Three pages of puzzles to enjoy this weekend
How much do you know about the world? Test yourself today ...
ACROSS
1 Natives of the smallest of the Persian Gulf states (9) 6 Soft-soled canvas shoes (8) 10 Playing cards symbolising one (4) 15 Offspring of a bird whose group term is known as parliament (5) 16 The focus of COP26 to be held in the Glasgow SEC Centre later this year (7,6)
17 In which the size of horses is measured (5)
18 US term for a prison van (6,5) 19 Stage name of Scots musician Jim Ure (5)
20 Greek Muse of music (7) 21 (Latin) one who is not welcome/ desired (7,3,5)
22 Carved grotesque figures in Gothic architecture (9)
23 Ivy League university in Connecticut (4)
25 Style of cooking lobster in a mustard sauce (9) 27 Connective tissue joining muscle and bone (6)
30 Member of the British 7th Armoured Division based in N Africa 1941-2 (6,3)
32 Pertaining to the Roman mythical hero who undertook the Twelve Labours (9) 33 Photographic company founded by George Eastman in 1888 (5) 35 Politician who succeeded Donald Dewar as First Minister of Scotland (5,7)
36 Area forming the main eastern length of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh (3,9)
37 Play by Oscar Wilde, 'An — Husband' (5)
38 Nationality of model, Gisele Bündchen (9)
40 Thin circles of dough fried until crisp served as appetisers in Indian restaurants (9)
41 Bird historically also called papingo in Scotland (6)
44 Big wheel overlooking the Thames, also known as the Millennium Wheel (6,3)
47 Surname of the person who voiced 'Princess Fiona' in the 'Shrek' films (4)
51 Historically, a call for bystanders to help in apprehending a criminal (3,3,3)
53 Operation Deepscan in 1987 was undertaken to potentially locate this (4,4,7)
55 Someone in charge of receiving and paying of money (7) 56 Song by Little Willie John and famously covered by Peggy Lee in 1958 (5)
57 Protective structure of a leatherback or hawksbill, for example (6,5) 58 To move around in search of prey (5)
59 Something certain to happen (13) 60 Bampot (5)
61 Birds such as puffins or guillemots (4)
62 Forename of the actor who played 'Han Solo' in the 'Star Wars' films (8)
63 A mid-morning snack (9)
DOWN
1 Tube through which a pellet might be projected using a sharp exhalation (8)
2 Pistol-case attached to a belt (7) 3 Dark-matter expert Prof Heymans is the first woman appointed as Scotland's — (10,5)
4 Tie or boa, perhaps (8) 5 Fairground amusement i n the shape of a sea-going vessel (9) 6 Scotsman, James Hall Nasmyth is credited with the invention of this engineering tool (5,6) 7 Animal of Australia and New Guinea sometimes called spiny anteater (7)
8 1990 comedy film in which Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an undercover policeman (12,3)
9 Small cervine animal (3,4)
11 The lowest musical voice in women (9)
12 Alfred Hitchcock was known as the 'Master of —' (8) 13 Surname of the Dunfermline-born industrialist who led the US steel industry (8)
14 In Dumfries and Galloway, the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland (8) 24 According to a saying, what makes the heart grow fonder (7) 26 Former French title used for the eldest son of the king (7) 27 Hand-tool used to cut sheet metal (8)
28 A piece of masonry used as a missile; critical remark (8) 29 People participating in a sport going down a snowy slope on runners (6)
30 Flower native to Central America and the national flower of Mexico (6)
31 Final Conan Doyle novel featuring 'Sherlock Holmes' (3,6,2,4) 32 Coarse woven material getting its name from a German state (7) 33 Region also known as The Mearns (15)
34 Character played by Gary Oldman in a 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film (7)
39 Political boundary dividing Europe in two until the end of the Cold War (4,7)
42 Alternative name for the feature in Australia known as Uluru (5,4) 43 Nonsense word i nvented by Edward Lear, paired with the word 'spoon' in 'The Owl and the Pussy-cat' (8)
45 Name of 'Doc Brown's' dog in the 'Back to the Future' trilogy (8) 46 Meaning formerly working for the armed forces (2-7)
48 Base ingredient of hummus (8) 49 Worker (8) 50 High-ranking members of the clergy (8)
52 Island on which Napoleon Bonaparte was born (7)
53 Overly pretentious theatrical actors (7)
54 The absolute worst thing (3,4)