Hard Numbers: Canada goes COVID “zero,” US blue-collar boom, Russia’s call-up calamities, British books lighten up

September 26, 2022

A traveler walks past a "Mandatory COVID Testing" sign at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

0: Starting on Oct. 1, the Canadian government will impose zero COVID-related restrictions on international travelers. The Canucks’ vax requirements were lauded by public health experts, but they touched off a trucker-led occupation of downtown Ottawa and messed with US pro sports teams’ travel plans.

67,000: US factories now employ 67,000 more people than they did at the start of the pandemic as inflation and supply chain bottlenecks drive a US manufacturing sector job boom unlike any seen in 50 years.

54: Since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, at least 54 Russian army recruitment centers have been attacked, with 17 of those incidents coming in the days since Vladimir Putin issued call-up orders last week, according to the independent Russian outlet Mediazona. On Monday, a man opened fire at a draft office in Siberia, wounding one official.

70: With paper costs rising as much as 70% this year, British publishers are making books from flimsier stock and pressing their editors to, well, edit more.

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After a season of upheavals, Chile goes back to the polls

Supporters of Jose Antonio Kast, presidential candidate of the far-right Republican Party, wave Chilean flags as they attend one of Kast's last closing campaign rallies, ahead of the November 16 presidential election, in Santiago, Chile, on November 11, 2025.

REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

This Sunday, close to 16 million Chilean voters will head to the polls in a starkly polarized presidential election shaped by rising fears of crime and immigration.

Viewpoint: When Chinese robots replace service jobs

A robot waiter, serving drinks at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair, in Paris, on May 24, 2024.

Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect

Imagine sitting down at a restaurant, speaking your order into your menu, and immediately watching a robot arrive with your food. Imagine the food being made quickly, precisely — and without a human involved, because the entire restaurant is fully roboticized.

Hard Numbers: Canada goes COVID “zero,” US blue-collar boom, Russia’s call-up calamities, British books lighten up

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Imagine sitting down at a restaurant, speaking your order into your menu, and immediately watching a robot arrive with your food. Imagine the food being made quickly, precisely — and without a human involved, because the entire restaurant is fully roboticized.

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More from GZERO Media

Why the next financial crisis might already be underway—and why no one’s talking about it.

Ian breaks down the history of economic bubbles–from tulips to tech–and asks whether AI is the next one to pop.

Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.

This Sunday, close to 16 million Chilean voters will head to the polls in a starkly polarized presidential election shaped by rising fears of crime and immigration.

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Argentina’s president Javier Milei inherited inflation that was over 200%, but after 18 consecutive months of it falling, it now stands at just 31%.

Imagine sitting down at a restaurant, speaking your order into your menu, and immediately watching a robot arrive with your food. Imagine the food being made quickly, precisely — and without a human involved, because the entire restaurant is fully roboticized.