7-across – __ Chang,author of Wild Swans : JUNG

8-across – Krypton’s most famous son? : SUPERMAN

9-across – See 17 : ARDERN

10-across – Dennis __,former NBA basketball player known for his friendship with Kim Jong-un : RODMAN

11-across – Jazz standard recorded by Billie Holiday,Frank Sinatra,Willie Nelson and others : ALLOFME

13-across – The Biggest Little City in the World? : RENO

15-across – Hugo __,German fashion house : BOSS

17-across – Former prime minister of New Zealand : JACINDA

20-across – Ian McEwan novel published in 2025 : WHATWE

21-across – Diane __,star of Annie Hall and The Godfather : KEATON

23-across – Italian liqueur from Saronno : AMARETTO

24-across – __ Mountains,marking a boundary between Europe and Asia : URAL

1-down – Angela __,character played by Olivia Colman in The Night Manager : BURR

2-down – Sergio __,Manchester City’s record goal scorer : AGUERO

3-down – Giant wave caused by underwater tectonic shifts : TSUNAMI

4-down – Dame Muriel __,author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie : SPARK

5-down – The __ Report,online news aggregator : DRUDGE

6-down – Manga series about Musashi Miyamoto : VAGABOND

12-down – Puccini opera set in Paris : LABOHEME

14-down – See 20 Across : CANKNOW

16-down – The Rings of __,book by W.G. Sebald : SATURN

18-down – Character who flew too close to the sun? : ICARUS

19-down – W.B. __,poet who asked us to “tread softly because you tread on my dreams” : YEATS

22-down – Country bordered by Yemen and UAE : OMAN

1-across – John __,leader of the Scottish National Party : SWINNEY

5-across – See 22 Down : PARTY

8-across – As __ – how Blair et al were elected and how they planned to govern in 1997? : NEW

9-across – Macedonian king : ALEXANDER

10-across – Henry,Jane,Peter,Bridget __ – acting dynasty : FONDA

11-across – The __,Lancastrian dynasty? : TUDORS

13-across – Bernard __,Margaret Thatcher’s press secretary : INGHAM

15-across – Tom __,friend of Becky and Huckleberry : SAWYER

18-across – Peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 : CRIMEA

20-across – A Russian country house : DACHA

23-across – Section of the Eucharist during which the wine and bread are brought to the altar : OFFERTORY

24-across – Abbreviation to describe soldiers whose fate is uncertain : MIA

25-across – __ Witherspoon,star of Legally Blonde : REESE

26-across – Sears,__ and Co. – US store chain : ROEBUCK

1-down – We Ourselves? Political 5 across in Ireland : SINNFEIN

2-down – A native of Des Moines? : IOWAN

3-down – __ Falls,popular honeymoon destination in New York State : NIAGARA

4-down – __ Cooper,foreign secretary : YVETTE

5-down – Welsh nationalist 5 across : PLAID

6-down – Military force first created by Leon Trotsky : REDARMY

7-down – County of which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is no longer duke? : YORK

12-down – Extinct flightless bird also known as a garefowl : GREATAUK

14-down – The __ and the Pelly and Me – Roald Dahl novel : GIRAFFE

16-down – Area of north Belfast bordered by the Crumlin Road : ARDOYNE

17-down – See 8 Across : LABOUR

19-down – Samuel __ co-creator of his eponymous telegraph code : MORSE

21-down – See 5 : CYMRU

22-down – Political grouping led by Corbyn,Sultana and others : YOUR

1-across – See 15 Down : VERSAILLES

6-across – See 15 Down : OF

9-across – Charlotte __,England cricket coach : EDWARDS

10-across – US state,capital Boise : IDAHO

11-across – __ Cherry,Swedish rapper : NENEH

12-across – Danish peninsula,scene of a famous naval battle in 1916 : JUTLAND

13-across – __ Accords,1978 peace agreements between Egypt and Israel : CAMPDAVID

17-across – 1978 song by the Police : ROXANNE

19-across – Acronym for a device that amplifies and emits light : LASER

21-across – Hawaiian greeting : ALOHA

22-across – Christian __,Danish footballer who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing in Euro 2020 : ERIKSEN

23-across – Restaurant chain known for its conveyor belt of dishes : YO

24-across – Scotland’s ‘big county’ : PERTHSHIRE

1-down – Congress of __,where peace in Europe was agreed,following the Napoleonic wars : VIENNA

2-down – __ Williams,archbishop of Canterbury 2002 – 2012 : ROWAN

3-down – __ Accords,set of agreements establishing diplomatic ties between Israel and a number of Arab states : ABRAHAM

4-down – The __,Michelangelo fresco in the Sistine Chapel : LASTJUDGEMENT

5-down – George __,author of The Mill on the Floss : ELIOT

7-down – Norwegian coastal inlets : FJORDS

8-down – Le __ enchaîné,French satirical and investigative magazine : CANARD

13-down – William __ credited with introducing the printing press to England : CAXTON

14-down – The Lithuanian capital : VILNIUS

15-down – Peace agreement following the first world war : TREATY

16-down – Lucy __,England and Chelsea footballer : BRONZE

18-down – Airey __,aide to Margaret Thatcher murdered by car bomb in March 1939 : NEAVE

20-down – See 23 Across : SUSHI

7-across – Pablo __,Chilean politician and Nobel prize-winning poet : NERUDA

8-across – Val Kilmer’s nickname in Top Gun : ICEMAN

9-across – Body of water sometimes called the pond? : ATLANTICOCEAN

10-across – Ben E. King’s song – and one by Oasis : STAND

12-across – The Swedish parliament : RIKSDAG

14-across – Baroness Rosie __,co-founder of Spare Rib : BOYCOTT

16-across – Billy __,folk musician known for A New England : BRAGG

19-across – Climate activist born this day 2003 : GRETATHUNBERG

21-across – __ Cavanagh,Emmerdale character played by Mimi Slinger : LEANNA

22-across – What the 8 does in the title of a 1939 play by Eugene O’Neill? : COMETH

1-down – A musical group with six members : SEXTET

2-down – Hebridean island – or mountains between France and Switzerland : JURA

3-down – Island country in the Mediterranean : MALTA

4-down – Guy __,director of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare : RITCHIE

5-down – South American trader organisation also known as the Southern Common Market : MERCOSUR

6-down – __ Yousafzai,activist and Nobel laureate : MALALA

11-down – Addictive alkaloid found in tobacco : NICOTINE

13-down – Jason __,frequent collaborator with 4 : STATHAM

15-down – Edna __,author of The Country Girls : OBRIEN

17-down – Sir __ Southgate,former football manager : GARETH

18-down – Plant also known as Adam’s needle : YUCCA

20-down – See 10 Across : BYME

7-across – __ Sophia,mosque in Istanbul : HAGIA

8-across – Church on the Île de la Cité in Paris : NOTRE

9-across – See 8 : DAME

10-across – Rope bind commonly used in sail riggings : REEFKNOT

11-across – The __,comic strip by Gary Larson : FARSIDE

12-across – Günter __,author of The Tin Drum : GRASS

15-across – The Bulgarian capital : SOFIA

17-across – Landmark structure in St Louis,said to be where “the West” begins : GATEWAY

20-across – Japanese city whose Christian churches are recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site : NAGASAKI

22-across – Common name for powdered magnesium silicate : TALC

23-across – See 19 Down : COEUR

24-across – __ the Line,Johnny Cash’s signature song : IWALK

1-down – Fortified mission in San Antonio,Texas,besieged by Mexican troops in 1836 : THEALAMO

2-down – White long-legged wading birds : EGRETS

3-down – Barcelona church designed by Gaudí : SAGRADA

4-down – London Tube station between King’s Cross and Old Street : ANGEL

5-down – Bram __,author of Dracula : STOKER

6-down – Roman emperor,preceded by Claudius : NERO

13-down – Tchaikovsky ballet telling the story of Siegfried and Odette : SWANLAKE

14-down – See 3 : FAMILIA

16-down – __ Hardman,author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians : ISABEL

18-down – BBC sitcom starring Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant : EXTRAS

19-down – Basilica on Montmartre,Paris : SACRE

21-down – See 17 Across : ARCH