND

1-down – Hawaiian island that includes Honolulu : OAHU

2-down – Cornish town, a centre of the china clay industry : STAUSTELL

3-down – Italian political party led by Giorgia Meloni : FRATELLI

4-down – Golden __, now defunct Greek political party led by Nikolaos Michaloliakos : DAWN

5-down – Social media company known in China as Douyin : TIK

6-down – The __, Sir Edwin Luytens’s war memorial in Whitehall, London : CENOTAPH

10-down – Spike Lee thriller starring Denzel Washington : INSIDEMAN

11-down – Irish port north of Dublin : DROGHEDA

12-down – Anise-flavoured alcohol : ABSINTHE

18-down – The Arabic name for Jesus in Islam : ISSA

19-down – A Slavic parliament – or a drama school in London : RADA

20-down – See 7 Across : FUR

5-across – Piper Kerman’s 2010 memoir of her time in prison : ORANGE

7-across – Latin phrase meaning in the same place : IBIDEM

8-across – See other clues : DEAD

9-across – See other clues : NEWBLACK

10-across – Andrea __, feminist writer known for her critique of pornography : DWORKIN

13-across – See other clues : WOMAN

15-across – 23 __, semi-autobiographical Dostoevsky novel – or a video game also known as Curien Mansion : HOUSE

17-across – Garment, in Steve Bell cartoons, into which John Major tucked his shirt? : YFRONTS

20-across – Area of Paris associated with artists and writers : LEFTBANK

22-across – Line of __, BBC television series : DUTY

24-across – See other clues : VENICE

25-across – See other clues : SPIDER

1-down – Zack __, director known for his superhero films including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice : SNYDER

2-down – __ Slater, character in EastEnders played by Gillian Wright : JEAN

3-down – Area and bridge in central 24 : RIALTO

4-down – 23 __, Shakespeare play in which some action takes place on the 3 : MERCHANT

6-down – __ v. Wade; landmark US court case on abortion rights : ROE

7-down – US state that has banned almost all abortions following the overturning of 6 v. Wade : IOWA

11-down – Village in Shropshire, once one of the largest Roman cities in Britain : WROXETER

12-down – See other clues : IS

14-down – See other clues : OF

16-down – Isy __, comedian known for her radio show, Pearl and Dave : SUTTIE

18-down – London theatre in Waterloo : OLDVIC

19-down – A spice derived from nutmeg – or a brand of teargas : MACE

21-down – Manuel Puig’s novel set in an Argentinian prison; William Hurt starred in the film : KISS

23-down – See other clues : THE

7-across – French prime minister appointed September 2024 : MICHEL

8-across – __ Brezhnev, Soviet leader 1964-1982 : LEONID

9-across – Susannah __, actor remembered for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? : YORK

10-across – See 24 : SUNSHINE

11-across – 7/17’s predecessor in the role : GABRIEL

13-across – See 11 : ATTAL

15-across – Twyla __, choreographer : THARP

17-across – See 7 : BARNIER

20-across – Controversial owner of X : ELONMUSK

21-across – See 24 : MISS

23-across – Cultural exhibition held every two years in Italy : VENICE

24-across – 2006 comedy for which Abigail Breslin was nominated for an Oscar : LITTLE

1-down – Pejorative term for Republicans deemed insufficiently ideologically aligned : RINO

2-down – Member of a religious sect known for their minimalist furniture designs : SHAKER

3-down – Dramatic monologue by Tennyson beginning, “It little profits that an idle king … ” : ULYSSES

4-down – __ Close, actor who won a Golden Globe for her performance in The Wife : GLENN

5-down – Movie in which Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire danced cheek to cheek? : TOPHAT

6-down – See 23 Across : BIENNALE

12-down – Greek hero who slew Hector at the gates of Troy : ACHILLES

14-down – Elizabeth __, Victorian biographer : GASKELL

16-down – Ian __, author of the Rebus novels : RANKIN

18-down – Scottish slang for a fool : NUMPTY

19-down – W.H. __, poet whose works included Funeral Blues : AUDEN

22-down – Jonas __, developer of the first polio vaccine : SALK