millions are still suffering one month after devastating earthquakes in turkey and syria. we report from northwestern syria where thousands are too traumatized and afraid to return to damaged buildings that were once their homes. also on the program, the battle for bakhmut is not yet over. ukraine's military says it wants

to strengthen the embattled city's defenses even as russian forces tighten their grip on surrounding areas. plus, a crime against humanity. a new un report condemns the taliban's treatment of women and girls in afghanistan as the country reopens its universities to men only. ♪ to our viewers on pbs in the united states and around the world, could to have you with us. it has been one month since massive earthquakes hit southern turkey and northwestern syria. within 50,000 people were killed in the worst natural zest or in modern turkish history. the >> epicenter -- the epicenter was close to the syrian border. millions of people have been

left injured, homeless or liking basic facilities. ankara declared a state of emergency for the provinces most affected. the government arrested contractors suspected of shoddy craftsmanship. in syria, years of war have made the situation harder to evaluate. aleppo and idlib were among the cities hit and a powerful aftershock triggered new fears. we have a report now from idlib. reporter: at nightfall, this 4444-year-old fills his car with blankets and drives to the outskirts of idlib, far away from the city's crumbling residential buildings. he spends the night here with his son. since the second earthquake struck northwestern syria and

turkey, hundreds of families are afraid to sleep in their own homes for fear of being trapped inside if they collapse. >> after all the earthquakes, my son and i are traumatized. we don't dare stay-at-home because it's not safe there. we have a -- we have not bought a tent, they cost between $200 and $400 and we can't afford one so we have decided to stay here. reporter: the earthquakes that struck northern syria and killed most 6000 people also destroyed thousands of structures. after the second earthquake, nearly 200,000 people were displaced. families abandoned their homes as aftershocks made the initial damage from the quakes even worse. many moved into tents in front of their houses or in other public laces.

a relief organization based in germany says the challenges are numerous. >> the most crucial obstacle to expanding refugee camps, to accommodate the enormous number of people displaced by the earthquakes, is that the communities were not ready to build such facilities. and there's the challenge of providing enough tents. after the second earthquake m a even more people abandoned -- earthquake, even more people abandoned their homes because of the trauma they experienced in the first one. reporter: near the city of idlib , a man offered shelter on his farm and swimming facility to people who had lost their homes or families who were afraid their buildings would collapse on them. >> after the first earthquake, we received 22 families who lost their homes. after the second one, many more came here because they were afraid to stay in their buildings.

as you can see, it is difficult to meet their needs. reporter: for thousands of syrians, the choice is between living on the streets or living in fear. anchor: turkey's government has drawn criticism for its handling of the earthquakes as well. an alliance of opposition party has reunited the challenge president erdogan ahead of elections may 14. the leaders have agreed on a candidate to face off erdogan in the election. he was already seen as a front runner, but the opposition alliance fracture last week. turkeys upcoming election is likely to be the closest contest in order one -- in erdogan's rule. i spoke to our correspondent and i asked what had changed in the past few days and hours to make the opposition leaders reunite.

>> that's a big question that people are asking. the second largest party out of the coalition of six, the leaders stormed out basically saying she believed the candidate was not electable. she believed a mayor from istanbul, and the ankara mayor were better candidates. she walked out and made an appeal to both of those mayors to bring themselves forward as a potential candidate and another of them did. they stood by the leader of their party and she had nowhere else to go and she has returned back to the fold. now the coalition of five is a coalition of six and they are united behind the candidate and argued up to challenge president erdogan. anchor: tell us about this

candidate. >> he is a 74-year-old who has been a veteran of turkish politics and in many ways is the opposite of president erdogan. very quiet, many people say he doesn't have the charisma of erdogan but he is seen as a man of integrity and resolute. he is kurdish, and also a liberal islamic, which many turks consider heretics, which is another reason he will struggle in the campaign. despite those things, he has risen to the top of turkish politics, the leader of the main opposition party and he has reshaped his party. he took it over in 2010, it was dead in the water and no one could challenge erdogan. he has rebuilt the party, it controls four out of the five main cities in turkey, including istanbul and ankara. but critics say he has never won

an election against erdogan. this is expected to be the closest in one -- one's history. anchor: what are his chances? >> president erdogan is fighting a tough battle, inflation is high, there's a cost-of-living crisis in the country and then we had the devastating earthquakes, the worst in the turkish republic's history. why so many people died in the feelings of -- the failings of the buildings, that will be key on the agenda. that's why many people think erdogan will face the toughest fight in his career. it will be a close fight and what many people say is maybe the most important election in turkish history. anchor: i know this may be hard to answer, but what would a change of rule lead to in turkey

at home and internationally? >> for turkey it would mean the end of the presidential system, a return to a full parliamentary system, which is something it will be a key factor in these elections. but also it will reaffirm the belief that democracy is vibrant in turkey. many people believe president erdogan will never be removed from power. it will also see a major reset. erdogan has changed turkish diplomacy. what we expect would be a more conventional approach between turkey and its allies. anchor: thank you so much. ukrainian military leaders are determined to hang onto the embattled town of bakhmut according to a statement. news comes amid growing signs of

a rift between the russian wagoner mercenary group and the kremlin. the wagner leader says they have been denied access to russia's military headquarters in ukraine. this after a warning that he and his troops were running out of ammunition in bakhmut despite muska promising new supplies last month. he said this risks the collapse of the front line near the city. earlier i spoke with a senior fellow with the foreign policy research institute that has published extensively on russia and i asked him how much we should make on what looks like a growing rift between wagner and russia's military command. >> i think it is significant because the founder and leader of wagner, and the military command fallout, that dissension spreads through the ranks and has a corrosive effect on the military.

it also has a corrosive effect on russian politics at the higher levels of command. i think it is a significant development. anchor: not many people speak out against russian leadership the way he has done. how powerful has he become through his group's involvement in the war? >> i don't think anybody is quite sure how powerful he is. he obviously feels he can get away with doing this, as you pointed out, is not common that anybody criticizes the russian government or military publicly and gets away with it. as he has up until now. he obviously feels he has enough political space or power or affinity with putin to do so. the longer this goes on, sooner or later putin will have to slap him down. as it is, he is complaining his people aren't getting ammunition, that indicates the

government is not inclined to listen to him. anchor: he says without his mercenaries, the front line crumble. is he threatening putin with withdrawal indirectly? >> i think he is, but is not only withdrawal. if you're not getting ammunition, you cannot fight. they would be killed. if he was to pull his troops out, i don't think the whole military would fall but there would be significant damage to the russian military position. anchor: how concerned do you think putin should be about these divisions? the optics are anything but good. >> the optics to us are one thing, the optics to putin are another and people make the mistake of judging russian political developments through an american or west european prism, which is not a well-founded way to do things.

putin is using this for his own purposes to be the ultimate arbitrator between them. but at some point if you have a force of thousands of people where morality is falling apart -- morale is falling apart and they are threatening to withdraw because they don't have ammunition, somebody's gonna have to do something, to stop him or give him what he wants. anchor: thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. anchor: staying in ukraine, a year of war has crippled the economy as russian attacks devastate energy of a structure, production and block ports. work goes on despite the attacks. nick connolly has met with people who are keeping ukraine's metals industry going in the face of the airstrikes. reporter: it is a sound that means one thing -- time to head

for safety underground. no matter how any times you've heard it, and never stops being unnerving. a year on, reduction at this metal plant continues regardless. thanks to this improvised set up, the people down here can keep the machines running up above. their boss shows us his emergency supplies if needed, they can survive on these provisions for days or even weeks. so far this plant has not been hit, with russian troops still less than 100 kilometers away, the risks are real. >> this is war. no one can possibly know what will happen tomorrow. we cannot afford not to be prepared. i pray we will never need any of this. reporter: other ukrainian companies have been less fortunate. two russian missiles a few days apart hit the site, killing two

people. at a different time, the figure would have been higher. >> a rocket can come anytime and anyplace, any house, any facility. my first time here, i did not want to come because i remember the equipment, i remember how much effort was spent making all of this. [sighs] the russian world came to my plant. reporter: we visit another factory. it is still going but struggling with the effects of russian attacks on ukraine's power system. >> every time the power goes off, the last couple of months when there is a rocket alert, the energy company turns off the electricity. that happens unpredictably. every time this happens, we lose

around 40,000 to 50,000 euros. they lose the temperature and they break. reporter: workers can now prevent uncontrolled shutdowns, using natural gas to stabilize the temperature until electricity returns. before, they would lose days of production every time the power went off and now it is down to a matter of hours. the power isn't the only problem they are dealing with. ukrainian firms operating against the odds are finding many customers in europe don't want to work with them. they are afraid war will prevent their ukrainian supplies from delivering. >> sometimes [indiscernible] everybody is fighting. my job is to make sure the

batteries are working, people are getting salaries. i can help the soldiers. reporter: not every business can roll with the punches like this one. at least a quarter of his competitors have gone out of business and the bankruptcies keep coming. for all the resilience on show, ukraine's economy is still in freefall. leaving this country and its army ever more dependent on international support. anchor: let's look at some of the other news making headlines around the world today. a court in belarus has sentenced and exiled opposition leader to 15 years in prison for treason. she said the conviction was revenge from the authorities and vowed to continue her activism. she was forced to flee belarus and 2020 after mass protests broke out when alexander lukashenko claimed to have won an election that was disputed.

a massive fire has destroyed make fish -- makeshift accommodation at the world's biggest refugee camp in bangladesh could there were no reports of deaths or injuries. the facility housed ndreds of thousands of muslims who fled persecution in myanmar. mexican authorities have found 343 migrants in an abandoned truck trailer in the eastern state of veracruz. over 100 unaccompanied children were among those on board. the migrants were unharmed with the trailer specially outfitted for people smuggling with fans and ventilation ports. protesters have clashed with police in the u.s. state of georgia at the sight of a planned police training center in atlanta. authorities said 35 people were arrested after they threw rocks and firearms at officers. the new facility -- there is fear that the new facility will

fuel police militarization. the taliban's treatment of women and girls in afghanistan could amount to a crime against humanity according to a u.n. report presented at the human rights council in geneva. since the taliban sees power again, they have drastically curtailed women's freedoms and rights, including the ability to attend high school and university. the u.n. report calls this an intentional and calculate a to erase women from public life. today, only men in afghanistan returned to university after the winter break. the taliban rulers hard women from higher education last december, accusing students of violating a strict dress code. reporter: back to class after the winter break. a chance to catch up with friends after time away, the only site of women at this private university in kabul is on the walls and posters

encouraging female students to wear a hijab. a reminder of life here before the taliban and women from higher education late last year. >> we didn't have any issue with our sisters having segregated classes from us. our point was even if they had to study alone, we were happy about it. last year we were segregated and they were studying. there was no issue with it. reporter: the ruling in december was met with protests amid widespread local outrage, with many of those taken to the streets young women now denied access to higher education. >> my personal view is if girls are not educated, half of the society will be paralyzed. so half of the society needs to come out of this paralysis. more progress you have in a society, the better. rosario and. -- girls are human. they must continue into study in

schools and university. reporter: the taliban says the decision to bar women from university classrooms was made because dress codes and gender-based religious restrictions were being ignored. the country is among the most restrictive in the world for women's education with a slum -- a similar ban for girls and secondary school. united nations says the directors could create a lost generation, claiming everyone has a right to an education. anchor: a british afghan who works as a policy advisor to the government has more. >> the urgency of the situation of women in afghanistan cannot be overstated. 532 days since the taliban banned girls from school and 78 since they banned women from university. as universities begin to reopen following the winter break, we

have seen girls continue to be banned from continuing education in afghanistan. this can amount to a crime against humanity when women make up 50% of the population inside the country. what we need is international condemnation. their excuse that women were not adhering to dress codes cannot be justifiable. women were following all codes and rules set out by the taliban and still they are banned from education. what we are seeing now is potentially leading to a permanent ban from going to school or university and we cannot allow this to continue for more years to come. this needs to end and we need international solidarity, a solution and the taliban used to be held accountable. anchor: what can the international community do to make sure the taliban are held accountable?

>> first of all, we have sanctions -- the taliban, the route used previously. the international crimes investigation. and we are seeing women on the streets today, there are a number of women sitting outside kabul university boycotting the taliban rule on banning women from going to university. we need to amplify those women on the ground. they exist, they want to stand up for their rights, but we needed to support them, financially or through other means, to make sure they are supported, secured, to continue resisting for social change in the country. i understand the western interest in afghanistan has been lost in some anyways. there is a fatigue over what we can do for the country. this means it is time now to work with those inside the country, and muslim majority

countries neighboring afghanistan can also step up and play their part. anchor: the u.n. chief says women and girls in afghanistan have effectively been erased from public life. how do you see the future for girls and women in the country? >> the outlook is dire. the last few days, there has been an announcement that women who secured divorces prior to the taliban takeover, they can be considered illegal. any future divorces women may want to take have been banned. the situation continues to grow and appear grim and the cons accuses -- the consequences of preventing women from having an education or public life will be long-lasting. even if the taliban were ousted tomorrow, confining girls to

their homes, subjecting them to abuse and violence and denying them of their fundamental human rights, it could be catastrophic not just for the women of the country but for the entire nation and for generations to come. anchor: thank you so much. some sports now. a ukrainian athlete has dedicated her tour title to the victims in her country. she won the final in texas after beating her putting a straight sets. she did not shake her opponents hand or pose for photos with her after the match. in her victory speech, she paid tribute to ukrainians. >> being in the position i am right now, it is special to win this title. i want to dedicate this title to

ukraine and all the people who are fighting and dying right now. anchor: england's from your league, liverpool thrashed manchester united to record their biggest over victory over their archrivals. one player became the record league score in the process. six of liverpool's seven goals came in a dominant second half. it was manchester united's worst defeat to any team since 1931. unsurprisingly, the two coaches were in very different moods after the game. let's hear from both, starting with liverpool. >> top performance. really top performance from the start. i thought the way we started the game was special. for a long time we were aggressive, we played football, we were calm in the right

moments. >> i don't think it is in chester united. it is really poor. anchor: namar will be out for the rest of the season. he will undergo surgery to repair an ankle injury. he will be out of action for several months. the club say he has suffered instances of instability recently and has missed the last two games. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. hope to see you there. ♪ ♪ñtñf?o■ñ■#■#■#■■

>> live from paris, analysis from france 24. these are the headlines. bakhmut in the balance. the ukraine town is a symbol of a war of attrition. russia claims to have it surrounded, but there is evidence ukraine is pushing back their invaders. turkiye's opposition unites to challenge the sitting president erdogan. -- is predicted to make it a close race. a