08/01/2014 Newsround

Hi, guys, Martin here, asking for your questions for the world's most

famous spaceman. Plus the latest on the

T-shirt-freezing temperatures in the US.

This is Newsround. Let's start with the news that China

has lifted a 14-year ban on people owning games consoles. Things like

PlayStations and Xboxes were outlawed there, because the

government thought they affected young people's minds. The country

has a long history of keeping tight control over its citizens. Here's

Ricky with more. Unlike the UK, people in China don't

get to vote for who they want to be in charge. The country is ruled by

the Communist Party, a huge organisation with more than 80

million members. The party has strict rules on what children learn

at school, what they watch on TV and even what they can do online. They

censor some websites and search results. Access to Facebook and

Twitter is restricted. And in the year 2000, the government said it

was banning foreign games consoles to protect young people's mental

health. Now after 14 years, the console ban has been lifted. That

could be pretty significant, and not just for gamers. This is a huge

step, allowing companies to sell their consoles. They will be racing

each other to get into the market first. Whether it means China is

becoming more liberal is another question. A lot of the games will

still be subject to government censorship. Because of the console

ban, most gamers in China play on the PC.

So while allowing foreign consoles to be sold in China may be good news

for gamers, it's unlikely to be a sign that there are big changes

coming for the country as a whole. Next, to more confusion over when

the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar will actually be held. This morning,

the General Secretary of FIFA, the organisation that runs world

football, said the competition definitely wouldn't be in summer,

because of high temperatures. He said it would be in November or

January instead. But this afternoon, his bosses said no official decision

will be made until after this summer's tournament in Brazil.

Elsewhere, America is continuing to cope with record low temperatures.

It is minus 26 in some areas, which is colder than the Antartic coast at

the moment. This reporter in Washington, DC saw a T-shirt she had

covered in water freeze solid in five minutes.

And tomorrow morning on Newsround, we're doing a very special live

interview with the legendary astronaut Chris Hadfield. He is

famous for doing everything in space from singing to making sarnies. We

want YOUR question to put to him. I'm chatting to him at 7:40

tomorrow, so head to the website now to get your questions in quick.