TAG Teaser 17 - Countries!

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Across
  1. 3. Home of blinys, borscht and beef stroganoff... plus vodka (such as Moscow's Smirnoff)! (6)
  2. 4. Home to spaghetti, pizza, lasagna and ragu... plus Roma, Juventus and Inter Milan too! (5)
  3. 5. Here you can eat croissants and see the Eiffel Tower! Or sail on the Seine for many an hour! (6)
  4. 9. The home of Buddha, Bollywood and the Taj Mahal... curry came from here, plus the daal! (5)
  5. 10. From Lisbon to Porto, the Algarve and Faldo... this is the country of Cristiano Ronaldo! (8)
  6. 11. The rain in ????? falls mainly on the plain? But in Madrid or Seville, there's not much rain! (5)
  7. 13. This is the Land of the Rising Sun... samurai, Sushi, plus lots more fun! (5)
  8. 15. The country of St George, the Tower of London... and cricket? Ride on the Tube (if you have a ticket)! (7)
Down
  1. 1. This sounds like a bird eaten at Christmas (or Yule)? But it's hot in Ankara (and Istanbul)! (6)
  2. 2. Land of the Pharaohs, the pyramids and the Nile... why not go to Luxor or Cairo for a while? (5)
  3. 4. Land of leprechauns, Guinness and St Patrick? Plus Robbie Keane... who scored them a hat-trick! (7)
  4. 6. Down Under? Get your didgeridoo... watch out for wallabies (and kangaroos too)! (9)
  5. 7. Get your sombrero ready, let the Mariachi band play... we're South of the Border, down ?????? Way? (6)
  6. 8. Home of tartan, kilts, haggis and claymores... plus The Advisory Group, of course! (8)
  7. 12. Near to 6-DOWN, across the Tasman Sea... the islands of Māori, All-Blacks and the Kiwi! (3,7)
  8. 14. This far east country has it all... a Forbidden City and a Great Wall! (5)