to check for signs of life - and contact people trapped underground. we are also speeding up the cleaning of the main shaft, and drilling other rescue holes. poorly enforced safety regulations mean mining accidents in china are not uncommon, but a day s delay in reporting this one after the initial explosion by the exit of the goldmine under construction has already cost two officials theirjobs, as questions remain over the cause of the blast. using newly laid phone lines, the surviving miners say they are very weak, and asked not to be forgotten. in a lighter moment, they express their thanks for all nutritious food, porridge, and medicine sent down the thin tunnel, but hope for pork sausages soon. the humble butterfly fluttering through the garden is one of the delights of spring but it seems it s stronger than meets the eye. scientists say they ve discovered why the insects fly so well despite their tiny stature , and the answer could help us in the future. laura foster reports.
their wings which help thrust. scientists in sweden used a wind tunnel to capture the butterfly flying skill. fascinating and beautiful to look at. it is time to look at the weather. the met office has the amber weather warning in place through to the pennines and lancashire. furtherflooding and lancashire. further flooding and once lancashire. furtherflooding and once the rain has eased, the levels will rise. england and wales with the bulk of rainfall, persistence in the bulk of rainfall, persistence in the west, south east strong and dusty when touching gale force. snow in the southern uplands. brighter weather elsewhere, west of scotland and northern ireland, largely dried but the coldest conditions. milder further south. the winds well picked
what had been suspected for half a century, that butterflies don t just flap their wings, but clap them together. theirflexible wings bending to form a cup, or a pocket, of air. when they collapse, this thrust is even stronger and more efficient. it s only now thanks to modern technology and a swedish wind tunnel that we can see it. it s a challenge to work with any living flying animal but with butterflies it s maybe even more because they are smaller, they are fast in their behaviour, difficult to predict their behaviour and also when flying them in a wind tunnel, it s difficult to get them to behave as you want to, when you want to and also to fly where you want them to fly. for a long time, scientists wondered how these creatures could actually avoid predators because of their awkward shape. if you look at their wings, you can see they are very large and broad compared to the size of their body and aren t considered
a new insight into one of the mysteries of the natural world, how butterflies fly despite being equipped with large, inefficient wings. they ve discovered that butterflies cup their wings when taking off. this forms an air pocket that pushes the insect forward at speed, helping it to escape predators. researchers believe the knowledge could prove useful in other spheres, such as making some drones and underwater vehicles more efficient. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: joe biden and kamala harris lead a ceremony to honour the 400,000 americans who ve died during the pandemic. president trump releases a farewell video on his last day in office before issuing his presidential pardons, including one for key former aide steve bannon. netflix got a big boost from the pandemic last year, as demand for streaming movies and television soared. the company now has more than 200 million paid members, up more than 30% from 2019. about 37 million people subscribed last year, including