Latest news with #Swann
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
The sad reason why a $29 Bunnings buy is selling out across Australia
As concerns over personal safety grow across Australia, a pocket-sized device from Bunnings is becoming a must-have item for women, and now their children too. The Swann Graphite Gen 2 ActiveResponse Personal Alarm, retailing for just $29, is flying off the shelves as more women turn to the affordable gadget for extra peace of mind. But it's not just adults who are reaping the benefits of this modern safety essential, concerned mums are now purchasing the alarm for their kids as they become more independent. Small enough to clip onto a key ring or backpack, the device features two alarm modes: a siren and flashing light activated by pulling the keychain for immediate attention, and a discreet red button that silently sends an SOS message with real-time GPS coordinates to designated emergency contacts. 'Every parent should get one of these for your child,' one Bunnings reviewer raved. 'It's amazing how well it works.' The surge in popularity reflects a broader trend in Australia, where women, particularly mothers, are increasingly investing in personal safety tools amid rising concerns about violence and street harassment. In a 2023 report by Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety, nearly two-thirds of Australian women reported feeling unsafe walking alone at night. It's no surprise then that products like the Swann personal alarm are gaining traction as a modern solution to an age-old problem. 'This is a wonderful product, small and well made,' another reviewer wrote. 'I bought this for my child who has just started high school and has started catching public transport... We've tested it a few times just to be sure and it's amazing how well it works.' For mums like this, the device offers 'a little bit of backup just in case.' 'I'm not paranoid,' she wrote in her online review, 'but you still want that little bit of backup… She barely notices it's there, and I know if anything ever felt off, she could press the button and I'd get the alert straight away.' Unlike traditional personal alarms, the Gen 2 version includes built-in mobile connectivity and GPS, removing the need to pair with a smartphone - a critical feature for younger users or those who may not always carry their phones. The personal alarm also has the tick of approval from New Zealand TikToker Jen Lourdes, who posted a now-viral video on the device. Jen said she picked up the device after seeing other women recommend it as a simple but effective way to feel a little safer. 'There was a lady on TikTok that recommended getting the personal alarm,' Jen said. The small, pocket-size device packs a serious punch when it comes to making enough noise to help ward off danger 'This is really great if you're going runs or you're solo travelling, or if you work night shifts.' The small, sleek, pocket-size device doesn't look like much, but packs a serious punch when it comes to making enough noise to (hopefully) ward off danger. 'What you do is you pull it, and it makes a really loud noise,' Jen explained. Alternatively, you can push a button and it texts a friend or family member. Compact enough to clip onto a keychain or lanyard, the alarm is easy to carry during a jog, stash in a handbag or keep close while walking to the car after a night shift. 'I'm slowly started to get into running so I thought it would be perfect to take with me when I go on a run,' Jen added. 'I also do a lot of solo travelling for work, I feel like it's just a bit of extra security.' While it's comforting to know gadgets like this exist, the surge in popularity sadly reflects a growing reality: women in 2025 are still forced to think about personal safety every time they step outside alone. 'The fact that we live in a world where we need this to feel safe,' one follower commented. 'These should be handed out for free at police stations tbh. Genius!' added another. While the Swann ActiveResponse offers a quick, affordable way to feel more empowered, the hope remains that one day, women won't have to plan their day around personal protection. For now though, many are praising Jen and others like her for spreading the word about such a useful gadget. 'Omg this is such a good idea!! Need this asap.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MCC launches ‘cricket's got talent'
'I love how old school this is, it's cut-throat,' says Graeme Swann, the great England off-spinner, with his trademark enthusiasm. 'In two days' time, a few of these lads will be cut. But that pressure helps you in professional cricket: make sure you're not one of the guys who misses out.' Swann is in Lord's Pavilion on what feels like the first rainy day in months. He is not long back from India, where he was on commentary duty, and is relishing his first role as head coach, with the reformed Marylebone Cricket Club Young Cricketers. Swann is overseeing a sort of cricketing talent show. On Tuesday, he was joined by 22 young cricketers who have either been released by a first-class county, or are yet to be discovered by them. On Thursday, after two days' training at Wormsley, the beautiful Getty ground in Buckinghamshire, eight players will be cut from the squad. The remaining 14 will spend the next three weeks under Swann, playing red and white-ball cricket against a mixture of outfits: county second teams, Jersey, and the South Asian Cricket Academy, the brilliant intervention scheme that has already helped more than a dozen talented players find professional contracts. When the fixtures conclude, one player will have a county contract for the duration of the MetroBank One-Day Cup in August funded by MCC. Another two will be selected for MCC's tour of Zimbabwe this winter. Gray-Nicolls is also offering one player a bat sponsorship. All the players are paid a day rate through the month, too. 'They're a bit nervous this morning,' Swann says, smiling. 'But I understand that. The stakes are high and it can be overawing here.' Swann is from the modern school of coaching, focusing on providing inspiration and tactical insight, rather than smothering players in technique. He has worked with Trent Rockets and the England Lions and Under-19s. The South Asian Cricket Academy has already proved that talent is slipping through county pathways, and he is determined to help find it. 'There's a lot of untapped talent out there,' he says. 'I was a late developer. Look at Gus Atkinson, who suddenly put on pace, or Joe Root, who could barely lift his bat at 18. I hope to bring it out of these boys. I couldn't believe that Jack Carney, who I knew from England Under-19s, was here, and didn't have a pro contract. He's a brilliant player and if he's the benchmark, then I'm very excited. 'Not everyone fits into the traditional system. At the end of the day a county pathway is a coach's judgment. If they don't see someone in somebody, they slip the net. This is a brilliant opportunity, a shop window.' It is a treat of a day for the players. They are given an induction, which includes a talk from MCC chairman Mark Nicholas in the Long Room, then from Rob Key, England's managing director, and the legendary New Zealander Kane Williamson, whose stint with Middlesex starts this week, in the home dressing room. After lunch they net with Swann, have a gym session (not with Swann), and are given virtual reality concussion testing and education. The players, who are mostly in their early twenties, are keen to impress; some have first-class experience, but most do not. Key recommended Swann to Rob Lynch, MCC's director of cricket, who was determined to revive a scheme that fizzled out for financial reasons during the pandemic, despite almost 100 years of history; Denis Compton, Lord Botham and Phil Tufnell are all former MCC YCs, as are Ross Taylor, Daren Sammy and Travis Head. There is an 'irony' for Lynch that worthy work he did in his previous role at the Professional Cricketers' Association has contributed to the need for this scheme. He battled for a minimum salary in domestic cricket (currently £28,000 a year), but that meant difficult decisions for cash-strapped counties over who to retain. 'It means some players aren't being afforded the opportunities they might have been a few years ago,' he says. Lynch also knew first-hand the value of such a scheme. In 2000, he came to England as a wide-eyed 17-year-old Kiwi (he was Brendon McCullum's rival as a keeper-bat for New Zealand Under-19s) to be a YC alongside the likes of Rikki Clarke and Alex Gidman, later stalwarts of the county game. 'If I could relive seven months of my life, it would be those seven months,' he says. 'It was hugely educational, just a great opportunity to learn about cricket, life and myself while a long way from home.' Lynch and his colleagues would train at Lord's, and work with the ground staff, while juggling playing commitments in a mix of matches, from county second teams to the Army or Navy. He remembers finding a trip to the Oval to face Alex Tudor 'quite scary'. The YCs lived at the Hyelm hostel in Hampstead. Each Friday, Lynch would be paid £204.50 for the week in cash. First stop was the hostel, where he would pay £75 for a week's accommodation, including breakfast and dinner. 'Most of the remaining £130 would be gone by Saturday morning,' he says, laughing. A quarter of a century on, we live in a different world. The main barrier to such a scheme would be the sheer cost of accommodation anywhere near Lord's, but MCC appears determined to offer an avenue into the game. 'I'm convinced this pilot can work,' Lynch says. 'The vision for next year would be to extend the concept across the season, effectively creating a rambling side playing around the country, then returning to club cricket at the weekend. That could run from April to July, so counties could then pick up players for the back end of the season, when squads become stretched. 'MCC is a cricket club. We need to invest in cricket initiatives. Who knows where we can take this? Could it also be linked to the new world we are entering by taking on a Hundred team? We are the only one of the eight without a development pathway through the host county. Could this become the breeding ground for 18-year-olds to get in the team? For now, we just want to help some talented lads work their way into the professional game.'
Stuff.tv
22-05-2025
- Stuff.tv
This affordable smart doorbell is under $100 and lets AI answer the door for you
There are plenty of video doorbell options to pick from, but most can set you back hundreds – and that's before the monthly subscription. You can opt for some more affordable options, but they often offer fewer features. This Swann video doorbell offers plenty of features for a price under $100/£100, but that's not its most impressive trick. Swann's Evo video doorbell has an AI feature that can talk to your visitors on your behalf, and it might be one of the most impressive features I've ever seen. SwannShield is an AI voice assistant that actually talks back. It uses generative AI to engage with whoever's on your doorstep – whether it's a courier or someone with dubious intentions. You get to pre-programme responses ahead of time, and it delivers them with a surprisingly human-sounding voice. There are 8 accents and 3 moods to pick from, so your doorbell can sound however you'd like. It understands 100 languages, auto-detects what it's hearing, and responds in kind. Under the hood, Swann's Evo doorbell comes equipped with a 1.7MP camera that shoots in 2K HD. That's paired with a 140-degree wide-angle lens. Night vision's crammed in as well, with infrared capturing everything up to 5 metres away when the sun's long gone. Plus, there are True Detect sensors to spot movement and heat instead of being fooled by a gust of wind. You also get the usual 2-way audio, a rechargeable battery that won't conk out after a week, and an indoor chime that lets you know someone's at the door. Storage is refreshingly straightforward – just pop in a MicroSD card (up to 256GB), and you're good to go without forking out for a monthly cloud fee. The Evo Video Doorbell is available now directly from Swann and third-party retailers like Amazon – it'll set you back $99/£89.
India Gazette
08-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Graeme Swann outlines reason behind off-spinners' ineffectiveness in IPL 2025
New Delhi [India], May 8 (ANI): Former England ball-tweaker Graeme Swann decoded the reason behind off-spinners' ineffectiveness in the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the tournament heads towards its business end. Off-spinners have struggled to impress in the current season, and wrist spin dependency has increased heavily. Ravichandran Ashwin, a magician in the craft of off-spin, was dropped by the eliminated Chennai Super Kings in the middle of the season. While Kolkata Knight Riders' premier spinner Sunil Narine and Rajasthan's Maheesh Theekshana rely on their mystery spin. On the other hand, all-rounders Will Jacks and Aiden Markram have been used as match-up options against the left-handed batters. 'The reason there's not that many off-spinners playing is that there's just not that many around at the minute in world cricket,' Swann says. 'It's not because off-spinners haven't got a job to do. Part of the problem for a lot of off-spinners is this match-up thing that all teams buy into now - the idea that you can't turn it into the batsman,' Swann said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. 'Actually, because people now only face the ball turning away from them, people have got used to it. I swear, if a good off-spinner came in now... If they'd played Mo [Moeen Ali] all season at KKR, I reckon he'd kill it, because people have lost the ability to manoeuvre the ball as well. After a few years, it'll revert, it'll come back. But everyone is obsessed with wristspin,' he added. Rajasthan Royals stand-in captain Riyan Parag tonked five consecutive sixes off Moeen on Sunday, highlighting the majority's woes. As a real dearth of frontline off-spinners prevails in the ongoing cash-rich league, Swann feels their struggle comes down to their unwillingness to attack. 'People aren't prepared to rip the ball. The way you deceive people is not through darting it in. You have to be brave and be willing to get hit for a six, but you've got to dip the ball. And the only way you get a dip is by putting a lot of revolutions on the ball,' he said. 'If you're spinning it hard and getting it to dip, you'll get wickets. You might get hit for the odd boundary, but you will get wickets - especially against new batsmen. And let's face it, everyone gets hit for six now in T20. Expectations have changed. When I played, if you got 2 for 30, it was an abject failure, because you wanted to keep teams down at 140-150. Now, it's great.' (ANI)
Telegraph
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Police ‘will not rush' to ban trans officers from strip searching women
Police chiefs 'will not rush' to ban trans officers from strip-searching women despite the Supreme Court ruling that sex is biological. Forces have been accused of a 'stunning lack of urgency' after saying they would not immediately respond to the ruling. A day after the landmark ruling on Apr 17, Chief Constable Rachel Swann, the diversity lead of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), told forces it 'welcomed the clarity' but insisted 'we will not rush our response'. On Saturday, an NPCC spokesman told The Telegraph that, in the absence of national guidance, 'forces should make decisions [about strip searches by trans officers] on a case-by-case basis'. The Telegraph understands that, in practice, this means opposite-sex strip-searches are still allowed in territorial forces across the UK. This marks the first time forces beyond British Transport Police have clarified their policies on trans strip-searches following the ruling. Sussex, Merseyside, Northumbria and Surrey Police all confirmed trans officers could still conduct strip or intimate searches on detainees who share their gender identity, but not their biological sex. Trans people in custody, likewise, may be searched by officers in line with their gender presentation. All four forces told The Telegraph that their local policies were under review. The NPCC, which has issued no national guidance on this issue for 15 months, is also reviewing its approach. In internal communications on Apr 17, Chief Constable Swann thanked senior officers for their 'patience' saying: 'I welcome the clarity that the decision at the Supreme Court has provided and will be reviewing our policies and procedures in accordance with the outcome. 'However, we will not rush our response to this landmark ruling. We will need time to consider the full implications of the court's decision, as will many other public bodies.' 'Keep calm and carry on' Rank-and-file officers have voiced deep frustration at this stance. A female officer from Northumbria Police described the NPCC position as 'keep calm and carry on – we hate this ruling and are looking at options to circumvent it.' The whistleblower, who asked to remain anonymous, said: 'The messaging we're getting as officers reveals a stunning lack of urgency. There's no rush to review policy.' Some forces' internal communications echo the national call for patience. A joint Surrey and Sussex Police intranet statement issued Apr 17, which quotes the NPCC, said the forces 'are not announcing any changes to our practices and policies until the full ruling is released and assessed'. Both currently allow strip-searches based on either biological sex or the gender identity of individuals with a Gender Recognition Certificate. In Sussex, memos revealed officers were additionally told the 'complexities of this ruling are far greater than has been publicly acknowledged'. Support offered to trans staff Nationwide, senior officers also took the opportunity to offer support to trans staff. Both Sussex Police and the National LGBTQ+ Police Network recommended Mermaids – a charity censured by the Charity Commission for 'mismanagement' and distributing chest binders to children without parental consent – as a resource for officers' families. Whistleblowers claim no equivalent support has been offered to female or lesbian, gay and bisexual staff who may have faced discrimination for holding gender-critical views. One female officer said the police's internal messaging made women feel they 'just don't matter at all'. She criticised leadership for showing 'no contrition' and failing to acknowledge 'the harm done to women's rights and the homophobia demonstrated by the embrace of gender ideology and the conflation of sex and gender'. Merseyside Police, which adopted a strip-search policy based on gender identity in April 2024, told staff: 'We police without fear or favour, malice or ill-will to ensure the safety and security of all members of our community and will continue to do so.' Gender-critical officers interpreted the reference to 'malice' as a veiled criticism of their views. The NPCC withdrew its national strip-search guidance – which endorsed gender self-ID – in January 2024, following backlash from gender-critical campaigners. These groups, including the Women's Rights Network, which campaigns for single-sex rights, said such searches breach the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), which states officers 'may not' conduct intimate or strip searches on 'a person of the opposite sex'.
