7 Friday news bites (July 22).

Hi there Mamamiers. Welcome to the news with bite. As we say our final goodbyes to the last NASA space shuttle which touched down safely last night, let’s check out what else has been making news. Historic or not.

1. Derryn Hinch sentenced to 5 months home detention, banned from all media

Radio broadcaster and ‘Human Headline’ Hinch has been sentenced to a media ban and 5 months of home detention for breaching court suppression orders and disclosing the names of convicted sex offenders. The Judge noted the irony in the sentencing, pointing out that Hinch had campaigned against home detention in the past. Hinch was looking frail in court as he has only recently undergone a liver transplant.

2. Kim Kardashian sues The Gap … for hiring model that looks like her

Clothing store Old Navy, owned by The Gap, has begun using model Melissa Molinaro in an advertising campaign which has KK a little miffed. Her legal team are suing because the model is trading on her looks, which ‘is valuable’. Well, has she got a point or is this just bonkers? Mean while, Kim’s former bestie Paris Hilton has walked out of a television interview after some ‘prickly’ questions. “Do you worry at times that the people who have followed in your footsteps, like Kim Kardashian, have overshadowed you,” ABC News journalist Dan Harris asked Hilton. Ouch. The interviewer than asked whether she worried if her moment had passed and Hilton walked off set for 15 minutes, arguing with her publicist that she didn’t want the footage used. Kim Kardashian was a relative unknown when she began being spotted hanging out with Paris Hilton. Are you a fan of either?

3. We’re pretty awful at Do it Yourself, it appears

Another survey by Canstar Blue has revealed that 30 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women fail at basic DIY tasks like assembling a small flat pack furniture kit. The survey also showed that one in ten went the thrifty, no-hammer-required route and bought all their furniture from garage sales or second hand stores.

4. More riots at Christmas Island detention centre

For the fourth time this week and third night in a row, asylum seekers at Christmas Island have broke out within the centre and lit fires. They were protesting the rejection of their asylum applications ‘for no reason’. Riot police fired tear grenades and bean bag bullets into the crowds to try and put a stop to the riot. This morning, another boatload of 52 asylum seekers was intercepted and they are now also on their way to Christmas Island. This comes as the Government is expected to sign the ‘Malaysian Solution’ asylum seeker deal next week. That deal looks to swap 800 of Australia’s uprocessed asylum seekers who arrive by boat for 4000 processed refugees from Malaysia.

5. Laws to allow people to discover if their partner has a history of domestic violence: good idea?

As the United Kingdom debates a similar law, the New South Wales senior police officer in charge of domestic abuse said we should definitely consider introducing one in Australia. Under the proposal, known as ‘Clare’s Law’ in the UK after Clare Wood who met and was killed by a man she made contact with online, partners would be able to request background information from police. Further, it is possible police may be able to proactively hand out the background to partners without them having asked for. That’s quite the controversial aspect overseas.

6. Open air smoking will be banned in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall from September

The State Government approved a request by Brisbane City Council to have it banned in the foot mall at Brisbane’s heart. $200 fines will be handed out to any smoker who refuses to butt their lit cigarettes. Now, the question is: would you like to see this happen in other capital cities? Queensland already has some really strict anti-smoking laws. No smoking at cafes, within 4m of building entrances and very limited smoking outdoors at licensed venues.

7. Billionaire carves his name into island so it can be seen from space

Hamad is his name and if you didn’t know that already, you could just check out this island in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan had workmen carve the letters – which are 3km long and 1km high – so they would absorb the incoming tide. Next, the moon!