QUIRKY WORLD ... Putin all set for Downward Dog challenge

RUSSIA: He’s flown with cranes, petted a polar bear, and tranquilised a tiger. Now Vladimir Putin is ready to face the Downward Dog.

In a meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in the Russian city of Ufa, the Russian president said he wants to try out the discipline of yoga.

Putin, speaking through a translator as the two met for a summit of the BRICS economic group, said “this is a very appealing kind of sport. I will consider what I can do in yoga, based on what I do in sports.”