Political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) who attended a meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday came away with a sense of optimism: restoration of Statehood is somewhere on the horizon, even if a total reversal of the withdrawal of the special status remains unlikely. The meeting itself was a surprise, and came at a time when expectations of any quick resolution were very low. But the fact that a spectrum of political leaders got the invitation from the Centre without any set pre-conditions had raised hopes of progress. Eventually, the meeting gave reason to Kashmir’s political class to believe in possibilities that did not seem to exist just a week earlier. But restoration of Statehood to J&K, which was reorganised as two Union Territories, should be the first step in the revival of the democratic political process and not the culmination of some elaborate negotiation strategy. Mr. Modi described the meeting as an “important step in the ongoing efforts
Conservative play is often international football’s bugbear. National team players spend very little time together for attacking structures and synchronous moves to develop, and a safety-first approach always seems around the corner. Ahead of Euro 2020, there were fears that players will be less on the front foot because of the physical and mental toll the COVID-19 pandemic had exacted. By that yardstick, Euro 2020 has thus far proved to be an entertaining fare, with the enthralling play matching the energy of the returning fans. Compared to the previous edition’s group stage, there have been 25 goals more (94 to 69) and four fewer matches with one goal or less (10 to 14), with just two goalless draws (down from four). Overall, 15 of the 16 countries in the knockouts have a better group stage record than champion Portugal five years ago. Top sides such as the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Spain have not moved away from their lively, pressing style of football, despite the tournament
