Explainer

Science & tech

At 11.14am on 19 January 2038, some computers will decide it is 1901. The bug has already struck three times

Many computers keep time by counting seconds from midnight on 1 January 1970, and older systems store that count in a box that tops…

13 hours ago 5 min read

World

COP31’s last week comes down to two words, “just transition”. Here is what they mean and who pays

The UN climate summit in Antalya enters its final week with Australia's Chris Bowen chairing the negotiations and a draft deal on a "just…

13 hours ago 5 min read

Business

The last time America taxed Australian lamb, the tariff hit 40 per cent. Here is how this case works, and what a 3-3 tie means

A US trade panel has split 3-3 on whether imported lamb, three-quarters of it Australian, has seriously hurt American sheep farmers, and US law…

Yesterday 6 min read

Business

Xero is spending up to A$1 billion on its own shares. Here is how a buy-back works, and who really gains

A share buy-back is a company using its own cash to purchase its shares and cancel them, so every remaining share owns a bigger…

2 days ago 6 min read

Australia

Why does Australia have only one Q fever vaccine, and what happens now it has run out?

Australia's only Q fever vaccine, Q-VAX, is running out this week after manufacturing faults, and its maker expects no new stock until late December.…

3 days ago 4 min read

Australia

How do you name a soldier 109 years after he died? The shirt, the German lists and the DNA behind Australia’s search for its missing

This week 11 Australian soldiers buried as unknowns on the Western Front got their names back. The work behind each one joins century-old paperwork,…

4 days ago 6 min read