News In Brief

New UN hall for Ethiopia wins OK despite objections

The UN General Assembly, overriding objections by the United States, Britain, and the Benelux members, voted by 122 votes to spend $73.5 million on a new meeting hall and offices for its African economic commission in Ethiopia. Richard Nygard of the US said that relief efforts would be diminished by the decision to spend so much money on a state-of-the-art conference hall, which many delegates considered unnecessary. He called it ''a cruel rebuff to the poor.''