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

Spain wants more American and Canadian tourists

Spanish public tourism body Turespaña is organising a conference in Seville to position Spain among the top European destinations for the Canadian and American markets.

American holidaymakers already represent the sixth largest market for Spain and the fourth biggest spenders, with Canadian tourists following closely behind in terms of expenditure.

"These two countries are highly important source markets due to their progressive and notable economic recovery, with vigorous growth in both tourism volume and spending, and great potential for our country due to their seasonally adjusted effect and high purchasing power," explains Miguel Sanz , general manager of Turespaña.

Turespaña points out that this summer Spain will have numerous direct flights with the United States (Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Mallorca, Málaga and Bilbao) and Canada (Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Málaga, and Valencia), and that one of the aims of the conference is to promote other parts of Spain among Canadian and American tourists.

READ ALSO: Bilbao and New York now linked by three direct flights a week

Spain to greenlight big travel discounts for young people

Young people between the ages of 18 and 30 will be able to travel again this summer with discounts on buses and trains.

The Spanish cabinet will approve this Tuesday the third edition of the Verano Joven programme, which repeats the discounts of between 90 percent and 50 percent on bus tickets and medium-distance, long-distance, and high-speed trains.

The discounts will be valid for travel between July 1st and September 30th and are open to all Spaniards and foreigners legally residing in Spain born between January 1st 1995, and December 31st 2007.

Madrid to host Formula One grand prix

Spain will host two Formula One grands prix in 2026, with the new race in Madrid joining Barcelona, after organisers on Tuesday announced the calendar for a season that could bring big changes on the grid.

The race in the Spanish capital Madrid is on September 11-13 and will bring the curtain down on the European segment of the season.

The new Madrid circuit will have both street and non-street sectors.

Spain's Abascal takes part at gathering of far-right leaders in France

Aimed at marking one year since Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) crushed opponents to win their best-ever vote share in European elections, the get-together in Mormant-sur-Vernisson south of Paris brought together far-right leaders from across Europe.

These included Vox's Santiago Abascal, Hungary's leader Viktor Orban, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the League party Matteo Salvini and former Czech premier Andrej Babis and Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders.

The mood was buoyant and confident in the wake of Donald Trump's return to the White House earlier this year and strong election results across the continent.

Hungary's Orban, revelling in his self-proclaimed status as the "black sheep of the EU" and "Brussels' nightmare", likened European migration policy to "an organised exchange of populations to replace the cultural base" of the continent.

Abascal asserted that "victory belongs to the tenacious" and predicted that Le Pen "will be president" of France, "because they will not be able to stop her."

Spain's top prosecutor closer to trial over leak linked to PM

Spain's top prosecutor moved closer on Monday to facing trial over a legal leaks case that has embarrassed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez after a court ruled he may have breached judicial secrecy.

Álvaro García Ortiz is suspected of leaking secret case files concerning the partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the powerful conservative leader of the Madrid region -- one of several controversies putting pressure on Sánchez's minority left-wing government.

In March last year, Spanish media published a draft agreement between the public prosecutor's office and the lawyer of businessman Alberto González Amador, who is under investigation for alleged tax fraud.

According to the reports, Amador proposed a plea deal in which he would admit to the alleged offences in exchange for avoiding a criminal trial.

Ayuso's conservative opposition Popular Party (PP) has demanded Ortiz's resignation and accused allies of Sánchez of organising the leak.

The Supreme Court began investigating Ortiz in October after a complaint by Amador, who saw the earnings of his health company soar during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Appointed by Sánchez's government in 2022, Ortiz has denied leaking any information about Amador, either personally or through his office.

With additional reporting from AFP.