GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD WIN A LUXURY CROSS PEN

PLAY our accumulator game! Every day this week, solve the crossword to find the letter in the pink circle. On Friday, we’ll provide instructions to submit your five-letter word for your chance to win a luxury Cross pen. UK residents aged 18+, excl NI. Terms apply. Entries cost 50p.

ACROSS

1 Official announcements concerning matters of great importance (13)

8 A fragrant and

healing ointment (4)

9 A surprising and totally unknown fact that has been disclosed to others (10)

10 Perry the Bull was the one for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (6)

11 A thing kept as a reminder of a person, place or event (8)

12 Of a proposition or statement, universally accepted and logical (9)

14 A rugged cliff or rock face (4)

15 A deep black powdery substance from the incomplete burning of organic matter (4)

16 Enemy of Superman played on screen by Gene Hackman and Jesse Eisenberg (3,6)

20 Finnish national epic compiled from old ballads and incantations (8)

21 Arabian ____, opening song from Disney’s 1993 animated feature film Aladdin (6)

23 A powerful source of illumination in a sports ground, say (10)

24 The atmosphere of a place as communicated to and felt by others (4)

25 One who engages in commercial or political scheming (7-6)

DOWN

1 A body of troops or police officers standing or moving in close formation (7)

2 Early civilization in Central America noted for their colossal head statues (5)

3 ____ Lynn, U.S. country singer whose life featured in 1980 film Coal Miner’s Daughter (7)

4 Song by Maroon

5 featuring Christina Aguilera, which was released in 2011 (5,4,6)

5 Central text of rabbinic Judaism, consisting of the Mishnah and Gemara (6)

6 Expression meaning ‘in succession’ (2,3,4)

7 ____ gun, informal term for evidence showing someone’s involvement in a crime (7)

13 A region of thinning of the layer that protects the Earth from ultraviolet light (5,4)

15 A small bird with a glossy blue back, red throat and long tail streamers (7)

17 An arched aperture or window, especially in a domed ceiling (7)

18 The month whose birthstone is opal (7)

19 Of food prepared in accordance with Islamic practices (variant spelling) (6)

22 An auctioneer’s hammer (5)

SOLUTION TOMORROW