Case plea Tasmania Police will use a $250,000 reward offer to coax out detailed information on the 2009 murder of Shane Geoffrey Barker.

Iconic events miss out on funds Two of Northern Tasmania’s most well known music events did not receive funding as part of the City of Launceston’s event sponsorship grants, despite achieving scores which would normally secure funding, after the council exhausted its 2016/2017 budget allocation.

Family fears for safety A Rocherlea couple says they no longer feel safe in their home after a car was driven through their fence and set alight just metres from where their children were sleeping.

Calls for support increase Calls for increased funding, support staff, and resources for students with disabilities have followed the release of new data on teacher satisfaction.

Tall words of wisdom Sometimes the wisest of words can come from the youngest of mouths.

► There were thousands of images, just as many emotions and everyone will have a personal favourite.

But scroll through just a handful of some of the best shots from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games – as seen through the eyes of Getty Images photographers.

►After following nearly three weeks of Olympic action, Fairfax reporters share their own favourite moments from Rio de Janeiro.

► Finishing 81st in an Olympic event may not seem like the kind of result to get too excited about but the smile couldn’t be wiped from Scott Westcott’s face at after finishing the gruelling marathon at Rio on Monday morning (AET).

At 40 years of age the Alectown product was the oldest member of Australia’s Olympic team and posted an impressive time at his debut Games.

Need a national news snapshot first thing? We've got you covered. But also check out what's happening around regional Australia …

►WARNAMBOOL: A former Warrnambool resident will continue the fight against men who post photos of schoolgirls online without their consent, despite reports the site was removed on the weekend.

Red Heart Campaign founder Sherele Moody began a petition on Tuesday to have an online forum featuring thousands of explicit school girls’ photos removed.

► ILLAWARRA: BlueScope has more than doubled its profits in this financial year.

In the 2015-16 financial year it saw a net profit after tax of $353.8 million – up 160 per cent from the previous year’s $136.3 million.

CEO Paul O’Malley said the improvement was due to “our direct interventions in reducing costs” but warned that the work was not yet done if the Port Kembla steelworks was to remain viable.

► TAS: Shane Geoffrey Barker was shot dead at Campbell Town on August 2, 2009.

Tasmania Police cold case investigators have recently re-examined Mr Barker’s murder, and have upped the reward from $50,000 to $250,000.

Detectives from the serious organised crime division are going over old facts of the case.

► BENDIGO: Women being treated for ovarian cancer have not seen a cent from a fundraiser set up to support them.

Bendigo football identity and fitness coach Jeff Brennan ran from Bendigo to Mildura and back in early March to raise money for two women, one living in each of the towns.

He did so under the banner of the Run100 Foundation, an organisation he said he founded to boost awareness of ovarian cancer and raise funds for those affected by the disease.

► TAMWORTH: An investigation has revealed 10 security guards who worked at the 2015 Tamworth Country Music Festival were underpaid almost $6000, with the Fair Work Ombudsman forcing a security company to repay the shortfall.

Ten causal workers employed by Melnor Security Services Pty Ltd were paid flat rates of $26 to $28 an hour during their work at the festival, which a Fair Work investigation revealed to be under their minimum entitlements, as a part of their award.

Depending on the employee’s levels, they should have been paid penalty rates up to $43.85 an hour for night, weekend and overtime work.

► NOWRA: Police are appealing for information after a man escaped while he was under guard in Nowra on Monday. 

Just before 2pm on Monday, Harold Brown, aged 35, was under guard at a hospital in the Shoalhaven when he escaped custody.

Police have been told the man left the location on foot.

► Same-sex marriage would comfortably become law if parliamentarians were granted a free vote – without the need for a plebiscite – analysis by marriage equality advocates shows.

But a stalemate looms if the Turnbull government's proposed plebiscite fails to pass the Senate, where it currently has the support of just 37 senators – two shy of the 39 needed.

► The Coalition has made 800 policy decisions that will save the budget $221 billion by 2026-27, but there is "much more work to be done on budget repair", Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says.

In a major speech to the Sydney Institute on Monday evening that set out the magnitude of the budget repair task still facing the government – and the nation – Senator Cormann challenged Labor to "step up to plate" and work with the Coalition to pass savings through Parliament.

► 1990 – Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War.

► 1996 – Osama bin Laden issues message entitled 'A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places.'

► 2005 – Hurricane Katrina first forms over the Bahamas, later becoming a category 5 hurricane

► 2007 – The skeletal remains of Russia's last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia are discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia.

► 2011 – A magnitude 5.8 (class: moderate) earthquake occurs in Virginia. Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington D.C. and the resulted damage is estimated at $200 million–$300 million USD.

► BALI: The boyfriend of Australian Sara Connor has confessed to a violent confrontation with a Balinese police officer at Kuta beach on August 17, according to his lawyer.

British DJ David Taylor smashed police officer Wayan Sudarsa in the head with the victim's binoculars after getting into a fight when Mr Taylor accused him of stealing Ms Connor's missing handbag, lawyer Haposan Sihombing said.

►RIO: When Feyisa Lilesa crossed the Rio Olympics' marathon finish line on Sunday, the Ethiopian silver medallist would normally have been celebrated as a national hero.

But the crossed arms protest gesture above his head means Lilesa's achievement is likely to get scant official attention back home.

Wrists crossed in the air have been a symbol of defiance in Ethiopia's bloody nine-month-long anti-government revolt, known as the Oromo protests.

Faces of Australia: Peter Tilney

When Peter Tilney took up drawing back in the late 90’s his tools of trade were nothing more than a few sticks and some ink.

Now his main tools are either fine pens or a kaleidoscope of pastels, utilised with a deft and accurate hand.

After attending TAFE for one year, and not enjoying it, Mr Tilney met up with two other Blayney artists Ian Roberts and Harris ‘Chip’ Redhead.

Read more of Peter’s story here.