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epa04535402 Two women chat at a window of a cafe in Havana, Cuba, 19 December 2014. The Cuban private sector is confident that measures announced by the USA will restore diplomatic relations with the island after decades of embargo. On 19 December US President Barack Obama said he was confident Cuba will change in the wake of his move this week to begin normalizing relations with the communist island. He welcomed the Cuban release of more than 50 dissidents but acknowledged concerns remain about human rights. Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on 17 December that they had agreed to restore diplomatic relations after a 53-year estrangement. The shift in US-Cuba relations envisions an opening of US exports of telecommunications and internet services to Cuba but leaves in place the ban on US tourism and cigar imports, US officials said. Only Congress can lift the decades-old general commercial embargo. Obama said he did not expect Congress to lift the embargo soon, noting that lawmakers would want to see progress from Cuba before repeal. EPA/ALEJANDRO ERNESTO