Romantic as it sounds, some people in New York weren't hoping for a white Christmas. The tenants of our building have endured 14 days without hot water or heating. We blame Raoul.

If you're keen for a shopping fix overseas this holiday season here are the best streets around the world to fill up the suitcase with goodies.

New York police officer Lawrence DePrimo was celebrated in print and on TV last week for an act of kindness.

Given that so many hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers had more pressing concerns, perhaps that's why the election barely registered in New York City.

The normally bustling New York resembles a ghost town as hundreds of thousands of people flee from Hurricane Sandy, according to expat Kiwis living there.

Biking around New York takes Rob McFarland off-trail and into less-seen neighbourhoods.

On the same plaza where models had strutted the runways just days earlier, it seemed like New York Fashion Week had been a mere prelude to NYCB's glittery fall gala. The evening's star was legendary designer Valentino, and the focus was on clothes, onstage and off.

The Big Apple has myriad temptations for time away from Fashion Week events.

Every so often at Fashion Week, there is a moment when the runway is transported from the bustle of New York to a different time or place. Who needs a plane ticket to join the jet set? Might as well let your clothes do the globe-trotting.

A walk through Manhattan's main thoroughfares during New York Fashion Week reveals some of the sartorial sides of the city.

Leggy blondes and glamorous brunettes - it was definitely the bus for the Gossip Girl tour.

Can accommodation be all things to all people? Samuel Muston checks in to find out.

This boutique New York City hotel is one of a growing number of accommodation providers to invert the 'gay-friendly' tag and market itself as a 'straight-friendly gay hotel'.

For further information see theoutnyc.com.

A lawyer for Katie Holmes denies reports she has filed for an emergency custody and child support hearing.

Katie Holmes may have "blindsided" Tom Cruise with her divorce filing, but the move was reportedly a long time coming for the actress.

Tom Cruise's lawyer speaks out, saying that he hopes the actor's divorce from Katie Holmes goes smoothly.

Shelley Bridgeman goes where the wind takes her on a return visit to New York.

In a global recession, the opportunity to relive one of the world's deadliest peacetime disasters might seem a tough sell. Yet tickets have been sold out for months.

Photographer talks of bloodbath in Sicily 20 years after murder of anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone