Bye, Beloved Book: Many South Africans wanted...

Bye, Beloved Book: Many South Africans wanted the manuscript of “Cry the Beloved Country” to stay in the country, but it may be headed elsewhere. An anonymous buyer paid $132,000 at a Sotheby’s auction for the handwritten manuscript of the 1948 Alan Paton anti-apartheid novel. South African film producer Annat Singh told Reuters he would have bid up to $175,000 for the work, but Sotheby’s was not able to reach him on his car phone.

* Hey, Oprah: Italian businessman Paolo Edoardo Boeris and his wife have gone their separate ways. It all started when Boeris couldn’t figure out why his bride, Riam Kuejan, didn’t follow him to Italy after their wedding. So he called his beloved’s family in Thailand, who were surprised to hear about the wedding. Presumably the shock wasn’t so great because Riam had gotten hitched, but because he is a man. The “bride” raised no objections in a Bangkok court to the groom’s request for an annulment, granted Wednesday.

* Royal Change: At long last the Belgian Parliament has cleared the way for women to accede to the throne by changing the part of the constitution that says it’s a job for fellas only. There’s just one tiny hitch: The constitution still will refer to the monarch--regardless of gender--as king. Chances are slim, though, that Princess Astrid, 28, will take over any time soon. Her uncle, King Baudouin; her daddy, Prince Albert, and her brother, Prince Philippe, would have to step aside for the princess who would be king.

* Now We’re Quoting: “I think it’s a sign of the times. Cocaine just makes them dumb.” So said Baltimore Police Officer Louis Hopson after a spendthrift cocaine user wanted police to help him get his money back because he realized he now couldn’t afford the services of a prostitute.