Our daily morning stroll around the world

🇵🇱🪖 Poland received a $2 billion loan from the US government to modernize its defense capabilities. The State Department says the interest-carrying loan will be used to purchase high-tech US military equipment for Poland, which has given away most of its old Soviet-based weapons and vehicles to its neighbor, Ukraine. The Polish government is planning to spend 4.0% of its GDP on defense this year, which would represent the highest figure among all NATO nations (slightly ahead of the US, at 3.5%).

🇪🇸⚖️ Shakira was charged with tax evasion in Spain for a second time. Prosecutors are accusing the pop singer of defrauding the Spanish government of $7.1 million in tax revenue by failing to declare a range of payments on her 2018 income statement, including advances for her El Dorado World Tour. Shakira is scheduled to appear in court for her first tax evasion case in late November, where she’ll face charges for allegedly failing to pay $15.1 million in Spanish taxes from 2012 to 2014.

🇦🇶 Antarctic ice sheets reached their lowest maximum level since records began in 1979. Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center say the historically low amount of ice recorded in Antarctica this month is due to a combination of ocean heat, wind patterns, and the ongoing El Niño warming event. Antarctica’s ice, which typically reaches maximum coverage in mid-to-late September, covered 6.6 million square miles two weeks ago, breaking the previous record-low set in 1986.