Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic during his initial appearance at the U.N.'s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday. Nic Robertson Senior International Correspondent Editor’s Note: Nic attended the first day in the war crimes trial of former Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. This is what he saw. When he first appeared, he seemed almost like a school boy who knows he’d done wrong, diligently following the instructions of his three tribunal guards, not at all the bombastic, flamboyant Serb leader I remember from my years covering the Bosnian war. Radovan Karadzic was looking older, thinner in the face. But whatever he was thinking, it didn’t show on his face. He sat staring straight ahead, unflinching, unemotional as the judge read the charges. Accusations of the most heinous crimes — genocide, extermination and murder. The first flicker of something behind the stony façade was a half wry smile. Judge Alphons Orie asked if he planned to have defense lawyer, Karadzic said, “I have an invisible advisor. I don’t need a lawyer.” I was instantly reminded of his more obscure moments during the Bosnian war when he would state something so obviously full of contradictions that it defied logical explanation. Maybe he meant God was with him, maybe we’ll learn more in the trial. It was at that moment I knew what we could expect. As his courage grew in the unfamiliar surroundings we’d see flashes of the man who on the eve of war infamously warned Bosnia’s Parliament the country’s Muslims “could face extinction.” One of Karadzic’s traits during the Bosnian war was to depict Serbs as victims. Indeed many were killed, sometimes barbarically, but in the gruesome ethnic tally of death, Muslims died in far greater numbers. So when Karadzic began to recount in court that he is the victim of a U.S. assassination plot, I recognized the theme. He also seized on a statement by the prosecutor who promised a speedy trial that some how he was now the victim of a plot to go behind his back and deny him justice. It all felt in some strange way as if the clocks had been turned back a decade and a half. But what was refreshingly different about the court room in Hague, rather than Karadzic’s war time Bosnian mountain redoubt in Pale, was both the Prosecutor and the judge were having none of it. At one point Dutch judge Alphons Orie told Karadzic he was either not understanding what he had been told or was deliberately ignoring the judges instructions. No one used to talk to Karadzic that way, at least not in public. I knew going in to the court we’d been witnessing a battle of wills. The judge and prosecutor trying to bring some luster back to the tarnished image of the tribunal criticized for lengthy trials and cozy cells and Karadzic intent on what? Defending himself? Defending his ideal of a Serb state? Proving his worst fears that he and his fellow Serbs are the victim ? I came out feeling it was a rather inauspicious, albeit not too surprising, start to Karadzic’s trial. If the prosecutors fail to prove genocide they’re be plenty of armchair pundits ready to claim the tribunal a failure. I spent three years in Sarajevo, it was madness. When you’ve seen such killing it’s impossible not to hope collectively we become more responsible about preventing future carnage. Some of the answers are going to be found in the Hague. I for one will be watching the rest of the trial closely. Less

Survivors of the Srebrenica massacre react while listening to news about former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic during his appearance at the U.N.'s war crimes tribunal. Alessio Vinci CNN Correspondent Editor’s note: Alessio has returned to Sarajevo more than a decade after the Balkans war to gauge the reaction to the first day in the war crimes of trial former Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Here’s what he found: It’s an amazing feeling to return to a city I remember ravaged by war, and realize it has transformed itself into a vibrant, even cosmopolitan center. Sure, you don’t have to look far to find the old scars of war, but the city center and much of its surrounding areas have been rebuilt. The sad part starts when you talk to people, and realize that the cosmetic changes are, well, just a facade, a desire to hide grief, pain and a sense of anger. Grief because there are more graveyards and cemeteries than coffee shops (and there are plenty). Pain because when a sniper kills a 2-year-old son there is no amount of forgiveness that could alleviate the suffering. And anger for not having arrested Karadzic earlier. Anger because this trial will bring back memories people didn’t want to forget but were quite pleased to store in the back of their minds. Then, as the day progressed, and Karadzic appeared in court, that anger was replaced with curiosity — how does he look like 13 years later, and what about that funny white long beard he sported to disguise himself? That didn’t last long… “Why does the judge keep calling him mister?” said one, “when in fact he is a monster?” Less

Waffle Day in Sweden is celebrated 9 months to the day before Christmas. Waffle Day in America is every day out on the campaign trail. Less

A visit to Belgrade by Russian leaders sends a symbolic message to Europe — and the partitioning of Kosovo may be the most logical outcome. Less