FACTFINDER’S CROSSWORD

HUGH JOHNSON

ACROSS

1 Oxford-born novelist (1893 - 1957) who created the gentleman detective, Lord Peter Wimsey (7,6) 10 The lower house of the Norwegian parliament (9) 11 In composition, relating to the nervous system (5) 12 A tendency to remain unchanged (7) 13 City in Belgium (pop 510,000), with a 14th century Gothic cathedral (7) 14 A medieval peasant’s overcoat (6) 16 Example or principle that people want to follow (lit) (8) 18 A railway guide (1839 - 1961) (8) 20 Small tree-dwelling marsupial, native to Australasia (6) 23 Country in north-east Africa (45,400 sq miles; pop about 6 million), independent since 1993 (7) 24 Hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood (7) 26 A small wingless parasitic insect (5) 27 Large island in the south-west Pacific (299,310 sq miles; pop about 12.5 million (3,6) 28 Israeli politician (1913 - 92), awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 (8,5)

DOWN

2 An elliptical dormer window (2-3) 3 A species of sturgeon (7) 4 Island in the South China Sea (12,700 sq miles; pop about 8 million) (6) 5 Giant cactus plants native to North America (8) 6 River in Asia rising near the Tibet border and flowing 3,964 miles into the East China Sea (7) 7 Cylinders used to curl hair or wigs (9) 8 Large insect found in the tropical forests of Africa (7,6) 9 Characterised by division into separate sections (13) 15 A title given to patriarchs in the Orthodox Church (9) 17 A grassy, largely treeless plain in tropical and subtropical regions (8) 19 South American bird related to the cranes and rails (7) 21 Not clearly expressed or understood (7) 22 A native American dome-shaped hut (6) 25 Long cloth used as a loin-cloth, sash, turban, etc (5)