No 10654, Wednesday 26 Dec 12, Tester

Quite a straightforward test from Tester today.

ACROSS

7   Strong vessel causes suffering (8) HARDSHIP {HARD}{SHIP}

9   Immeasurably small heart of anatomical structure (6) ATOMIC [T]

10 Territorial Army follows American lawyer for information (4) DATA {DA}{TA}

11 Meddling with lethal item without respite (3,3,4) ALL THE TIME*

12 Bid to capture back the German (6) TENDER {TEN<=}{DER}

14 Encircle old city with ammunition after the first of September (8) SURROUND {S}{UR}{ROUND}

15 Help donkey first (6) ASSIST {ASS}{1'ST}

16 Renovated synagogue without you and reached a sacred river (6) GANGES SyNAGoGuE*

19 Am I surrounded by two-winged insects in these social units? (8) FAMILIES {F{AM}I}LIES}

21 People who extract ore lay explosive devices in front of Rajya Sabha (6) MINERS {MINE}{RS}

23 Type of visual communication that is avoided when lying (3,7) EYE CONTACT [CD]

24 Wharf built out of rock using Dinar instead of Rand (4) DOCK (-r+d)DOCK

25 Sick Queen behind King is a slayer (6) KILLER {K}{ILL}{ER}

26 Carry out the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit (8) EXERCISE [E]

DOWN

1   Made changes with silver to inflict harm (6) DAMAGE {DAM{AG}E*}

2   Thought from middleman making regular sacrifices (4) IDEA mIdDlEmAn

3   The rates are abnormal for these rooms in hospital (8) THEATRES*

4   Kind of unusual heat on the outskirts of Raipur (6) RATHER {Ram{HEAT*}puR}

5   Instrument played to hug Norma (5,5) MOUTH ORGAN*

6   Maid came back on the first of December with small gemstones (8) DIAMONDS {DIAM<=}{ON}{D}{S}

8   Refine constabulary by sacking engineer maintaining silence (6) POLISH {POLIce}{SH}

13 Clearly Diana isn’t bemused by chance to love you first (10) DISTINCTLY {DI}{ISN'T*}{C}{T}{L}{Y}

15 Short answer about gangster and unknown sub-inspector leads to a kind of detailed examination (8) ANALYSIS {AN{AL}{Y}{SI}S}

17 Abstainer wearing strange diadem was allowed to enter (8) ADMITTED {ADMI{TT}ED*}

18 Heartlessly calculate the approximate worth of landed property (6) ESTATE ESTimATE

20 Give little attention to Italian man scratching head (6) IGNORE sIGNORE

22 Respite from tax after the start of recent events (6) RECESS {R}{E}{CESS}

24 Avoid zero in cricket (4) DUCK [DD]

LINK TO SOLUTION GRID