Manar Sarhan disinfects her hands after filling a patient&#39;s tooth, readying to catch the Euro 2016 match and analyse it for a newspaper as Egypt&#39;s first woman in mainstream football punditry. 
 
Sarhan, 27, appears weekly on the private CBC television channel to comment on matches, a rare sight in a field monopolised by former football players, all of them men. 
 
&quot;I chose dentistry as a career with my mind, but football is my passion and love,&quot; Sarhan said in a private clinic where she freelances as a dentist.&nbsp;&quot;I tried to play football in the beginning but I didn&#39;t find a good opportunity in Egypt and I think specialising in analysing football makes up a lot for it,&quot; she says, after examining a patient. 
 
Sarhan began working in journalism as a volunteer in 2002, using a basic camera to capture footage for the website of her favourite Egyptian club: Zamalek.&nbsp;Sarhan began writing for the independent Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper and the popular Fil Goal website before she was picked up by satellite sports programmes. 
 
By day, Sarhan works in a government medical centre and chips in at a clinic owned by one of her friends. At night, she clears her schedule to follow games and to read the latest in the world of football. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m a dentist by day, and a football commentator by night,&quot; Sarhan says, laughing as she packs her medical instruments. 
 
&quot;The effort put into commentary is more in spite of the return being lower,&quot; she says.&nbsp;A profitable profession, dentistry is respected by Egyptians. It was not easy to enter the sports commentary world, especially as a woman. 
 
&quot;The field is already difficult for male youths, so what about a girl?&quot; says Sarhan, who decorates her bedroom with posters of Egyptian and European football players. 
 
&quot;I was mocked in the beginning. They would tell me &#39;Girls belong in kitchens&#39;,&quot; she says.&nbsp;Her large following on Twitter suggests otherwise. 
 
Dreams beyond Egypt&nbsp; 
 
Top European clubs and their games are popular viewing in Egypt, and Sarhan has proven to be an expert in the field.&nbsp;Ibrahim Fayek, an anchor at CBC, says hosting Sarhan was &quot;very strange&quot; in the beginning because she is &quot;a lady and a dentist&quot;.&nbsp;Now, he says, he is doing his best to keep her on his show as competitors try to poach her. 
 
&quot;Manar has an expansive and deep understanding of football and she presents a different type of football analysis. Her explanation of the different teams&#39; plans and tactics surprised me,&quot; Fayek said. 
 
At home, Sarhan sits close to a large screen broadcasting Belgium against Wales, jotting down statistics on passing and the players&#39; movements.&nbsp;Nearby lies an old copy of Britain&#39;s World Soccer magazine, with the cover featuring Zinedine Zidane, who she said inspired her love for Real Madrid. 
 
&quot;I would watch a match twice before writing any comprehensive technical analysis,&quot; she says. 
 
Her passion for football inspired Sarhan to learn Spanish so she could track La Liga and the club she supports from original sources.&nbsp;She plans to also learn Italian and Portuguese to expand the sphere of European football that she can follow.&nbsp;Sarhan also follows Spanish youth matches and teams that are less well-known to be able to keep abreast of up-and-coming talents.&nbsp;In one corner of her house rests a ball which her mother says Sarhan still kicks around in the hallway. 
 
&quot;Manar has loved football since she was a child. I wanted her to continue her studies in her profession, but she is happy commentating,&quot; her mother Magda al-Hawary says with evident pride. 
 
Sarhan&#39;s dream goes beyond Egypt&#39;s borders.&nbsp;&quot;My dream is to work in the field of European football in Spain itself, to become international.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

'I chose dentistry as a career... but football is my passion and love,' says 27-year-old Sarhan

Manar Sarhan disinfects her hands after filling a patient's tooth, readying to catch the Euro 2016 match and analyse it for a newspaper as Egypt's first woman in mainstream football punditry. Sarhan, 27, appears weekly on the private CBC television channel to comment on matches, a rare sight in a field monopolised by former football players, all of them men. "I chose dentistry as a career with my mind, but football is my passion and love," Sarhan said in a private clinic where she freelances as a dentist. "I tried to play football in the beginning but I didn't find a good opportunity in Egypt and I think specialising in analysing football makes up a lot for it," she says, after examining a patient. Sarhan began working in journalism as a volunteer in 2002, using a basic camera to capture footage for the website of her favourite Egyptian club: Zamalek. Sarhan began writing for the independent Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper and the popular Fil Goal website before she was picked up by satellite sports programmes. By day, Sarhan works in a government medical centre and chips in at a clinic owned by one of her friends. At night, she clears her schedule to follow games and to read the latest in the world of football. "I'm a dentist by day, and a football commentator by night," Sarhan says, laughing as she packs her medical instruments. "The effort put into commentary is more in spite of the return being lower," she says. A profitable profession, dentistry is respected by Egyptians. It was not easy to enter the sports commentary world, especially as a woman. "The field is already difficult for male youths, so what about a girl?" says Sarhan, who decorates her bedroom with posters of Egyptian and European football players. "I was mocked in the beginning. They would tell me 'Girls belong in kitchens'," she says. Her large following on Twitter suggests otherwise. Dreams beyond Egypt Top European clubs and their games are popular viewing in Egypt, and Sarhan has proven to be an expert in the field. Ibrahim Fayek, an anchor at CBC, says hosting Sarhan was "very strange" in the beginning because she is "a lady and a dentist". Now, he says, he is doing his best to keep her on his show as competitors try to poach her. "Manar has an expansive and deep understanding of football and she presents a different type of football analysis. Her explanation of the different teams' plans and tactics surprised me," Fayek said. At home, Sarhan sits close to a large screen broadcasting Belgium against Wales, jotting down statistics on passing and the players' movements. Nearby lies an old copy of Britain's World Soccer magazine, with the cover featuring Zinedine Zidane, who she said inspired her love for Real Madrid. "I would watch a match twice before writing any comprehensive technical analysis," she says. Her passion for football inspired Sarhan to learn Spanish so she could track La Liga and the club she supports from original sources. She plans to also learn Italian and Portuguese to expand the sphere of European football that she can follow. Sarhan also follows Spanish youth matches and teams that are less well-known to be able to keep abreast of up-and-coming talents. In one corner of her house rests a ball which her mother says Sarhan still kicks around in the hallway. "Manar has loved football since she was a child. I wanted her to continue her studies in her profession, but she is happy commentating," her mother Magda al-Hawary says with evident pride. Sarhan's dream goes beyond Egypt's borders. "My dream is to work in the field of European football in Spain itself, to become international." (AFP)

Egyptian dentist becomes country's first-ever female football pundit

Evidence gathered in an investigation into the crash of EgyptAir flight 804 in May shows the plane likely broke up midair after a fire near or inside the cockpit that quickly overwhelmed the crew, according to Egyptian officials involved in the inquiry, the New York Times reported.

But officials could not determine whether the fire thought to have caused the crash had been set off by a mechanical malfunction or by a malicious act, the report said.

The findings are based on information from the Airbus A320&rsquo;s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder along with an analysis of the condition and distribution of recovered debris, including human remains, according to forensic and aviation officials in Cairo, the report said.

The officials spoke this week on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly, the New York Times said.

The Airbus A320 from Paris to Cairo plunged into the eastern Mediterranean on May 19 and all 66 people on board were killed. 
 
(Reuters)

It could not be determined whether the fire was caused by a mechanical malfunction or a malicious act, the report said

Evidence gathered in an investigation into the crash of EgyptAir flight 804 in May shows the plane likely broke up midair after a fire near or inside the cockpit that quickly overwhelmed the crew, according to Egyptian officials involved in the inquiry, the New York Times reported. But officials could not determine whether the fire thought to have caused the crash had been set off by a mechanical malfunction or by a malicious act, the report said. The findings are based on information from the Airbus A320’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder along with an analysis of the condition and distribution of recovered debris, including human remains, according to forensic and aviation officials in Cairo, the report said. The officials spoke this week on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly, the New York Times said. The Airbus A320 from Paris to Cairo plunged into the eastern Mediterranean on May 19 and all 66 people on board were killed. (Reuters)

EgyptAir flight 804 broke up midair after fire: New York Times

The damaged black box flight recorders of an EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean last month are to be sent to France for repairs, the Egyptian investigative committee said on Thursday. 
 
It said the memory units were damaged from the two recorders recovered from the seabed almost a month after the crash of the Airbus A320. 
 
Investigators hope the recorders will reveal the cause of the May 19 crash of flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo, in which 66 people were killed. 
 
&quot;The memory units of the two flights recorders were damaged,&quot; the investigative committee said in a statement. 
 
It said members of the panel would travel to France next week &quot;with the electronic circuits of the two black boxes to have them repaired in laboratories of the (French air safety agency) BEA and to eliminate salt deposits&quot;. 
 
The repaired units would be returned to Cairo for analysis in Egypt&#39;s aviation ministry laboratories, the committee said. 
 
It also said that French forensic doctors would join their Egyptian counterparts to take part in the recovery operations of body remains at the site of the crash, in which 30 Egyptian passengers and 15 French nationals were among the dead. 
 
The investigative committee began examining the black boxes last Saturday in the presence of representatives from France and the United States, where the engine was made. 
 
The data on the boxes are being unloaded, before they are fully analysed in a procedure that is expected to last several weeks. 
Investigators have said it is too early to determine what caused the plane to crash, although a terror attack has not been ruled out. 
 
France&#39;s aviation safety agency has said the aircraft transmitted automated messages indicating smoke in the cabin and a fault in the flight control unit minutes before it disappeared. 
 
Egyptian investigators have confirmed the aircraft had made a 90-degree left turn followed by a 360-degree turn to the right before hitting the sea. 
 
The crash came after the bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt&#39;s restive Sinai Peninsula last October that killed all 224 people on board. 
 
(AFP)

French forensic doctors will join the Egyptian investigation agency in revealing the cause of the May 19 crash that killed 86 people

The damaged black box flight recorders of an EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean last month are to be sent to France for repairs, the Egyptian investigative committee said on Thursday. It said the memory units were damaged from the two recorders recovered from the seabed almost a month after the crash of the Airbus A320. Investigators hope the recorders will reveal the cause of the May 19 crash of flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo, in which 66 people were killed. "The memory units of the two flights recorders were damaged," the investigative committee said in a statement. It said members of the panel would travel to France next week "with the electronic circuits of the two black boxes to have them repaired in laboratories of the (French air safety agency) BEA and to eliminate salt deposits". The repaired units would be returned to Cairo for analysis in Egypt's aviation ministry laboratories, the committee said. It also said that French forensic doctors would join their Egyptian counterparts to take part in the recovery operations of body remains at the site of the crash, in which 30 Egyptian passengers and 15 French nationals were among the dead. The investigative committee began examining the black boxes last Saturday in the presence of representatives from France and the United States, where the engine was made. The data on the boxes are being unloaded, before they are fully analysed in a procedure that is expected to last several weeks. Investigators have said it is too early to determine what caused the plane to crash, although a terror attack has not been ruled out. France's aviation safety agency has said the aircraft transmitted automated messages indicating smoke in the cabin and a fault in the flight control unit minutes before it disappeared. Egyptian investigators have confirmed the aircraft had made a 90-degree left turn followed by a 360-degree turn to the right before hitting the sea. The crash came after the bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula last October that killed all 224 people on board. (AFP)

Egypt fails to retrieve data from black boxes of crashed EgyptAir plane, flight recorders to be sent to Paris

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