GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD

ACROSS

6 Semiarid region of western and north central Africa extending from Senegal to Sudan (5) 7 A survey in which those who have just voted in an election are asked who they voted for (4,4) 10 A sailor or seafarer (7) 11 Landlocked Eastern European country whose capital is Chi inau (7) 12 A stoppage of trade imposed

for a time by an authority (7) 13 Middle East capital that lies

on the Tigris River (7) 14 Flag of ____ , a foreign one under which a ship is registered in order to avoid certain duties etc (11) 19 Cricket ground in London that includes the Vauxhall End (3,4) 21 To remain silent in order not

to reveal a secret (4,3) 23 Cristiano, Portuguese footballer who rejoined Manchester United FC in 2021 (7) 25 A highly toxic white compound used as a poison (7) 26 Describing a medical procedure that involves operating and entering the body’s interior (8) 27 Sharon, U.S. actress who played Cagney in the TV police procedural Cagney & Lacey (5)

DOWN

1 Having a childish innocent

face or like an angel (8) 2 Nigel, English actor who played hippie housemate Neil in TV sitcom The Young Ones (6) 3 An improvident, irresponsible

or lazy person (4-2-4) 4 ____ Payne, English singer/ songwriter who was in boy band One Direction (4) 5 An oval edible nutlike seed that is ground as an ingredient in macaroons (6) 6 ____ Bay, fictional seaside town in Australia that is the setting of TV soap Home and Away (6) 8 A figure with many straight

sides (7) 9 Single by Robbie Williams that

was a UK No 1 hit in 2012 (5) 13 One whose job is to build walls, houses and other structures with blocks of moulded clay (10) 15 A short literary work (7) 16 ____ Macron, French politician who became president in 2017 (8) 17 Noble house in Game of Thrones whose ancestral home is Winterfell (5) 18 Loose garments worn by artists over their other clothes to keep them clean (6) 20 The unusual warming of surface waters affecting the equatorial Pacific region (2,4) 22 A badge or symbol of dignity

of office (6) 24 The city of Akron, the onetime ‘Rubber Capital of the World’, is in this U.S. state (4)