European show of unity over illegal migration

Summary

Global News Podcast — European Show of Unity Over Illegal Migration

BBC World Service | Host: Ankar Desai | August 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode examines Europe’s response to a recent surge in illegal migration into Spain’s African enclave, Ceuta, and explores wider ramifications for European unity, political narrative, and border security. The show also covers the intensification of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, surging oil company profits amid war in the Middle East, a bizarre case of judicial impersonation in Egypt, Europe’s scramble for air conditioning amid heatwaves, and a behind-the-scenes glimpse at stunt work in Hollywood.

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Main Themes & Segments

1. European Reaction to Ceuta Migrant Surge

Summary

After tens of thousands of Moroccans illegally entered Spain's territory of Ceuta last week, EU ministers met to project unity and support for Spain, downplaying recent infighting over migration policy. The episode explores the balance between security, political pressure, and disinformation inflaming the crisis.

Key Points

• Ceuta migrant crisis aftermath:

  • Influx has abated, most migrants have returned to Morocco, but several thousand remain, straining local capacity.
  • Spanish authorities and EU leaders attempt to reassure citizens and prevent political fallout.
  • "They have a place for 500 immigrants, but there are almost 3,000. So as you can imagine, the situation is really dramatic... for the people in the city, Spanish people, because this is not a normal situation." — Susanna Roop, nurse in Ceuta (02:37)

• EU political climate:

  • Recent bitter disagreements shifted towards unity after far-right parties exploited the crisis and Russian disinformation spread online.
  • "The governments across Europe have seen how hard right and far right parties really sort of leapt on the extraordinary issues we saw last week." — Nick Beek, Europe correspondent (04:29)

• Disinformation and Internet hoaxes:

  • Surge believed partly sparked by social media rumors about automatic Spanish passports—a false promise.
  • Russian disinformation cited as amplifying the crisis online.

• Returns:

  • Spain claims "70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who reached Ceuta" have been returned, easing immediate pressure. (05:05)

• Political response evolution:

  • Initial finger-pointing (Italy blaming Spain for "pull factors" and Schengen risk) replaced by public statements of solidarity.

• Memorable Quote:

  • "But of course, the events from Ceuta, that's also pretty clear, show that dramatic images beat actually the best statistics." — Sebastian Usher, BBC Global Affairs Reporter (03:18)

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2. Intensification of Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Summary

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian soil—especially against logistics and retail infrastructure—are on the rise, intensifying civilian fears but met publicly by official calm from President Putin.

Key Points

• Ukrainian drone strategy:

  • Targeting major Russian retailer Wildberries' warehouses to exert economic pressure.
  • Civilian casualties reported, including children.

• Putin’s response:

  • "The Kremlin... trying to project this image of Vladimir Putin as a super popular, super relaxed leader."
  • Despite internal pressures, Putin is not compromising: "He gives the impression of someone who is not about to u turn." — Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Editor (08:00)

• Public sentiment:

  • "People are tired. People want peace. That was the message so many said to me." (08:57)

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3. Middle East Conflict Drives Big Oil Profits

Summary

Aramco posts a 44% profit increase amid ongoing military conflict in the region, as Saudi Arabia circumvents Iran-blocked waterways using alternate export routes, but faces ongoing risks.

Key Points

• Aramco’s strategy:

  • Uses a pipeline from the east to west coast, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz (09:30).
  • Houthis now pose a threat to Red Sea routes and even Suez Canal access (10:40).

• Global impact:

  • Oil and shipping disruptions driving price surges, with knock-on effects for consumers.

• Notable Quote:

  • "Most of those other ones, US ones in particular, aren't operating in the actual war zone, which is what Saudi Arabia is doing..." — Sebastian Usher (11:32)

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4. Egypt’s Fake Judge Scandal

Summary

An unemployed Egyptian impersonates a judge for three years, handing out fraudulent sentences, giving interviews, and securing bribes. The ruse is only uncovered when a victim complains.

Key Points

• Methods:

  • Bribed court officials for access and used social media to boost credibility (12:23).
  • Defrauded victims by promising government housing.

• Aftermath:

  • Facing urgent criminal trial; found with forged documents and an unlicensed firearm.
  • "Faking and impersonating a judge in Egypt is a big crime." — Yusuf Taha, BBC Reporter (13:41)

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5. Gaza: Mass Funeral Recovers Hidden Victims

Summary

A mass funeral is held for over a hundred Palestinians whose bodies were recovered months after an Israeli airstrike, underlining the scale of casualties and ongoing suffering in Gaza.

Key Points

• Details of the event:
  • 112 victims buried from the Hussaina and Abu Sharia families; many bodies still unrecovered.
  • Victims included 40 children, 38 women, 7 people with disabilities (17:40).
  • "Huge crowds turned out... all members of one extended family or clan in Gaza..." — Yolande Nell, BBC Middle East Correspondent (16:37)

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6. UK-Apple Legal Showdown: Encryption & Privacy

Summary

Apple launches a legal fight against a UK government demand for access to encrypted user data. Privacy advocates argue this would set a dangerous mass-surveillance precedent.

Key Points

• Privacy vs. security debate:

  • "It's not wrong for the government to want exceptional powers to invade an individual's privacy... But that's not what this is about. This is about creating a backdoor... that's very different. That's a mass surveillance power." — Silkie Carlo, Big Brother Watch (19:12)

• Broader consequences:

  • Risks to all UK Apple users and potentially global ramifications if Apple is forced to weaken privacy for government access.

• Historical context:

  • Recalls NSA/GCHQ mass collection revealed by Snowden; new “secret orders” to tech companies.

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7. Europe’s Air Conditioning Scramble

Summary

A 40% spike in Chinese air conditioner exports to the EU exposes Europe’s vulnerability to climate change, supply chain lag, and energy grid strain during increasingly frequent heatwaves.

Key Points

• Air-conditioning boom:

  • Shortages led to scuffles in shops; aircons flown and railed in to beat slow sea shipping (22:25).
  • "We transported some units, some thousand units by train... provide some of the porta splits because of these big demands." — Tobias Strobel, Midea's Head of Innovation for Europe (23:24)

• Grid pressure:

  • Evening demand spikes threaten infrastructure not built for hot summers:
    "Power prices spiked above €300 per megawatt hour in France... in Belgium... to €900... Typically around 50 to €100." — Dr. Chris Rosslow, Ember (23:59)

• Future risks:

  • By 2030, cooling's electricity demand will far outstrip artificial intelligence and shift seasonal grid stress from winter to summer (24:57).

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8. Hollywood Stunt Doubles: Matt Damon's 'Odyssey'

Summary

A heartening postscript: Matt Damon reveals on set that his stunt double for "The Odyssey" was Devin Dalton, a petite but musclebound woman, breaking industry expectations.

Memorable Moments/Quotes

• Matt Damon:

  • “My double was a woman, a female stunt performer, and when she came into the catering tent was the first time I met her. I went up and I hugged her... I thanked her for like all the work she'd put in.” (26:25, 26:44)

• Devin Dalton:

  • "It was unexpected that he would give me a shout out... as a stunt performer, you're used to being... behind the scenes." (27:03)
  • "This is a unique situation, and I think men have been stunt doubling women for longer in the industry... But what it really comes down to is the scale and, you know, what they're trying to get done for the story." (27:39)
  • "I'm so happy that people are celebrating a strong female and muscles, and it's just been really fun for me." (28:49)

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Noteworthy Quotes & Timestamps

• On Migration Unity:
  • “By every measure, Europe has not had this much control over illegal migration in decade. But... dramatic images beat actually the best statistics.” — Sebastian Usher (03:18)
• On Far-Right Exploitation:
  • “Governments across Europe have seen how hard right and far right parties really sort of leapt on the extraordinary issues we saw last week.” — Nick Beek (04:29)
• On Putin’s Image:
  • “The Kremlin... projecting this image of Vladimir Putin as a super popular, super relaxed leader.” — Steve Rosenberg (08:00)
• On Energy Grid Pressures:
  • “…power prices spiked above €300 per megawatt hour in France... in Belgium... to €900... Typically around 50 to €100.” — Dr. Chris Rosslow (23:59)
• On Privacy & Surveillance:
  • “This is about creating a backdoor... that allows the government to then dip into phones whenever it likes. And that's very different. That's a mass surveillance power.” — Silkie Carlo (19:12)

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Timeline of Key Segments

• 01:08 EU states' unity on Ceuta migration crisis (main headlines)
• 02:37 Local response from Ceuta
• 03:18 – 06:03 EU political fallout, disinformation, returns
• 06:50 – 09:06 Ukraine-Russia conflict, domestic impact in Russia
• 09:30 – 12:02 Saudi Aramco profits, oil flows, Houthi threat
• 12:23 – 14:14 Egypt: fake judge scandal
• 16:37 – 18:42 Gaza: mass funeral, aftermath of airstrike
• 19:12 – 21:58 UK-Apple battle over encrypted data
• 22:25 – 25:56 Europe’s aircon demand, grid stress, climate change
• 26:25 – 29:16 Matt Damon and stunt double Devin Dalton’s story

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Conclusion

This episode of the Global News Podcast explores the pressures on political, social, and infrastructure systems worldwide—from Europe’s recalibrated unity in the face of migration crises and heatwaves, to the sharpening conflicts and technological debates shaping global headlines. Through expert voices, local testimonies, and memorable personal stories, the episode offers a snapshot of a world contending with both new and longstanding challenges.

Transcript

[Ankar Desai]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

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[BBC Global News Narrator]

this is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Ankar Desai and at 15 hours GMT on Tuesday 4th August, these are our main stories. EU member states put on a show of unity over migration after tens of thousands of Moroccans illegally entered a Spanish territory last week. Ukraine carries out a series of further attacks on logistics, warehouses and oil infrastructure. In Russia, the Saudi state owned oil giant Aramco sees its profits soar despite the war in the Middle East. Also in this podcast, exports of air conditioning units from China into the EU have risen more than 40% on last year. The question is how to get them to Europe quickly.

[Tobias Strobel]

We transported some units, some thousand units by train. We will not make much margin, but at least we can provide some of the porta splits because of these big

[BBC Global News Narrator]

demands and how a fake judge in Egypt remained undetected for three years. The influx of migrants into the Spanish territory of Ceuta may have abated, but the human and political storm it has created is still playing out. Many of those who crossed into CETA last week have returned to neighbouring Morocco, but several thousand remain, prompting residents to question who will look after them. Susanna Roop is a nurse working in a community health center in the territory.

[Chris Rosslow]

There is a lot of people wondering through the streets without a place to stay. They have a place for 500 immigrants, but there are almost 3,000. So as you can imagine, the situation is really dramatic for them and also for the people in the city, Spanish people, because this is Not a normal situation.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

In the past few hours, EU interior ministers have been meeting via video link to try to calm the anger among some member states. The European Commissioner for Internal affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, said the ministers had supported Spain and praised Europe's handling of the migration issue.

[Sebastian Usher]

By every measure, Europe has not had this much control over illegal migration in decade. But of course, the events from Ceuta, that's also pretty clear, show that dramatic images beat actually the best statistics.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Our Europe correspondent, Nick Beek is following developments and spoke to Regini Vadianavan.

[Ankar Desai]

It does seem that all the main parties here are downplaying any sort of row among the member states. And you know, that is a massive departure from the past three or four days where there has been a bitter disagreement between some of those key countries. Italy really going for Spain. And over the weekend we had 22 countries, including Italy, writing this letter suggesting that the policies of, of the Madrid government had acted as a sort of pull factor for some of the tens of thousands of mainly young men who tried to get to Ceuta. Last week they were suggesting that the whole sort of integrity of the borderless Schengen zone within the European Union was at threat because of what the Spanish were doing. And today, I mean, the language is really different. You've got Denmark and Italy suggesting that they're satisfied with Spain and that really they're all in this together. And I suspect, Regina, what's happened here is that governments across Europe have seen how hard right and far right parties really sort of leapt on the extraordinary issues we saw last week. And also the suggestion that a lot of Russian disinformation was really amplifying what was being reported online. And also a suggestion that in the first place this surge was caused by some sort of Internet hoax that was telling people to try and make this journey because they might well get a banished passport. Which of course was simply not true.

[Sam Fennec]

And Spain have said, haven't they, Nick, that they've already returned to Morocco. 70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who reached Ceuta.

[Ankar Desai]

Yes, and I mean, Ceuta is a place where obviously right on the tip of Northern Africa. It's not in the Schengen Zone separated by the Strait of Gibraltar. So you've got 25km or so of sea separating that city, the Spanish city, from the Spanish mainland. But yet there was, you know, such a large reaction to this. And in terms of, you know, know how the governments play it from now on in, you really got the feeling that prime ministers and presidents across Europe felt They had to say something because immigration for so many electorates is a really crucial, important issue. We know that it's one that the hard right have been picking up votes on. And so a lot of politicians felt compelled to speak. And I think now in the cold light of day, there's been a dialing down of the temperature.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Nick Peak reporting. And for an in depth look at what really lay behind the surge of migrants into the Spanish territory of ceta, search for our sister podcast, the Global Story, wherever you listen. Russians are getting used to waking up to news that there's been another Ukrainian drone attack on their soil. And although Ukraine has always denied targeting civilians, several people, including children, have been killed in the last couple of days, some on a busy beach. There have also been attacks on warehouses near Moscow and St. Petersburg belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer, Wildberries. Russia, meanwhile, has continued launching attacks on residential areas and cities in Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv. So it feels like the war is intensifying, a suggestion I put to our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg.

[Steve Rosenberg]

It certainly is intensifying, I think, and you can tell that from the reports today. So Russian officials said that overnight drones attacked an industrial park south of Moscow. A warehouse caught fire. The local governor, the governor of Moscow region said that five people were killed. There was no official confirmation about who runs that particular warehouse. But later came more reports of two other drone attacks in two other parts of Russia, one near St. Petersburg, the other in the Tver region, both targeting warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia's biggest online retailer. And that fits into a pattern because since last month, Ukrainian drones have been attacking a whole string of Wildberries warehouses. It seems that Ukraine wants to try to disrupt the operations of what is a massive Russian company which is used by tens of millions of Russians to buy things and hundreds of thousands of Russian sellers to sell their goods. So by disrupting the operations of Wildberries, Ukraine thinks it can put pressure on Russia.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

And Steve, Vladimir Putin hasn't responded to these latest events so far. Is he acting as if everything is normal?

[Steve Rosenberg]

You know, it's such a contrast. We saw Vladimir Putin or pictures of Vladimir Putin yesterday. He was appearing at a youth event in Siberia, beaming, looking very happy, being cheered by young people in the audience. The Kremlin clearly sort of trying to project this image of Vladimir Putin as a super popular, super relaxed leader. Compared to the reports coming in of Ukrainian drone attacks in different parts of the country, he gives the impression of someone who is not about to u turn, is not about to compromise and appears determined to push on with the war until he secures what he considers to be victory, despite everything that is happening around. And yet what is happening is putting enormous pressure on him and on the country. Just chatting to Russians this morning in the street, people are tired. People want peace. That was the message that so many people said to me. And I actually met one businessman whose company sells items via wildberries. He was talking to me about how some of the goods of his company have gone up in smoke.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Steve Rosenberg reporting from Moscow. The American Israeli war against Iran has seen oil prices surging. That is bad news for customers, but good news for the Saudi state owned oil giant Aramco. The company has reported a 44% increase in profits. That's despite Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. I asked our global affairs reporter Sebastian Asscher why we are seeing such big profits despite the war.

[Sebastian Usher]

I mean, essentially because of concerns about scarcity that's coming up. I mean, that is propelling prices up. But I mean, it's a double edged sword, isn't it, for Saudi Arabia? I mean, Saudi Arabia is being threatened its security in a way that it never really has been before. This threat has been there from Iran in the past. Saudi Arabia has been hit by Iranian missiles, some targeting its energy infrastructure. It's been hit by proxies from Iran in Iraq, militias there, and most importantly the Houthis in Yemen. So it has come under attack, its energy infrastructure in a place called Yambo in Jazan. They've all had rockets come near them. But what we've heard from Aramco is that it hasn't really had any major impact on its ability to put out oil. And the way that Saudi Arabia's got around the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is it has a huge pipeline which goes from the east coast, which is where the Strait of Hormuz is, to the west coast to the Red Sea. So it's been able to divert its oil through that route and then send millions of barrels a day via terminals from there.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Sebastian, you mentioned the Houthis. How do Houthi attacks in the Red Sea affect oil sea exports?

[Sebastian Usher]

Well, that's what we're seeing. As I said, this is the route that they've opened up to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. But now that has come under threat. The Houthis have, for the first time, during this latest outburst of conflict between Iran, Israel and the US have used that other key pinch point of a waterway for the world's energy and other supplies, the Bab El Mandeb Strait, which is near the coast of Yemen, it's fired at Saudi vessels there. So that was a key route that the Saudis were taking. They're now going up through Egypt and through the Suez Canal. We've also there's been at least one attack on an Egyptian port. So there is a sense that that might also be in danger too. At the moment, Saudi Arabia is managing to get those barrels out. There is a concern that there could be issues with their ability to continue to produce and export that much oil in the coming months. And the whole global economy is obviously looking at that. The Saudi Aramco is by no means the only oil giant, of course, which is posting these massive number. But most of those other ones, US ones in particular, aren't operating in the actual war zone, which is what Saudi Arabia is doing, which I think is why it almost seems counterintuitive that Aramco is doing so well out of this. But as I say, it's because it's managed to find these other ways of getting its oil out.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Sebastian Usher. He presided in court and handed out sentences. But now an Egyptian man is standing trial himself for impersonating a judge. He did that for three years and he defrauded people, gaining about 200,000 doll in the process. I found out more from our reporter Yusuf Taha, who is himself Egyptian.

[Yusuf Taha]

This person, who's unemployed and 33 years old, has been impersonating a judge for nearly three years for the purpose of frauding people and making money out of it. In the process, he persuaded people that he can allocate some government housing units for them, which they are not really entitled to. And he made all sorts of videos that he put out on social media and even persuading some chat shows on TV to host him so that he would promote himself as the judge who can get things done quickly and decisively. And people paid him for his services even though they are not exactly entitled to those housing units, but they did pay him. However, after carrying on this for three years, one of his alleged victims had cried foul because the so called judge did not deliver. So this victim reported him to the authorities who of course went on the hunt for him and went through all those videos that he put out to find out that he was sitting in a courtroom because he managed to reach some deal and bribe three court officials in North Cairo who gave him access to the courthouse.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Now what's likely to happen to him now then? Yousef?

[Yusuf Taha]

Well, he's facing an urgent criminal trial ordered by the public prosecutor and during questioning he did confess to impersonating a judge and also when they arrested him, they found that he had some unlicensed weapon firearm along with some ammunition as well, inasmuch as they found some printed stationaries for his alleged post of a judge and counselor at this court, which he is not entirely entitled to. And faking and impersonating a judge in Egypt is a big crime.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Yusuf Taha still to come in this podcast we have the possibly surprising revelation of who did all the dangerous stuff for Matt Damon in his latest film, the Odyssey.

[Matt Damon]

My double was a woman, a female stunt performer, and when she came into the catering tent was the first time I met her. I went up and I hugged her and like and I thanked her for like all the.

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[BBC Global News Narrator]

This is the Global News Podcast. A mass funeral has been held in Gaza City for 112 People whose bodies were trapped under the ruins of a residential block hit during an Israeli strike in 2023. Our Middle east correspondent Yolande Nell has

[Yolande Nell]

the Details huge crowds turned out for that mass funeral which was held amid the rubble. All members of one extended family or clan in Gaza, the Hussaina and Abu Sharia families. And it's said really to be the biggest funeral of its kind to have happened after one of these recovery operations. It took a couple of weeks. The operation led by Gaza's civil defense, which is part of the Hamas run Interior Ministry but also supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross. And this was a multi story building that had really been flattened by Israeli strikes back in November 2023, about six weeks after the Hamas led 7th of October attacks on Southern Israel which killed so many people. And really families said that in the chaos of that day, many got trapped inside the building. Afterwards the families were able to retrieve some bodies, but for all this time there were others who remained there trapped. And the BBC was able to film this operation as it began with just a single bulldozer really picking through the rubble and still some of the civil defense workers, you know, having to use their hands to move bits of concrete and try to recover the remains. So at that funeral you saw that remains had been identified, that they had been laid out in rows covered with the Palestinian flag and also in some cases pictures had been attached to the flags of some of the children in particular who'd been killed. Forty children, 38 women and seven people with disabilities, locals said were among the 112 who were buried here. But poignantly there were still dozens more people missing. So bodies still trapped in that rubble that they had not been able to recover from that one site in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City. And you know, humanitarian groups are saying this shows how there are really thousands of Gazans who are still missing as a result of the war. Their bodies believed to be trapped under the rubble.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Yulan Nel reporting. A key selling point of the iPhone maker Apple has always been its better and more secure privacy. But now that's in danger as the British government wants to have the right in very particular circumstances to access encrypted data. Apple have hit back and have launched a new legal challenge against this so called backdoor policy. Privacy campaigners believe this sets a terrible precedent. As Amarajan heard from Silky Kahlo, director of Big Brother Watch, it is wrong

[Silkie Carlo]

in principle for the government to want to be able to spy on millions of people at one time. It's not wrong for the government to want exceptional powers to invade an individual's privacy if they're a suspect of serious crime. And the security intelligence agencies already have exceptional powers, very strong powers, and rightly so, to be able to break into the phones of targets. But that's not what this is about. This is about creating a backdoor into a product that's used by around 35 million people in the UK that allows the government to then dip into phones whenever it likes. And that's very different. That's a mass surveillance power. It's completely unprecedented in a democracy and it puts the privacy and security of millions of us at risk and it's incredibly dangerous. And what's been worrying for a long time now is that the British government has created powers for extraordinary levels of mass surveillance of our phones, of all of our electronic communications, our Internet browsing. And the agencies seem to have developed a culture of just collect it all. That's what we saw in the Snowden revelations from the NSA whistleblower over 10 years ago, is that this kind of culture had emerged of mass surveillance and eye watering to collect all of our data all of the time.

[Ankar Desai]

When you say mass surveillance by the British state, what's the new thing there that people ought to be worried about?

[Sebastian Usher]

That wasn't happening, say, 20 years ago,

[Ankar Desai]

before iPhones came to market.

[Silkie Carlo]

Well, let's just remember as well, what was exposed just over 10 years ago is that even our own domestic agencies like GCHQ were, for example, creating web browsing profiles of every single visible user on the Internet. When we look at something like Apple's products being broken, it's incredibly worrying because the way in which we use them these days, the amount of private and sensitive data that we will use, the role that it plays in business and in our everyday lives, means that if data is compromised en masse, there are national security consequences. I mean, it's really quite incredibly serious, let alone the consequences for individuals. And the powers that the agencies have also extends to, for example, accessing journalistic material and journalistic sources. So there's really serious implications for us as a democracy too. This is a secret order, by the way. It's kind of a miracle that we even know that this, this landmark legal challenge is happening because Apple is committing a criminal offence if it even talks about the existence of this order from the British government to break into icloud. So it essentially means that the agencies would be able to process and access the data of tens of millions of people in this country through our phone data. But it also actually has implications for everyone around the world that uses Apple's products. So it has serious consequences for Apple as a whole business.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Silky Carlo Europe has Spent this summer trying to buy its way out of the heat. Exports of air conditioning units from China into the European Union hit nearly $3.8 billion in the first half of this year. That's up more than 40% on last year. Many shops across the continent have sold out and prices have climbed. Sam Fennec has been following the money chain behind Europe's aircon boom.

[Sam Fennec]

This is a queue outside a discount supermarket in Paris one morning in July. The queue goes round the building. They're not there for freshly baked bread, they're there for a box with a fan in it. Within minutes, the shelves are empty, there are scuffles in the aisles and fights break out. Only about a fifth of European homes have air conditioning at all. In northern Europe, it's more like 1 in 10. But France alone has had four heat waves since May. Most of Europe's air conditioning is made in China. Midea is one of the biggest manufacturers. It's sold out of portable units in June and is still not keeping up. The problem isn't making them, it's getting them here by sea. From southern China takes two to three months with customs, so a unit ordered when the heat wave starts arrives after the summer's over. Tobias Strobel is Medea's head of innovation for Europe.

[Tobias Strobel]

We transported some units, some thousand units by train. We will not make much margin, but at least we can provide some of the porta splits because of these big demands.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

So this was the strategy air conditioners

[Sam Fennec]

put on a freight train across Asia because the ships are too slow. That's how short of them Europe is. And then you switch the thing on and everybody switches theirs on at the same time. A hot evening after a hot day, when the sun's gone down and the solar power's gone with it. Dr. Chris Rosslow is a senior analyst at the energy think tank Ember.

[Tobias Strobel]

Well, the most intense heat wave so far this summer happened in late June. And in the evening period especially, the grids came under quite a lot of pressure. So we had in France, power prices spiked above €300 per megawatt hour. In Belgium, we actually saw a spike up to €900 per megawatt hour. And just for context, power prices are typically around 50 to €100. So this is kind of several multiples above normal.

[Sam Fennec]

That's the price to keep the lights on. When the whole country turns its air conditioning on at once and gas has to fill the gap, the sun leaves behind. Nobody lost power, but somebody paid for it that evening. Those spikes get averaged into what your supplier pays and reach you in your bill a few months later. The bigger cost is what comes next, because this isn't a one off summer. Professor Diana Olget Vorsep is vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change.

[Chris Rosslow]

By 2030, the International Energy Agency projects that cooling will add more new demand to our electricity than artificial intelligence. In fact, it's probably more like six times as much as artificial intelligence. You can imagine. It's really very massive. In countries, most European countries, the peak demand used to be in the winter, but now we increasingly see that more and more countries reach this peak in summer during air conditioning needs.

[Sam Fennec]

And it changes when the grid is most under strain. Europe's grids were built for cold, dark winters. Now the hardest moment of the year is a hot night in August. And they weren't built for that. Improving grid infrastructure and resilience costs money. And in Europe, that cost already sits with consumers. Network charges are roughly a quarter of what a household pays. And Europe's energy regulator says the amount being invested in the grid needs to double if energy needs are to be met.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Sam Fennick with that report. Even if you've not seen the film everyone's talking about, you probably have seen the poster for the Odyssey in which a sword wielding Matt Damon is confronting giant ironclad warriors, the Laestrajonians. Now, except that's not Matt Damon. It's his stunt double, Devin Dalton, who's a muscle bound woman just 1 meters 30 centimeters tall. When Damon spoke to the Happy Sad, Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, he paid tribute to his stunt double.

[Matt Damon]

Well, you know, when we did the forced perspective stuff of the Lacedrygonians, I don't know if there's been a thing about how we did it, but there were, you know, there were these kind of stuntmen who were, who were all seven feet, right? And then they got stuntmen who were under five feet. And so my double was a woman, a female stunt performer who had the greatest arms I've ever seen. And when she came into the catering tent was the first time I met her, I went up and I hugged her and like, and so, you know, for, and I thanked her for like all the work she'd put in.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Huge praise indeed. So did Matt Damon's double, Devin Dalton, know how much he thought of her?

[Devin Dalton]

He did compliment me when we got a chance to work together. But, you know, I really wanted to impress him and I'm so happy that, you know, it, it really did impress him. And no, you know, I was Completely. It was unexpected that he would give me a shout out in a video. I certainly wasn't expecting it. I knew it was me on the posters. But, you know, as a stunt performer, you're used to being. Even though you're in front of camera, you're kind of used to being behind the scenes a bit as well. So it was a pleasant surprise and it's. It's just been amazing ever since.

[Steve Rosenberg]

And it surprised me that Matt Damon, stunt double, was a woman.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Is that as unusual as I think

[Steve Rosenberg]

it is, or is it more common?

[Devin Dalton]

Yeah, you know, it's obviously not that common, but it does happen. You know, this is a unique situation, and I think men have been stunt doubling women for longer in the industry. That has been more common over the years. But obviously you have to be the best physical match. But what it really comes down to is the scale and, you know, what they're trying to get done for the story. And I just happen to be a great match for what they needed this time. So I never thought I'd be stunt doubling, you know, Hollywood's leading man. And here I am. So it's pretty amazing for me and, you know, one of the coolest things on my resume. And also, you know, Matt was just so lovely and humble to work with.

[Steve Rosenberg]

So give us a sense of the

[BBC Global News Narrator]

things you had to do.

[Devin Dalton]

Well, you know, you've got to be super ready and prepared to go. You don't get a lot of time when you're on these big productions. Everything's moving very fast and furious. So being physically ready and mentally ready is a huge deal. And oddly enough, it's not my first time fighting giants. Being a smaller performer. I've been hired a few times on different projects to fight giants, so it wasn't my first rodeo, so to speak, but this was definitely the coolest one, I would say.

[Steve Rosenberg]

And how crucial were these biceps and were they specially developed for the part or were they already pretty well honed?

[Devin Dalton]

You know, they were already pretty well honed. That's why I was chosen for that specific role. But obviously when I found out, I definitely put in some extra work. I didn't have a lot of time, but I tried to get a bit more growth before I got there. So a lot of upper body strength workouts and it all paid off. And I'm so happy that people are celebrating a strong female and muscles, and it's just been really fun for me.

[BBC Global News Narrator]

Stuntwoman Devin Dalton speaking to Nick Robinson. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch. You can email us [e-mail] you can also find us on X@ BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global Newspod. And don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Callum McLean and the producers were Paul Day and Oliver Berlau. The editor is Karen Martin and I'm Ankar Desai. Until next time. Goodbye.

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