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

World's leading Sunni group slams Spanish ban on Muslim celebrations

The Observatory for Combating Extremism at Al Azhar University in Cairo, the world's leading authority on Sunni Islam, has condemned the recent motion passed by the Spanish town of Jumilla in Murcia, prohibiting the holding of religious events in municipal sports facilities.

The body has denounced the "unjust decision to prohibit Muslims from celebrating their religious rites and celebrations in public spaces," a "populist" measure that it has attributed to the "alliance between Vox and the Popular Party".

The Observatory praised the swift response of institutions such as the Spanish government and the Episcopal Conference, the highest Catholic body in Spain, which have "defended Muslims" against this "unacceptable discrimination."

Appointment scam for foreigners in Spain continues

Leading Spanish daily El País has published a report in which it explains that Spanish authorities seem unable to prevent criminal groups from booking out all available online appointments for official residency matters and charging foreigners to get a so-called cita previa. The newspaper points out that the racket is affecting other public administrations such as national employment agency SEPE and the DGT traffic authority.

Another recent article in Valencian daily Levante EMV spoke up the increasing amount of money desperate foreigners are willing to pay to get their residency documents in order, with people now paying up to €300 for an appointment.

The news comes at a time when reforms to Spain’s Immigration Law have resulted in a considerable increase in the number of applications, as well as tens of thousands of UK nationals who are now trying to renew their Withdrawal Agreement TIE residency cards.

Spanish opposition leader proposes national registry of arsonists

Eager to prove that his right-wing party would have done a better job of preventing Spain’s worst wildfire season on record, Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has proposed 50 measures to prevent blazes in the country.

Of the 50 measures, he told journalists about two main ones: creating a national registry of arsonists, and using "objectifying" criteria in order to automatically address wildfires, in allusion to criticism for the lack of action by authorities in some fire-hit towns.

There are still 14 active wildfires in Spain on Tuesday, the same as the previous day.

Hundreds of young people in Málaga take breathalyser test to see who’s most drunk

What was meant to be a campaign to create awareness about the dangers of drink driving, turned into a competition among young revellers at the Feria de Málaga (Málaga Fair) to see who had drunk more.

It all started with a call to action by a content creator on TikTok, who encouraged his followers to use the breathalyser machines to see who could beat 2 milligrams per litre of exhaled air, around ten times the average drink driving limit.

Up to 7,000 people took part, and the irresponsible viral challenge continued in other towns in Andalusia, such as Córdoba, Montilla or Aguilar de la Frontera.