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HAVANA: Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro lauded the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama, saying on Saturday it was "a positive measure" that was more a criticism of past US policies than a recognition of Obama's accomplishments.

Castro said the prize made up for the blow Obama suffered last week when the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2016 Summer Games to Rio de Janeiro after Obama had flown to Copenhagen to pitch for Chicago, his adoptive hometown.

The Nobel Committee announced on Friday that Obama had won the peace price for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".

The decision prompted surprise in many quarters and anger from Obama's conservative foes in the United States.

But Castro, who has generally written positively about Obama, was pleased at the decision by the committee.

"I don't always share the positions of that institution but I'm obligated to recognize that in this instance it was, in my judgment, a positive measure," Castro wrote in a column.

"Many will say that he still hasn't earned the right to receive such distinction. We prefer to see in the decision, more than a prize for the president of the United States, a criticism of the genocidal policies that not a few presidents of that country have followed."

His comments were part of a long piece entitled The Bell Tolls for the Dollar in which he said the US dollar was losing its position as the preeminent world currency.

Questions:

1. What did Castro say the prize made up for?

2. What was the name of Fidel Castro’s piece where he published these ideas?

3. Who did the award most upset in the United States according to Castro?

Answers:

1. The blow that the International Olympic Committee awarding the 2016 Summer Games to Rio de Janeiro after Obama had flown to Copenhagen to pitch for Chicago, his adoptive hometown.

2. The Bell Tolls for the Dollar.

3. Obama’s conservative foes.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Chantal Anderson is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site. Originally from Seattle, Washington she has found her way around the world doing photo essays in Greece, Mexico and Thailand. She is currently completing a double degree in Journalism and International Studies from the University of Washington.