Serbia's image receives overhaul

BELGRADE, Serbia - Just a few months ago, thugs outraged at Kosovo's independence set part of the US Embassy in Belgrade on fire, and ultranationalists prepared to seize power. Now, having defied doomsayers' predictions that it was about to sink into unprecedented isolation, darkness and despair, Serbia appears to be undergoing an astonishing turnaround. Genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic - long hailed by many here as a hero - is finally behind bars just weeks after the inauguration of a new pro-Western government. And there's a palpable sense on the streets of Belgrade that nationalism may be losing its grip on hearts. "The state of Serbia has made a giant leap forward," Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic declared triumphantly after Karadzic's capture this week. Virtually overnight, the volatile republic's image has changed from... [read full story]