7-across – An official language of Nigeria also spoken in 4 : YORUBA

8-across – __-Romagna,region of Italy : EMILIA

9-across – __ Dufresne,character in The Shawshank Redemption played by Tim Robbins : ANDY

10-across – Body of water surrounding the Isle of Man : IRISHSEA

11-across – Willy __,former chancellor of West Germany : BRANDT

13-across – T.S. __,author of The Waste Land : ELIOT

15-across – Country bordered by Somalia and Tanzania : KENYA

17-across – The Greek capital : ATHENS

20-across – Term for an internet furore,often involving trolling : FLAMEWAR

21-across – Hot sauce made from chilli peppers : PIRI

22-across – Spider in Ghanaian folklore : ANANSI

23-across – Exclamation attributed to Archimedes in his bath : EUREKA

1-down – Biscuit made from rolled oats : HOBNOB

2-down – __ Barton,character who appears in a series of novels by Elizabeth Strout : LUCY

3-down – __ Wormwood,title character in Roald Dahl’s novel : MATILDA

4-down – Country bordered by Togo and Nigeria : BENIN

5-down – Young player of the Women’s Euro 2025 : MICHELLE

6-down – Senator and sceptic in ancient Rome : CICERO

12-down – See 5 : AGYEMANG

14-down – Sir Keir __,toolmaker’s son : STARMER

16-down – London district associated with 1950s comedies : EALING

18-down – Bird also known as a butcherbird : SHRIKE

19-down – Mark __,pseudonym of Samuel Clemens : TWAIN

21-down – See 21 Across : PIRI

6-across – 1955 teen movie starring James Dean and Natalie Wood : REBELWITHOUTA

8-across – Small sac in the body usually containing fluid : CYST

9-across – National park in central California : YOSEMITE

10-across – 1995 teen movie starring Alicia Silverstone : CLUELESS

12-across – Billy __,singer known especially for Piano Man : JOEL

13-across – __ of the Apostles,New Testament book : ACTS

15-across – Elena __,author of My Brilliant Friend : FERRANTE

18-across – Dauphinoise potatoes,also known as potatoes __? : AUGRATIN

20-across – 1985 teen movie starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd : BACK

21-across – Recurrent anthropomorphic character in European fables,known for his cunning : REYNARDTHEFOX

1-down – Dr Henry __,sometimes known as Mr Hyde : JEKYLL

2-down – 1988 teen movie starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater : HEATHERS

3-down – Patrick __,star of Dirty Dancing : SWAYZE

4-down – What occurs when all forces are equal and opposing? : STASIS

5-down – Videoconferencing company founded by Eric Yuan : ZOOM

7-down – See 20 Across : TOTHE

11-down – __ Barker retired tennis champion and television presenter : SUE

12-down – Singer known especially for Diamonds and Rust : JOANBAEZ

14-down – See 6 Across : CAUSE

15-down – See 20 Across : FUTURE

16-down – __ Tebaldi,soprano : RENATA

17-down – Arizona city close to the Mexican border : TUCSON

19-down – The South African currency : RAND

6-across – An official language of 7/24 : TSWANA

8-across – Steve __,actor who plays Alan Partridge : COOGAN

9-across – RAF pigeon which delivered the first news of the Normandy Landings on 20 : GUSTAV

10-across – Mendicant monk also known as Siddhartha Gautama : BUDDHA

11-across – Dutch city,home to the International Court of Justice : THEHAGUE

14-across – Adrian __,Sue Townsend’s literary diarist : MOLE

15-across – Abbreviation appearing on the insignia of the Roman Empire : SPQR

17-across – Ian McEwan novel set during the protests against the 2003 invasion of Iraq : SATURDAY

19-across – __ Road,Leeds FC’s home ground : ELLAND

21-across – __ Khrushchev,former leader of the Soviet Union : NIKITA

23-across – Catholic university in Chicago : LOYOLA

24-across – See 7 Down : AFRICA

1-down – The first of the Simpson children? : BART

2-down – Learning from __,classic 1972 architectural text by Robert Venturi,Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour : LASVEGAS

3-down – Fungal disease affecting apples and pears : SCAB

4-down – Nadine __,Nobel prize winner from 7/24 : GORDIMER

5-down – Graça __,former first lady of both Mozambique and 7/24 : MACHEL

7-down – Country which celebrates Women’s Day today,9 August : SOUTH

12-down – See 16 : HERMANOS

13-down – A citizen of Tallinn? : ESTONIAN

16-down – Los __,restaurant chain run by Gus Fring in Breaking Bad : POLLOS

18-down – Empire in what is now Mexico : AZTEC

20-down – 6 June 1944 : DDAY

22-down – __ Marx,author of Capital : KARL

6-across – Wile E. __,animated Looney Tunes character : COYOTE

7-across – Legendary Scottish monster,a frequent subject for the 15/24 : NESSIE

9-across – US band whose hits include Losing My Religion : REM

10-across – Escaped pigs who became a media sensation in 1998 : TAMWORTH

11-across – Band fronted by Debbie Harry : BLONDIE

13-across – What the squirrels of south London were eating,according to what could have been a 2005 15/24 story? : CRACK

15-across – The __,slow news – or no news – days of summer : SILLY

17-across – The capital of Sicily : PALERMO

20-across – Shropshire market town known for its iron age forts : OSWESTRY

21-across – See 10 : TWO

23-across – Carp whose death was a 15/24 story in 2009 : BENSON

24-across – See 15 : SEASON

1-down – See 2 : MOOR

2-down – Area of Cornwall whose eponymous beast is a frequent 15/24 story : BODMIN

3-down – Boris __,Russian president 1991-1999 : YELTSIN

4-down – Japanese hand-drawn and computer-generated animation : ANIME

5-down – Catholic term for holy communion administered as part of the last rites : VIATICUM

8-down – Kent’s second river,after the Medway : STOUR

12-down – Irish province including the counties of Dublin and Wexford : LEINSTER

14-down – Trinidadian music genre : CALYPSO

16-down – A city in Yorkshire – or a castle in Kent? : LEEDS

18-down – Sitcom written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant : EXTRAS

19-down – Emma __,star of La La Land : STONE

22-down – Woodwind instrument : OBOE

1-across – Jedi master played by Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor : OBI

3-across – Prince Andrei Nikolayevich __,protagonist in War and Peace : BOLKONSKY

8-across – Brand name for the antidepressant Fluoxetine : PROZAC

10-across – French city known for its motorsports : LEMANS

11-across – France’s first lady? : BRIGITTE

12-across – __ Ruth,baseball player : BABE

13-across – The Roman goddess of wisdom : MINERVA

17-across – Norman __,author of The Pursuit of the Millennium : COHN

18-across – Forest __,star of The Last King of Scotland : WHITAKER

20-across – Bay of __,sea area between India and Myanmar : BENGAL

21-across – See 11 : MACRON

22-across – See 2 Down : STREISAND

23-across – See 1 : WAN

2-down – Actor who has won an Academy award for best song and for best actress : BARBRA

4-down – Language spoken in south-west France : OCCITAN

5-down – Singer whose hits include I Should Be So Lucky : KYLIE

6-down – Country once known as South West Africa : NAMIBIA

7-down – See 1 Across : KENOBI

9-down – Albania’s king from 1928 to 1939 : ZOG

13-down – See 5 : MINOGUE

14-down – Oscar-winning film starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman : RAINMAN

15-down – The __,body of water between the Isle of Wight and the British mainland : SOLENT

16-down – Italian city whence came two gentlemen in Shakespeare’s play : VERONA

18-down – Jimmy __,internet entrepreneur and founder of Wikipedia : WALES

19-down – South Africa’s ruling party since 1994 : ANC