No 9654, Tuesday, 06 Oct 09, Nita Jaggi

On board the LTT-Coimbatore express headed to Bangalore from Mumbai via Belgaum, taking the roundabout route due to the floods in Vijaywada area
ACROSS
8 - Piece of writing giving an editorial opinion? (7,7) - LEADING ARTICLE [E]
9 - Arrived with the regular real device (6) - {CAME}{R}{A}
10 - Old soldiers covering South Island at midnight are in returning an official symbol (8) - {IN{SI}{G}{NI<-}A}
11 - Enough for a Democratic leader to consider as the same (8) - {A}{D}{EQUATE}
13 - No one seems regularly making sounds (6) - {NO}{I}{S}{E}{S}
14 - Controls over an Inspector General, as naxalite head quits at last (6) - RE{IG}{N}{S}
16 - Support His Majesty before God (6) - {BRA}{HM}{A} Where did the second A come from
19 - Small wave on Rhode Island has the pupil every second on the boat (6) - {RI}{P}{P}{L}{E} The E boat appears again
21 - Not right to ban moral characters (8) - ABNORMAL*
23 - Passer-by has left money in the resort to be distributed (8) - STRO{L}{L}ER*
24 - It attracts you at the pole! (6) - MAGNET [E] Definitely not me
26 - United Nations in search for one noble trying to cover an Afghan leader universally recognised (14) - {UN}{QUEST}{I}{ON{A}BLE*}
DOWN
1 - No dealer will cut the shrub (8) - OLEANDER*
2 - Contest for a group of people (4) - RACE [DD]
3 - Paint a design on party decorations (6) - PINATA*
4 - Missing the first mark on it, odd ends exploded (7) - (-s)IGN{IT}{E}{D}
5 - One to get a life term! (8) - PRISONER [E] Not necessarily
6 - Catcher can fly this bird (10) - KINGFISHER [E]
7 - Fish for one in the street (6) - PLA{I}CE
12 - Give and take a pound for the queen only in the beginning (4,3,3) - {QUID} {PRO} {QU}{O}
15 - Without reason, want a smaller amount of money (8) - {NEED}{LESS}
17 - Got up to notice around a weak combination of bridge opponents (8) - A{WAKE}{NE}D
18 - Arab returning is outside the house in an island country (7) - {BA{H}RA<-}{IN}
20 - In a canvas shelter, with some purpose (6) - {IN}{TENT}
22 - Kind of ceremony initially not accepted in China (6) - {N}{A}{MING}
25 - American soldier sheltering an old boy on the desert (4) - G{OB}I