Crossword Genius

Country's mostly malign atmosphere recalled (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

liberia

'country's' is the definition.
(Liberia is an example)

'mostly malign atmosphere recalled' is the wordplay.
'mostly' means to remove the last letter (most but not all of the word).
'malign' becomes 'libel' (I've seen this in another clue).
'atmosphere' becomes 'air' (synonyms).
'recalled' is a reversal indicator (to recall can mean to bring something back).
'air' in reverse letter order is 'ria'.
'libel' with its final letter taken away is 'libe'.
'libe'+'ria'='LIBERIA'

(Other definitions for liberia that I've seen before include "West African country, capital Monrovia" , "West African nation" , "Hot country" , "W. African nation" , "African country, established by the US in 1822" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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