Antarctica is perhaps the one place on Earth no one would have expected to find canyons.

And yet,
scientists were surprised to discover deep crevices that run for hundreds of kilometers. Although they are
not visible at the snowy surface, these trenches cut deep into Antarctica.

The biggest such canyon is over 350km long. It’s called Foundation Trough. Other canyons are not as long,
but they are impressive too. Patuxent Trough is 300km long and Offset Rift Basin is 150km long.

These canyons were found with the help of radars after scanning the wide expanse of the frozen
continent. They are incredibly important because they help control the flow of the ice. With the rising
temperatures in Antarctica, more and more snow is melting. These mountain channels speed up the flow
of the melted ice, sending it faster to the ocean and raising the sea level.

Chocolate was first introduced to Europe about 400 years ago. But it was quite different from the
chocolate of the Aztecs in Mexico who first produced it. The Aztecs took the beans of the cocoa tree and
ground them into a paste, which was added to water and drunk. It was incredibly bitter. When the Spanish
explorers discovered it in the 1600s, they added sugar to sweeten it. This helped it to become popular
among the ruling class in Europe.

As it spread across Europe, its price decreased and more people were able to experience its wonderful
taste. Over the years, advancements were made in processing the beans and today its taste is very
consistent.

But chocolate sadly has a dark side as well. Often, small children are forced to work on cocoa plantations.
Because of this, the Fair-Trade Foundation has worked with cocoa growers to make sure they are not
using child labor. By buying Fair-Trade chocolate, we can have chocolate that is both good for us and good
for others.

Mount Agung is a volcano on the popular tourist island of Bali in Indonesia. The volcano is expected
to erupt within hours. More than 134,000 people have been evacuated to safe areas. They are now far
away from the volcano. However, some have refused to leave. These people do not want to leave their
homes. They have to take care of their farms and animals.

On September 28th, steam appeared above Mount Agung. Scientists fear that an eruption could happen
soon. The news has scared tourists from coming to the island. Tourists left on the island say that many
shops are closed. They also say that it is not possible to buy fresh fruits or vegetables. Some scientists
think that the volcano could erupt in five minutes or five months. They just don’t know.