:00:00. > :00:13.It's Wednesday the 26th of March, Ayshah here. Coming up on this
:00:14. > :00:17.morning's Newsround. I'm happy he's doing it but I'm sad he's gone.
:00:18. > :00:19.We hear from a front line family about missing their Dad fighting in
:00:20. > :00:25.Afghanistan. It's all blue in Manchester as City
:00:26. > :00:29.thump their local rivals 3-0. First up though - many of you in
:00:30. > :00:32.England and Wales will be off school today as thousands of teachers go on
:00:33. > :00:36.strike. Members of the National Union of Teachers aren't going into
:00:37. > :00:39.work today in protest over changes that the government wants to make to
:00:40. > :00:42.their pay, and how much they work. The government says by not going to
:00:43. > :00:45.work teachers are damaging children's learning, but the union
:00:46. > :00:51.says they've been forced into it, because talks about the issue were
:00:52. > :00:54.not working. Next, people in the armed forces
:00:55. > :00:59.often move around for their job and can get sent away for months at a
:01:00. > :01:02.time to fight in war zones abroad. For families left behind, it can be
:01:03. > :01:10.a worrying time, but modern technology helps to stay in touch.
:01:11. > :01:14.We've been to see three girls whose dad is away in Afghanistan with the
:01:15. > :01:16.Royal Air Force to find out what life is like for them.
:01:17. > :01:20.Sisters Emily, Kiera and Lucy and are used to their dad working away
:01:21. > :01:26.with the RAF, but sometimes life in a military family is hard. My dad is
:01:27. > :01:29.in the RAF and right now he is in Afghanistan and it's around by
:01:30. > :01:38.Pakistan and Iraq which are desert places. And his job is he makes sure
:01:39. > :01:41.the runways are safe before certain planes fly off from certain places
:01:42. > :01:48.and he has meetings with people about it and he has to make sure
:01:49. > :01:52.we're all safe back here. I'm proud of him but I just wish he was here,
:01:53. > :01:56.that's the thing, so I'm happy that he's doing it, but I'm sad that he's
:01:57. > :02:03.gone. It's hard to cope when he's away. Lucy and Keira have got their
:02:04. > :02:08.charts and things they look at and it shows like where abouts he
:02:09. > :02:12.actually is and things like that. The girls can keep in touch with
:02:13. > :02:15.letters, phone calls and video chats. Their dad Matt even managed
:02:16. > :02:22.to make an appearance at Christmas dinner, despite the fact he was in
:02:23. > :02:26.Afghanistan. On Christmas day, we definitely tried not to look at the
:02:27. > :02:29.down side of things. We tried to be really happy, and we were actually
:02:30. > :02:32.really lucky to get through to him, because some families couldn't get
:02:33. > :02:36.through to their mums or dads in Afghanistan because of the amount of
:02:37. > :02:39.people using the internet. But even with the help of technology, the
:02:40. > :02:42.girls say missing their dad and worrying about him is difficult. I
:02:43. > :02:45.don't really like watching the news because I don't really want to see
:02:46. > :02:49.what's happening there if something's bad happened. So that's
:02:50. > :02:52.what makes me upset as well, if he's going to get hurt or injured.
:02:53. > :02:58.When they're feeling upset, the girls pull together to cheer each
:02:59. > :03:05.other up. I tell them not to worry because he'll be home soon.
:03:06. > :03:09.Now at last the waiting is over. Dad Matt is arriving home early from his
:03:10. > :03:25.tour, but the girls don't know he's back so soon. Surprise! It's all
:03:26. > :03:27.right, you don't need to get up. And there's a special 15-minute
:03:28. > :03:31.programme all about children from military families right here on CBBC
:03:32. > :03:37.this afternoon. That's front line Families, a Newsround special at
:03:38. > :03:40.5.30pm. Space news now, and we have liftoff.
:03:41. > :03:47.The 07:25 26/03/2014 blasted off in spectacular fashion last night from
:03:48. > :03:50.its launch pad in Kazakhstan. One American astronaut and two Russian
:03:51. > :03:53.cosmonauts are on board. An engine problem has delayed their arrival at
:03:54. > :03:56.the International Space Station, but NASA say that the crew are in no
:03:57. > :04:03.danger. They're expected to arrive on Thursday night.
:04:04. > :04:05.Sport now, and Manchester City sit just three points behind leaders
:04:06. > :04:09.Chelsea in the Premier League, with two games in hand, after a 3-0 win
:04:10. > :04:13.over their rivals United last night. A goal from Edin Dzeko within the
:04:14. > :04:17.first minute of the game set the tone for a one-sided contest at Old
:04:18. > :04:20.Trafford. He picked up another in the second half before Yaya Toure
:04:21. > :04:25.sent the Blue half of Manchester wild in the dying seconds.
:04:26. > :04:28.But there was more bad news for Arsenal, who could only manage a
:04:29. > :04:31.draw away to Swansea. A Mathieux Flamini own goal left the final
:04:32. > :04:38.score 2-2. Arsene Wenger's side are fourth in the table, six points off
:04:39. > :04:42.top spot. And Everton are hot on the Gunners'
:04:43. > :04:45.heels after a slick 3-0 win away at Newcastle. England's Ross Barkley
:04:46. > :04:49.ran from within his own half to score the first goal for the
:04:50. > :04:52.Toffees, sending them fifth in the table. That's all from me, See you
:04:53. > :04:56.in around 30, when we'll hear from one of England's best footballers of
:04:57. > :04:58.the last decade, Mr Frank Lampard, on how he's trying to get kids
:04:59. > :05:00.excited about reading.