Russia calls on BRICS to build an orbital alliance
Russia has come out in favor of creating a BRICS Space Council. Sergei Krikalev, deputy head of Roscosmos, announced this at a meeting of the heads of space agencies in Bangalore, India. The new body would oversee joint projects already underway, review fresh initiatives, and make decisions on promising new directions. Given the growing number of member states, the Council would also become a platform for exchanging views on trends in the space industry.
700 kilometers with no hands on the wheel: a robot truck drove from Moscow to St. Petersburg
Yandex’s self-driving truck became the first in Russia to cover around 700 km along the M-11 «Neva» highway entirely in autonomous mode. A test driver sat in the seat but never touched the controls. The AI-based system overtook slow-moving vehicles on its own, navigated around roadwork zones, and passed through toll booths; the only stop was a scheduled one for the driver’s rest. Maneuvers at roughly 90 km/h required precise braking-distance calculations, and the AI predicted the behavior of the vehicles around it.
Brazil turns to China for yuan: a record $735 million «panda bond» debut
Brazil plans to issue «panda bonds» — bonds denominated in yuan — for the first time, in an amount of up to 5 billion yuan (around $735 million), which would be the largest debut of its kind by a foreign government in China. Finance Minister Dario Durigan called the move a «test» that will help private Brazilian companies gain a foothold in the world’s second-largest market and hedge against currency risk on the Brazilian real. Brazil would become the fifth sovereign issuer this year — after Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Slovenia, and Hungary — to enter China’s domestic debt market.
BRICS gathers small business in Agra
On June 19, 2026, India hosted the First BRICS SME Forum and the third meeting of the working group on small and medium-sized enterprises in Agra. The event brought together politicians, business leaders, and entrepreneurs from BRICS member states and partners — from Brazil and China to Vietnam and Uzbekistan — to discuss strengthening global SME ecosystems. The forum aims to boost cooperation among BRICS countries and help small businesses reach the global stage.
A park of the future, drawn by AI: Dubai launches the world’s first contest with prizes
Dubai has announced the world’s first AI-powered park design contest, inviting architects, urban planners, students, and tech innovators from around the world to reimagine Al Safa 2 Park. Participants must develop master plans that improve sustainability, accessibility, and quality of life, while demonstrating the use of AI at every stage — though final decisions remain with humans. The total prize fund is 200,000 dirhams (about $54,500): 100,000 for first place (about $27,200), 65,000 for second (about $17,700), and 35,000 for third (about $9,500). Submissions are accepted until August 15, 2026, and the winners will be chosen with input from ordinary city residents as well.
