Belgrade smash ‘n’ grab becomes YouTube smash hit

A video of two young women looting with gay abandon during rioting in the Serbian capital Belgrade was becoming a Balkan smash hit on the video-sharing Web site YouTube Friday. Police arrested some looters but public humiliation by YouTube may prove a far more painful punishment for the pair, whose spree Thursday night was also aired on local television stations and was being discussed across the Internet.

A persistent amateur cameraman followed the women as they loaded up with chocolates at a corner shop, came out giggling, then went after designer bags, shoes and clothes at Belgrade’s swankiest stores in its vandalized main shopping street.

Looters seized their chance as rioters attacked Western embassies during a mass rally to protest at U.S. and European support for Kosovo’s independence.

The next day text-message jokes about the video and the looting swept around Serbia. “Swap you 11 left Nikes for 11 left Reeboks,” read one.

US scales back embassy staff after Belgrade riot

The United States has tried to ease tensions with Serbia, after the sacking of its Belgrade embassy. One person, thought to be a rioter, died in the embassy when pro-Kosovo protests turned violent. The European Union has warned Belgrade to rein in protestors who blame the West for Kosovo’s independence.

Despite Washington’s measured response to the violence, the United States is reducing its presence in Belgrade. The embassy said support staff and dependents would be pulled out, leaving just the ambassador and his core staff.