19/12/2016 North West Tonight

earlier this evening. There will be more on that and any

Talks will be held tomorrow to try to prevent a strike

employed by Swissport - are planning to strike

More than half a million passengers are expected to pass

through the airport over the holiday period.

This has become one of the busiest times of the year.

640,000 people are expected to travel through Manchester Airport

That's more than 20% up on last year, it's a record.

At Liverpool too, the numbers are on the up,

And whether or not you are affected by this dispute over pay is likely

First of all, if you're flying from Liverpool, Swissport do

operate baggage handlers there, but they're members of a different

union, so they're not expected to go on strike.

If you fly from Manchester, it may depend on which airline you're with.

Ettihad, Monarch, Virgin Atlantic are three of about 30 airlines that

are involved with Swissport, whose bags are handled by Swissport.

Of course, the company will do their best to minimise any

disruption to passengers, and the dispute may not

even go to a strike, because there are talks tomorrow at Acas.

But the strike is scheduled start at midnight on Thursday

going into Friday morning and to finish at midnight on Christmas Eve,

And even if this strike is called off, just to warn you,

there are two other national disputes threatening

one of them involving airline pilots at Virgin Atlantic,

and the other involving British Airways cabin staff.

So quite a bit of uncertainty if you're heading into the skies

on your way to see family or just to seek some sunshine

Members of Manchester's Syrian community have met tonight

to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in their homeland.

Greater Manchester has the second-largest Syrian

community in the UK, and many are worried about relatives

Syria has been at war for over five years,

with millions of people forced to leave the country.

Those here tonight say they hope their stories will

increase awareness of the true plight of Syrians.

There's been so much confusion over what's happening in Syria

And so much propaganda being promoted.

We wanted to take this opportunity today to explain the situation

Daher arrived in Manchester from Syria two years ago,

They are happy, because they are safe.

But we still think about the other members of our family,

What do you want people here in Manchester to know about Syria?

Just want them to know that the war in Syria is not

a civil war, just between an opposition and a regime.

People want out the street, just for freedom.

Yasser came to the North West from Aleppo last year.

We are in the 21st century, and can you imagine that people

are killed by barrel bombs, just because they ask for freedom?

I think now, our friends in Manchester, especially

Manchester, they get to know the reality and they

While for Haytham, contacting friends and relatives

Everyday, we're looking if they're still alive or not.

Because when you talk to them, you listen to the sound

of the barrel bombs in the background.

It's not easy to listen to that all the time.

Meanwhile, a Greater Manchester charity has launched a huge mission

to provide aid to thousands of people fleeing Aleppo.

As the city's being evacuated under a truce deal, many

Up to 8000 people have already arrived in nearby Azaz,

Earlier, I spoke to Rehan Salim from the charity and asked him how

The word from our ground teams is that people are leaving with only

They are carrying what they can carry in terms of foodstuff, etc.

Unfortunately, they're going through dire conditions,

in the winter it gets down to around minus four degrees.

People are freezing, they don't have any food,

People are struggling making their way to Azaz.

8000 people is a lot to descend on one area,

how do you cope with that amount of people?

That is the issue, and they're expecting maybe another

We and many other charities are working on Azaz.

We're working in terms of providing hot food meals,

particularly when people are coming from this area.

Lack of food and water, we're providing 5000 meals per day.

One of the big concerns for ourselves is that

a good 30-40% of those leaving are children.

The children, many are without their parents.

So when they get to Azaz, they don't have anyone there.

This is a concern for people like Unicef, who are

Reports are saying, because Idlib is right next to Aleppo,

there is potential this could be the next target in

This is something we're preparing for, but for the time being,

We saw you're providing shelter and food, what can people here do?

So far, we've had such great reaction to the Aleppo appeal,

I think, in the first three days, we raised around ?250,000,

that is a testament to the people of Manchester and the UK,

the majority of the donations have come from here.

People are feeling it, with the Facebook videos.

I think people feel a responsibility,

A man and a woman in their 20s have been arrested after a baby was found

A Warrington-based housing association has signed

a ?2.5 billion pound deal to build thousands of flat-pack

Your Housing Group are linking up with the

Chinese National Building Company to build factories in the UK

Its expected at least one of the factories will be

A plaque has been unveiled at Liverpool Town Hall to the memory

of the hundreds of local people who supported the anti-fascist cause

The new memorial marks the 80th anniversary of the war

Of the 130 that went to fight for the International

Brigade against Franco - 28 were killed.

Timothy Broadhurst loves playing sport and socialising with friends -

Now, thanks to a new scheme, he's become a valued member of staff

at the head office of shoe repair firm Timpson in Manchester.

Timothy Broadhurst is 25, and has been working

It's down to DS WorkFit, an organisation which helps

employers to connect with people with Down's syndrome.

This is one of my jobs, car park managing.

This is the postroom, where I sort the post out.

When he first started, his colleagues were given additional

training to understand the challenges facing someone

One of the main objects for us is finding a manager who really

wants to employ someone who has Down's syndrome.

Although his colleagues insist he's treated

He just seems to get in and get on with it, kind of thing.

Every so often, he might need an arm round his shoulder or even

And earlier this year, Timothy received a special award

Presented by none other than Coronation Street

Can I have a pork and turkey, please?

It's made me proud, how I'm working here.

A fun-loving character to have round the building.

Timpson has an opportunities for all policy, and considers anyone

for a role, as long as they're able to do it.

After seeing Timothy successfully hold down a job,

it's hoped other employers may be prepared to do the same.

If you don't want to now the result of the Merseyside derby,

Highlights are on Match Of The Day after this bulletin.

Sadio Mane got Liverpool's winner in injury time for a 1-0 win.

The Reds are now second in the Premier League.

That's it from me, here's Eno with the weather.

Not looking too good. The week ahead looks fairly unsettled. Expect

outbreaks of rain from time to time, and quite strong winds as well.

Tonight it is cloudy and a little breezy, fog patches will form and

temperatures down to three degrees. A cloudy start tomorrow, fog patches

lingering for a time. It will be cloudy throughout the afternoon,

light breaks here and there, breeze picking up. Some drizzly rain in

places, temperatures peaking at 7 degrees. Tomorrow night, we will see

a band of rain pushing through, strong winds behind that rain,

temperatures down to 4 degrees. Heading into Wednesday, a breezy

day, blustery showers, bright spells, temperatures peaking at 8

degrees. We continue in this vein. For Thursday, looking cloudier,

still quite breezy with bright spells, temperatures around 8

degrees. For Friday though, a change on the way. A big brand of rain

pushing through, some very heavy rain and possibly gales as well.

Disappointing temperatures in places, 10 degrees, but feeling

colour. Christmas Eve looks fine at the moment, but for Christmas Day,

unsettled, expect rain, The rest of the weekend, some rain

around, windy, but with dry and bright spells.

Heavy weather is brewing, it will not reach us just yet. It will take

a good few days before the stormy weather reaches us. At the moment,

it's just potential, nothing is certain, but it will be different to

what