Around The World: The Hague

Kurds want compensation

A Dutch court began hearing a suit filed by 16 Iraqi Kurds seeking compensation from a businessman who sold chemicals to Saddam Hussein. The chemicals were turned into mustard gas that was used on Iranians and Kurds, including relatives of the plaintiffs. The businessman, Frans van Anraat, was convicted of war crimes in his native Netherlands and sentenced to 16-1/2 years in prison.