"I'm going to talk to as many people as possible who knew him to plug in the bits and pieces of his history," he explained. "I need to know."The story that is slowly emerging is one of drifting and homelessness that suddenly turned for the better in 1998 when Mr Penny Snr entered a neighbourhood housing and employment programme in Manhattan. The agency found him a job – collecting paper to be recycled from offices in the World Trade Centre."He loved that building, he loved that job," said Khimo Pereyra, an assistant at the Grand Central Neighbourhood agency. Every day, Richard Snr would turn up at the World Trade complex at 8am and start his rounds on the upper floors of the north tower Which is where he was when the first jet hit.. If New York's central mortuary offered student placements in August, Oliver Monfredi, a Leeds University medic, would not have been in its main autopsy theatre at 9.10am on 11 September It doesn't He was. If New York's central mortuary offered student placements in August, Oliver Monfredi, a Leeds University medic, would not have been in its main autopsy theatre at 9.10am on 11 September It doesn't. He was. Los Angeles – the only residency available in August – had already provided a shattering daily experience of 50 autopsies and 15 or so suspicious deaths before Mr Monfredi arrived in New York for a September "wind-down".

He became one of the few Britons on the front line of immediate salvage efforts.Although a 23-year-old with no pathology experience before the summer, Mr Monfredi was asked to find distinguishing features from bodies and body parts. "Detecting a scar to the groin, a tattoo to the abdomen meant people knowing that someone was dead and a funeral," he said. Taking photos of a child from a victim's wallet was "as low as it got".That morning there had been only two autopsy cases when a technician and known practical joker said a plane had hit the World Trade Centre. When it became clear he was serious, the thought in the room was "it's going to be a light plane, a two-seater", said Mr Monfredi.The first examinations were concluded in 15 eerie minutes. "I thought they were going to arrive with a truck full of victims but never did," he said "There were four [victims], then two, then two. When firemen began carrying dead firemen in, I finally felt like a foreigner."He now plans a career in obstetrics, rather than pathology "I've seen enough to last a lifetime," he said..

Yasser Arafat, who was waiting for Israel to act on its decision to pull back from the West Bank, is facing an internal challenge from dozens of militants who declared a hunger strike in protest over their imprisonment. Yasser Arafat, who was waiting for Israel to act on its decision to pull back from the West Bank, is facing an internal challenge from dozens of militants who declared a hunger strike in protest over their imprisonment. The prisoners, mostly members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), were jailed by Mr Arafat's security forces under pressure from the international community, which is urging him to crack down on militants or face Israeli reprisals.Israel's raids into Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank – involving six towns and a massive military swoop on a small village – came after the PFLP assassinated Rechavam Zeevi, Israel's hard-right Tourism minister. Israel has been pressing Mr Arafat to arrest PFLP activists.Abdel-Rahim Mallouh, a PFLP official, condemned the arrests as "political" – a view that is certain to be shared by many Palestinians angered by Mr Arafat's tactics, particularly his pro-American stance, in the aftermath of 11 September.International diplomats have recently warned that his Palestinian Authority could easily topple under the weight of internal opposition and Israeli military pressure.Israeli ministers yesterday said that the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, will soon begin pulling back tanks and troops after "incursions" that have infuriated the US and led to the killing by the Israeli army of more than 45 Palestinians. But the scale and timing of the withdrawal remained unclear.Israeli and Palestinian security officials met yesterday to discuss the withdrawal, amid warnings that the Israelis will reverse the decision if they conclude that Yasser Arafat has not met their stringent security demands.The risk that the pull-out could be torpedoed by more violence was underlined early yesterday in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli soldiers shot dead three armed guerrillas, from the Islamic-nationalist Hamas group, attempting to infiltrate a Jewish settlement. Troops also shot and killed a Bedouin Arab who – according to the army – drove a tractor through to the fence separating the strip from Israel.Shimon Peres, the Israeli Foreign Minister, said that Israel planned to propose withdrawing its forces from Bethlehem and neighbouring Beit Jala, "provided the Palestinians will guarantee there will be a ceasefire and security arrangements".