London  - The worst fears of a resurgence of terrorist violence in Northern Ireland appeared to be confirmed Tuesday when dissident Republicans claimed responsibility for the murder of a police officer - just 48 hours after two British soldiers were gunned down in the province.

Police Tuesday arrested an 17-year-old male in connection with the shooting of Stephen Carroll, a 48-year-old police officer killed with a shot to the head on a housing estate in the town of Craigavon, near the border with the Irish Republic, late Monday.

Dublin  - An armed gang escaped with up to 6.2 million euros (7.9 million dollars) in a raid on an Irish bank in central Dublin after kidnapping an employee and family members, including a five- year-old girl, police said Friday.

The six-strong gang forced the worker into a central branch of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin as they held his girlfriend, her mother and her five-year-old granddaughter at gunpoint.

Berlin - Irish budget airline Ryanair is to include four new European destinations, including Rimini in Italy, in its summer timetable from Germany's Frankfurt Hahn airport.

This increases to 50 the number of routes from Frankfurt Hahn, the airline announced Tuesday.

Ryanair had promised to increase its operations at the airport, situated approximately 120 kilometres from the city of Frankfurt, after the airport operator cancelled a proposed three-euro departure tax in January.

Dublin - Up to 120,000 people protested in the Irish capital Dublin on Saturday against the government's handling of the economy and the activities of the banks during the financial crisis.

The demonstration, one of the largest ever in the city, was called for by a number of Ireland's unions. State employees vented their anger over government cutback plans and the effect that the recession, which began late in 2008, is having on workers.

Dublin- There has been a swing towards a "Yes" vote to the European Union's Lisbon Treaty in Ireland with 51 per cent now in favour, according to a poll conducted by the Irish Times newspaper, published Monday.

The poll shows those in favour increased by eight points since November 2008 when the last Irish Times last poll was published. Just
33 per cent now say they would vote "No," a drop of six points since November's poll.

London  - Northern Ireland Wednesday embarked on the difficult path of settling its violent past with a reconciliation deal that would include a cash payment of 12,000 pounds (17,200 dollars) to relatives of the more than 3,000 victims of 30 years of violent strife between Catholics and Protestants in the province.