Can Ukraine restore its pre-war borders? Why are Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine a'red line' for Russia? Is Russia testing NATO with aerial incursions in Europe? Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine on Saturday killed at least five people, while also cutting power to parts of the southern Odesa region, the AFP news agency reported, citing local officials. Two of the victims were killed in an attack on a church in Kostiantynivka in eastern Donetsk, AFP said.

They rise to 70ft (21 metres), tilt forward and zip away in different directions, each carrying a paper bag. On a sleepy morning in the Irish capital the takeoffs build to a steady one every few minutes, with barely anyone glancing at the constant stream of aircraft buzzing back and forth. "No one's looking up – no one ever looks up," says the man responsible, Bobby Healy, the founder of the Dublin startup Manna Aero. People probably should take notice, because the drones are part of an effort to realise an ambition shared by Amazon, the Google sister company Wing and the Californian startup Zipline: instant, autonomous home delivery. Healy and his big-tech rivals hope drone delivery will change the course of the retail industry across Ireland, and then into the UK as soon as this year.

On a bluff south of San Francisco overlooking the Pacific Ocean, an electric motor whips a drone built by startup Zipline off a catapult launch ramp beside me and into the air on a test flight. The aircraft, with a fixed-wing design resembling that of a conventional airplane, pilots itself north, plans its approach based on the wind direction, makes a sweeping turn and drops a box of Band-Aids, Advil and Tums by parachute onto the grass a few yards in front of me. Drone deliveries could be dropping into your life, too, as the technology involved matures and expands beyond isolated test projects. In 2023, drones could replace vans and your own trip to the store when you need medicine, takeout dinners, cordless drill batteries or dishwasher soap. Today, Alphabet Wing drones reach hundreds of thousands of people in Australia, Finland and Texas and will expand its service in 2023, according to Jonathan Bass, who runs marketing for the business.

Dublin has long been home to Big Tech's European outposts, drawn by low taxes and Ireland's position as the only English-speaking country in the European Union. Historically, however, this has negatively affected local startups: Big salaries and cushy positions at Big Tech companies made it difficult for smaller, nimbler companies to compete. That situation is finally changing: "Over the past few years, the culture has shifted away from Big Tech," says Nicola McClafferty, chair of the Irish Venture Capital Association and a partner in Molten Ventures, a venture capital firm operating in Ireland. "We're seeing more and more people and talent wanting to come out of those companies, and really thinking about joining earlier-stage and high-growth startups." That's in part down to Irish startup successes like communications platform Intercom and payments system Stripe, which have proven homegrown wins are possible.

Headlines were made earlier this year when a new rapper dropped new music on – where else – TikTok. Tens of millions of followers signed up to listen to songs powered not by artistic nous but artificial intelligence (AI). Are rappers just the latest cohort of the jobs market to fall foul of AI and its staggering potential? We have been warned for years that AI is poised to take over the world of work, with many jobs simply ceasing to exist as machines finally win the war against man. We already know it can beat us at chess.