This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Andrew Peach and in the early hours of Tuesday the 15th of January, these are our main stories.

Hopes remain high that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is very close.

Donald Trump's nominee for Defence Secretary appears before a Senate committee.

President Biden is to remove Cuba

from a list of countries. The U.S. considers state sponsors of terrorism. Also in this podcast,

South Korean investigators clash with supporters at President Yun-sung-Yol as they try to arrest him

over his failed declaration of martial law. And why Starbucks in the U will no longer allow you to go into their coffee shops without buying anything.

I think this is a pretty common policy for retailers that you're supposed to buy something.

And these cafes are for people who are patrons, not necessarily just hanging out with no purpose, I guess.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have been continuing in Qatar,

with all parties saying a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza is closer

than ever. Our correspondent, Jonah Fisher, is in Jerusalem.

From what we understand,

the major issues surrounding this agreement have largely been resolved, but it's now the

details which are being discussed. An Israeli spokesman this morning talked of hundreds of little

details which have to be sorted out, the sort of technical details that

suggest that we have a deal in the offing. I think it should be said at this point that

until everything is agreed, nothing is agreed, so this could still go wrong. But certainly

the mood is that this is the closest we've got a ceasefire agreement of this nature since the war started 15

months ago. It'll be enormously difficult for the Israeli government having got to this point

if it falls apart, difficult with the Israeli public and particularly with the hostage families.

...