New Zealand’s Labour president, Nigel Haworth, has resigned following sexual assault allegations against a party staffer.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologised to the alleged victim and said the party was never equipped to appropriately deal with the issue.

“Raising an allegation of sexual assault is an incredibly difficult thing to do; for additional distress to be caused through the way those allegations are handled is incredibly upsetting,” Ms Ardern said.

Almost 50 schools and preschools in South Australia will close one hour early today as teachers strike over ongoing pay rise dispute.

Several rallies are expected today, most notably at Premier Steven Marshall’s electorate office.

The Government says it will not increase its pay rise offer of 2.35 per cent for teachers and 3.35 per cent for principals, but is prepared to negotiate classroom funding support.

The Stroke Foundation is looking at implementing a national telehealth service to improve rural stroke outcomes.

The Federal and New South Wales Governments have put $9.4 million towards developing a centralised stroke telehealth service.

Head of Stroke at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Bruce Campbell said access to information and equipment was driving the gap between metro and rural healthcare.

New material released by The Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning outlined a plan to assist state council in supporting cultural awareness through local planning schemes.

Brisbane businessman Dean Merlo is urging Queensland blokes to reach out to their mates today in a step towards improving men’s mental health.

Mr Merlo, the owner of Merlo coffee, witnessed his cousin battle serious mental health issues and says the support of family and friends is vital in helping people get back on track.

The Nigerian government began repatriating more than 600 of its citizens from South Africa following a series of xenophobic attacks.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the general election for October 21st. 

Trudeau is stressing the importance of gender equality and the environment but will face an electorate more concerned with the economy and affordability. 

"We've done a lot this past four years, but the truth is we're just getting started," Mr Trudeau said. 

Recent polls strongly suggest Mr Trudeau may not win enough seats to govern by himself after a series of missteps that called his leadership into question. 

Australia is facing a shortage of medicine vital for cancer diagnoses due to a mechanical fault at the Lucas Heights nuclear medicine facility.

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation insists there are no safety implications from the failure, but admitted Australia was experiencing significant impacts on availability of nuclear medicine. 

The shutdown comes three months after two workers at the facility were exposed to an unsafe dose of radiation. 

Health insurance provider Bupa is failing to meet basic standards of care in more than half of their nursing homes.

22 of Bupa’s 72 nursing homes have been declared as putting the health and safety of residents at “serious risk”. 

The Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians Richard Colbeck said the Department of Health are closely monitoring Bupa’s performance with weekly progress meetings.

Aged Care Crisis member Lynda Saltarelle belive Bupa will not be taken down.