Today in Spain: A roundup of the latest news on Monday

Asian algae invading Spain’s coastlines

Thousands of tonnes of the invasive algae Rugulopteryx okamurae are washing up on beaches in southern Spain, as well as in parts of the Canary Islands and the Cantabrian coast.

This species originates from Southeast Asia and is threatening the biodiversity of Spanish coasts, according to a report in The Guardian.

It's believed that the reason for its arrival, as with other invasive marine species, is related to ships passing through the Suez Canal and then unloading into the Mediterranean, which then end up the Spanish coast.

This situation has affected both tourism and fishing, "as they trap fishermen's nets and lines and suck oxygen out of the water."

Many environmentalists in the area consider it a serious threat to the region's biodiversity and claim they have never seen an invasion of this magnitude.

Spain says foreigners are responsible for record employment figures

Spain's Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Elma Saiz has attributed the fact that Spain has surpassed 22 million employed people for the first time and that the unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest since 2008 (10.29 percent) to the implementation of "correct policies," while highlighting the contribution of foreign workers to these figures.

Saiz emphasised that these figures "would not be possible without the contributions of foreign workers," she told journalists.

"You cannot defend regular and orderly migration, ask people to come to work in our country, but at the same time paint our country as a closed one that threatens them and that doesn't distinguish between members and non-members, people with rights and those without," the minister added as a nudge to the country's right-wing opposition party.

READ ALSO: Spain adds more than 1 million foreigners to its workforce in a decade

300-metre-tall bull statue proposed as Spain's new landmark

The Spanish Bullfighting Academy is seeking a municipality interested in installing a gigantic sculpture of a bull around one of its bullrings.

Its proposed 300 metre height would be just 30 metres short of the Eiffel Tower, and the budget required to build it would be equally stratospheric.

Spain's far-right party Vox has embraced the idea, and its branch in Burgos has suggested that their city be the place whether the metal statue be erected, turning the northern city into a tourist attraction in the process.

Spain deserved better in Euro 2025 final, says coach

Spain coach Montse Tomé insisted that her team did not deserve to lose Sunday's Euro 2025 final after the World Cup holders were agonisingly beaten 3-1 on penalties by England.

READ MORE: England beat Spain on penalties to win Women's Euro 2025 final

"I think this team deserved more. We worked so hard for a long time to get here, to the final against a top-level side in England, and I thought the team deserved more, or at least to not be left with the feeling we have now," Tome told reporters after the match at St Jakob-Park in Basel.

The game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, with Alessia Russo heading England level just before the hour mark following Mariona Caldentey's 25th-minute opener for Spain.

Spain, appearing in their first ever European Championship final, enjoyed 60 percent of the possession overall and had 24 attempts on goal to England's 10. But they paid the price for not putting the game to bed.

With additional reporting by AFP.