Giles Brown’s Spanish News Headlines – Visual format – Dateline: 22/05/26 – Latest

Spain will introduce a plan to match migrants to jobs under a programme ‌to grant legal status to about 500,000 undocumented workers to help drive economic growth, the country’s top immigration official told Reuters.

The programme, announced in January, has been criticised by far-right leaders in Spain and across Europe, but the Socialist-led coalition government argues migration will help the Spanish economy continue to outpace its European peers by creating a younger workforce as the general population age. Secretary of State for Migration Pilar Cancela said as of last ⁠week, the government had received over 200,000 applications in the programme’s first month. Many of these applicants were granted temporary work permits once their applications had been accepted for processing, she said.

She said it was a smart approach to immigration, which would make public services and pensions more sustainable.

Spain needs approximately 2.4 million more people paying into social security over the next decade to sustain its welfare state, according to official estimates.

Authorities, supported by NGOs and dedicated offices, were ready to cope with up to one million applications – twice the expected demand – and have a plan to help migrants find formal jobs, Cancela said.

Think-tank Funcas estimates there are around 840,000 undocumented migrants working off the books, mainly ‌from Latin ⁠America.

Spain’s Supreme Court has struck down a national registry for short-term tourist rentals seeking to advertise on platforms such as ‌Airbnb (ABNB.O), opens new tab that was introduced by the coalition government last July, a ruling seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.

The national registry for short-term stays required property owners to register and obtain ⁠a number before listing on platforms such as Airbnb.

    Several regional governments challenged the measure, arguing the central government overstepped its powers.

    The Supreme Court agreed, ruling the state lacked authority to impose a national registry on top of similar ones that already existed at the regional level.

    Spain’s government has been ‌seeking ⁠ways to curb short-term tourist rentals in the world’s second-most visited country after France, where nearly a third of visitors opt to stay in apartments rather ⁠than hotels.

    The Supreme Court’s ruling does, however, uphold online platforms’ obligation to provide data about their offerings to ⁠the authorities.

    European Union rules allow for the collection of data on short-term accommodation rental listings on ⁠online platforms, but the court said they do not require the creation of a national registry.

Gresini Racing’s Alex Marquez will miss the Italian and Hungarian MotoGP races after a horrific crash at the Catalan GP ‌on Sunday,

The 30-year-old Spaniard slammed into the back of Pedro Acosta’s bike and careered towards a wall before cartwheeling through the air as ⁠he lost control on the gravel.

“Alex Marquez will miss the Mugello and Balaton Grands Prix,” Gresini Racing said ‌on ⁠social media platform X.

Marquez is seventh in the riders’ championship after six rounds this season, ⁠having finished runner-up behind his older brother Marc Marquez last year.

The Italian Grand Prix ⁠is scheduled for May 29-31, followed by the Hungarian round from June 5-7.