promised to do more for people sleeping on the streets. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. the british people have spoken and the answer is, we are out. the eu referendum divided not just the answer is, we are out. the eu referendum divided notjust the politicians, but communities and families. so, against this backdrop, it is perhaps not surprising that in her christmas message, the prime minister appealed to unity. ina in a separate message recorded for the armed forces, theresa may tells them that the government is on their side. jeremy corbyn says his thoughts are with those experiencing loneliness and despair at this time of year. he recently visited a homelessness charity in london, and used his christmas message to repeat the promise he gave them. labour has pledged to put an end to rough sleeping in ourfirst pledged to put an end to rough sleeping in our first term pledged to put an end to rough sleeping in ourfirst term of government. we would do that by doubling the number of homes available for people who have been sleeping on the streets. this christmas message was recorded method of the child refugees in france, calling for tolerance. method of the child refugees in france, calling fortolerance. least traditional message was from the greens. they say 2016 was rubbish, 01’ greens. they say 2016 was rubbish, or words to that effect, and they hope that next year is better. but there is one thing that most of the politicians can agree on, and that is to wish their voters a happy christmas. now on bbc news, in a special edition of our world, allan little examines the forces behind the momentous events of the last year and explores the new political landscape as we enter 2017. the events of the last year have changed our world... popular votes in the united states and the united kingdom have shaken the west. both have been an angry backlash against decades—old policies. who's going to pay for the wall? who? places like this in britain and america got left behind, and it was places like this that voted for donald trump and voted brexit. the rising tide of antiestablishment feeling has found its voice in social media. has the new means of communicating propelled us into an age where fact no longer matters? "post—truth" is the word of the year. what does it mean? it's the speed at which some of these, you know, falsehoods get distributed. and the willingness of people to embrace them. and what does the future look like? is britain's vote to leave the eu the beginning of a wider european unravelling? in the pale winter dawn of western pennsylvania, the deer hunting season has begun. here we go... chuck eriksson has been shooting deer for a0 years. they start hunting here as early as eight years old. over the years, it's changed. we've gone from being meat—seekers to being trophy hunters. it would be a bad day if we see 100 deer in a day, a good day if we see ten or 12. stay still... that's a buck. oh yeah. damn. they spooked when they saw us. this is donald trump country now — blue—collar, plain speaking, patriotic. it is a world that the other america — prosperous, big city, liberal — scarcely recognises. how widespread is this? is everybody in this part of the state involved in deer hunting? i think there is a 25%, 30% part of the population who are doing deer hunting. chuck used to work in the coal industry. but coal and steel were swept away in the age of globalised trade and open borders. when donald trump promised to bring those industries back, chuck began to encourage people to register to vote, knowing that they would support the man promising to make america great again. 0ur area really depended upon natural resources that we were not being allowed to get out of the ground, and be able to produce the steel that we used to in our area. it has really declined. it's to do a lot with the regulations that have been enacted over the last a0 years. how much of a part has competition from overseas played in this decline? for the steel industry, the competition overseas has been tough but it is not because we can't do it for the prices that they can do over there, it's that we have all of these extra add—ons with employee costs and so forth that they do not have over there. that is the problem, for the competition. you think donald trump can bring coal and steel back to this part of the state? i do. i have a lot of hope over the next four years. i can sit back, take a deep breath and give mr trump the chance to make things happen. why is it that parties of the right, notjust here but on both sides of the atlantic, have emerged as champions of the working class? the rust belt state of pennsylvania, a four—hour drive from new york city, has traditionally voted democrat. this year, donald trump voiced the pent—up frustration of decades of decline, and won. his promise to reverse this industrial dereliction is a retreate to economic nationalism. it turns the page on a0 years of western orthodoxy. it challenges the decades long consensus established by the us president ronald reagan, and uk prime minister margaret thatcher. they radically reshaped their country's economies to embrace free markets, free trade, deregulation and competition. the economic revolution that britain and america went through in the 1980s did make both countries richer. in the sense that the overall aggregate wealth grew. it was not so much to matter that the wealth would be unevenly distributed, because greater wealth at the top would trickle down. a rising economic tide would lift all boats. well, not all boats were lifted. places like this in britain and america got left behind, and it was places like this that voted donald trump and brexit. there's an irony in this, and it is that the two countries who pursued the privatising, deregulating, globalising agenda most vigorously, are now the two countries who have an angry popular electoral backlash. what do they now think of those reformers of the 1980s who pushed margaret thatcher for free markets? did trickle—down work? it was really a kind of transatlantic borrowing from ronald reagan, who believed the rising tide would lift all boats. i think that was overoptimistic. it did fail to provide fresh jobs for voters in michigan and west virginia, and ohio. just as it has failed to providejobs in ayrshire, and other parts which have suffered in the decline of heavy industry. 2016 has thrown the political left in both the us and uk into crisis. for the us democrats and the uk labour party were once the authentic voices of working class aspiration. once the parties of socialjustice. the franklin roosevelt memorial in washington, dc recalls a democratic president who used the power of the state to promote social equality. this was a president who presided over a huge expansion in the power and role of federal government, of the state in american society. in social welfare, health care provision, job creation, in rebuilding america's shattered industry. it was a time when the left in american politics, the democratic party, was absolutely aligned with the interests of blue—collar america. what happened ? how did the democratic party become so detached from its working—class base? things are going badly for the middle—class, lower middle—class and working class in america. there has been a huge migration of wealth to the 1%, and everyone else is working two jobs, scrambling, barely getting by. hillary was seen by many people, including myself, as a member of the neo—liberal establishment, the globalised establishment. you know, i probably would have preferred hillary clinton to be president but there are things about globalisation, wall street and goldman sachs, that scare me also. given that reality, it's unsurprising that donald trump was elected. two americas emerged from the country's bitter electoral campaign. each listening to its own separate sources of news, each believing its own separate truths. the american media landscape is now so fragmented that you can choose your news, and never have to expose yourself to the views of people who disagree with you. well, this is something that appeared frequently on social media. it is a quote attributed to donald trump, and it says people magazine, 1998, and the quote is "if i were to run, i would run as a republican. they are the dumbest group of voters in the country. i believe anything on fox news". it sounds very authentic, doesn't it? it sounds like the real donald trump! but he never said this. it is a total, made up quote. this is a fake news website. so it has this headline... "pope francis shocks world, endorses donald trump for president, releases statement". that was shared like a million times on social media. and there's a long quote there from pope francis? right. but there was some fact checking, debunking, of this, wasn't there? what happened to that? this debunking of that was shared 30,000 times. what is the value of fact checking now? particularly in this new environment we are working in. is there a new urgency? fact checking is essential for helping people to discern what is true or not. i remember when jimmy carter would give a speech, that tradition then was on the first day, the newspaper wrote an article. here is what the president said in his speech... then, the next day, there would be an article... here is the reaction to the president's speech. in today's media landscape, all of those elements — the speech, the reaction, the analysis — that is happening in a tweet, at the moment the speech is being given. there's no real time for reflection, only time for reaction and dismissal. donald trump's appeal to blue—collar america finds its british echo here, in the old industrial heartlands of england. these communities have been voting for labour for close to a century. but, injune, they voted to leave the eu. the right—wing uk independence party, or ukip, believes that it, not labour, is now the authentic voice of working—class experience. the lack ofjobs and the lack of opportunities for our young'uns, that is absolutely horrendous. and with the mass migration under the labour party, under tony blair in particular, all the wages were compressed. i think it is a case of ukip filling in the gap where labour once was. for the working class. during the brexit referendum, the official leave campaign said the uk sent £350 million per week to brussels, and this could be better spent on the nhs. they painted it on the side of their campaign bus. critics said that it was a lie. this is what that bus looks like now — new livery and new colours. the pledge to fund health care has gone. just as it has gone from the national discourse. is this the uk's version of so—called post—truth politics? we knew exactly who made the claim written on the side of this bus, they were challenged every day on television. there is still a shared public reality in british politics, a common square when users generated and consumed. but it is gone in america and could go here too. the dangers to democracy are obvious. i think if you wanted a vision of the future, look to russia, where one of the things under vladimir putin has been about creating a regime where nobody can really know anything, and keeping people in this kind of fog of uncertainty. someone trying to create an atmosphere where there are no experts. nobody can know anything. so you probably better let a strongman take charge and govern. and that is not great for democracy, is it? terrible, terrible for democracy. and actually, terrible for journalism. the combined victories brexit and donald trump are felt across europe. the christmas markets of prague are a glittering symbol of a remarkable transformation. from decades of dictatorship and stagnation, to one of the fastest—growing economies in europe. the czech republic's wealth has more than quadrupled in a generation. it's only 27 years since the people here overthrew soviet—backed communism in what came to be known as the velvet revolution. somewhere in this crowd of a00,000, is a much younger me, reporting on those tumultuous events. as the news filtered out of the changes from the dark, suburban building, the central committee had been meeting there in the crisis. 0ur allan little was with the crowd... you can see crowds forming in the square. 0ne here in front of me. people here chanting in the slogans which have become familiar in the last week. flags of the czech republic are being raised all around, and the grandeur of the national museum in front of me lit up in the night sky. it was a really thrilling thing, to stand here beneath that balcony and watch an entire nation rise up to take back control of its own destiny. it wasn't just about democratic transition. at the heart of that revolution lay the idea that they were returning their country to where it properly belonged. to the heart of europe. has that pro—european sentiment survived over the years? eastern europe has its own rust belt. this factory outside of prague once employed 20,000 people. now, it has 300. scepticism about the european union is on the rise across the continent. anti—eu parties are emboldened by the brexit victory in the uk. it extends to the very top of the ruling elite here. to speak about independence is a joke. we wanted to be integrated in the eu. but not unified. i think that the role of the national government is now rather limited. most of the decisions come from brussels, not from prague here. so, this is not independence. despite the decline of its heavy industry, the czech republic has one of the lowest unemployment rates in europe. trade with a single market has given the country's economy far more than it has taken away. public opinion, for now, seems committed to staying in the eu. this man has worked at the plant since the early 1970s. do you think that people have become disillusioned with the eu since those optimistic days 27 years ago? if there was a referendum now, do you think that the czech people would vote to stay in the eu or to leave? half a dozen eu countries have elections scheduled in the coming year. the contest will be dominated by the question of europe, as far right eurosceptic parties ride the wave of popular discontent. among them, marine le pen of the front national in france, and geert wilders of the freedom party in the netherlands. one by one, in 2016, four of the five leaders of the western world to part the international stage — president 0bama, francois hollande of france, matteo renzi of italy, and the uk's david cameron — leaving just one standing. for 70 years, we thought of leadership of the western world as being essentially english—speaking. rooted, as it has been, in the transatlantic partnership. the election of donald trump and britain's decision to leave the eu challenges that assumption for the first time and moves leadership of that old pre—brexit, pre—trump conception of what the liberal democratic west should be here to berlin. and that presents a new challenge and responsibility for germany. how to lead in europe without appearing to dominate. because the idea of german domination still browsers too many ghosts. for the germans, as much as anyone else. germans are incredibly neurotic about world leadership, or even european leadership. they do not like to think of themselves of really having a foreign policy. so, the idea that germany would somehow lead is very disturbing for some germans. i don't think they are well prepared for this moment at all, although things in germany are changing and there is beginning to be slowly a sense that if we do not do it, nobody will. germany remains europe's economic powerhouse, a manufacturing economy and an exporting one. this factory on the german—czech border sells pianos around the world, because they are among the best in the world. this is germany's strength. high—tech, high quality, high end product. but, germany has drawn its european neighbours around itself, locking its own destiny into theirs. building the eu has been germany's way of separating itself from its own past. it has been germany's act of contrition and redemption. in the past, our history is something that really makes us ashamed. 0n the other hand, we have to look forward. and our generation — we are focusing on what it is, about pluralism. if you walk in the streets here in berlin, you will listen to many languages. you will see many people. we all live together, very harmoniously. you know, ifeel european. i don't feel like a german. there is so much thatjoins us, brings us together, than what brings us apart. it seems that germans want their country to be strong and successful, but they do not want their country to be too powerful in europe, or too dominant. is that true? well, at least that is what we all try and what our government tries to be. we also try to be moderate. we always try to integrate and if you look at our government currently, that is what they are going to do. they are trying to integrate and we are trying to integrate too. our history reflects on us in our daily action. so, integration is important for us. european integration, that's big achievement for us. this is what i was telling you about. it has been here since i was a child... for the first time since the second world war, 2017 will see an american president who is actively hostile to the idea of european integration. hostile to the open borders that modern germany has always championed in europe. and, at home, donald trump's victory has unleashed huge expectations. you are excited about what you think donald trump can achieve? iam. for the first time in a year, i'm excited and i think we will have an industrial revolution in our country again, and a building revolution. if i worry, it would be about inflation. but this is the re—industrialisation of america for you? i hope it's going to be, yes. 2016 has changed the shape of our world. upending decades—old assumptions about the values of the liberal democratic west and what they should be built on. we know what we are in transition from but not yet what we are in transition to. good morning, and merry christmas to you. it will be a very mild christmas day. easy as well, with some rain in the forecast. today's weather is linked to the third storm of the winter season, that will really impact across the extreme north during boxing day. but ahead of it this weather fronts are straddling the country and drawing up a lot of cloud from the south—west, but more importantly south—westerly winds, dragging in very mild and for this time of year. so much so that the early birds around first thing this morning will be met by double—figure temperatures in central and southern areas. a mild start to christmas day. a lot of cloud around, thick enough for the odd spot of drizzle in england and wales. 0r persistent rain into scotland and northern ireland. behind it, a real cluster of showers. but it will stay pretty mild, especially in sheltered eastern areas. we could have temperatures into the mid— teens. these are the weather fronts sitting in the borders. as we push further south again it will be quite cloudy, with the temperatures again into the mid— teens perhaps for north wales. widely about 12— 13 degrees and the cloud thick enough for a sport or to —— ortwo of cloud thick enough for a sport or to —— or two of drizzle. the weather front then sinks south and on the back edge, as the storm moves away, that's when we will have the strongest winds and the potential for damaging gusts. we have an amber weather warning affecting extreme north scotland and northern ireland and we could see storm force gusts for a time. so it will be a windy day on boxing day for all of us. the strongest winds further north and more rain pushing down from the north, sinking south and east. for england and wales not a bad day. again quitea england and wales not a bad day. again quite a lot of cloud and still pretty mild. behind it the colder air starts to kick in and that's when we will notice the change. so from tuesday onwards high—pressure will bring. —— will build. fogg could be an issue first thing in the morning. 0nce could be an issue first thing in the morning. once that leaves the way it will be a colder feel to the day and there should be some dry and sunny weather in the story as well. merry christmas. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is lebo diseko. our top stories: donald trump says he will dissolve his controversial charitable foundation to avoid any conflicts of interest. israel's prime minister orders a review of his country's relationship with the united nations after a vote condemning settlement building. in his christmas message, pope francis denounces the suffering of children around the world as security is tight at the vatican. and hard—rocking status quo guitarist rick parfitt has died at the age of 68.