1:03 AM AEST | It used to be that toilet-themed products - potties that "sing" when used, books like Everyone Poops - were the domain of toddlers and their hapless parents. But there has been a recent explosion of gear and concepts aimed at enhancing our trips to the loo.

12:00 AM AEST | THE Republicans' nominee for president, John McCain, has disowned the past eight years of George Bush and his Administration as he sought to define himself as a man of principle, experience and character, ready to lead America during dangerous times.