A police van has been set on fire and missiles have been thrown at officers as protesters gathered outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Dublin.

It is the second night of demonstrations outside the Citywest Hotel after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.

A large crowd has gathered in the area and members of the Garda’s public order unit have been deployed.

Footage from the scene showed a Garda vehicle on fire as well as several protesters displaying Irish flags.

Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back.

A Garda helicopter hovered overhead and a water cannon was deployed on the scene.

Ireland’s justice minister, Jim O’Callaghan, said those involved will be brought to justice.

“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest tonight must be condemned,” he said.

“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.

“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.

“Those involved will be brought to justice.”

The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.

He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.

He said attacks on gardai will “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.

“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed tonight.”

It was the second night of protest outside the hotel, which is being used as state accommodation for people seeking international protection. The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.

It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.

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There are no plans for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet in person in the near future, according to a White House official.

The presidents last week agreed to meet in Budapest after a phone call Mr Trump called “extremely frank and trustful”.

The US leader suggested it was possible it could happen within a fortnight, though no date was set.

However, it appears that’s now off the table – and there are fears the meeting could be shelved altogether due to Russia‘s rigid stance on the Ukraine war.

The White House official, speaking to Sky’s US partner network NBC, said secretary of state Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had spoken on Tuesday.

The call was described as “productive” but the official added there was no plan for the presidents to meet “in the immediate future”.

The last Trump-Putin meeting was in Alaska in August, but it ended without any meaningful progress towards a ceasefire.

The Budapest plan was announced shortly before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington last Friday to try to get approval for long-range Tomahawk missiles.

Mr Zelenskyy accused the Russian leader of acting out of fear Ukraine could get the green light and the ability to hit targets far deeper into Russia.

In his nightly address on Tuesday, he said Russia “almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy” after it became clear Mr Trump had backed away from any decision on the Tomahawks.

Two US officials told Reuters that plans for the Budapest meeting had stalled over Russia’s insistence any peace deal must give it control of all of the Donbas region.

Those terms are said to have been reiterated over the weekend in a private communique known as a “no paper”.

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The Kremlin’s refusal to budge effectively rejects Mr Trump’s latest assessment that the frontlines should be frozen as they are.

The president shifted position last week after previously telling the UN General Assembly that Ukraine could win back all the land it has lost.

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Ukraine and European nations issued a joint statement on Tuesday insisting “international borders must not be changed by force” and accusing Russia of “stalling tactics”.

But, in an apparent effort to keep the US leader onside, it added: “We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave the impression his country was in no rush to arrange another Trump-Putin meeting, saying on Tuesday “preparation is needed, serious preparation”.

Such talk is likely to increase concerns Russia does not want to stop fighting and is “playing” President Trump – all while continuing to launch drone barrages at Ukrainian cities.

Russia currently holds about a fifth of Ukraine after its invasion in February in 2022. It also annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Meanwhile, NATO’s secretary general Mark Rutte is travelling to Washington to meet with President Trump on Wednesday.

He will “discuss various aspects related to NATO’s support to Ukraine and to the US-led efforts towards lasting peace”, an official for the alliance said.

Eight countries have been added to a UK Foreign Office (FCDO) list warning Britons of a risk of methanol poisoning from tainted alcohol.

Guidance has been added to the FCDO’s travel pages for Ecuador, Kenya, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Uganda and Russia after an increase in cases of serious illness and death caused by alcoholic drinks tainted with methanol.

The list previously only included methanol poisoning guidance for countries where British nationals have been affected.

This included: Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, Costa Rica, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Fiji.

Last year, British backpacker Simone White died in Laos, after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar in the resort of Vang Vieng.

The 28-year-old from Orpington, Kent, was one of four, including an Australian woman and two Danish women, who died after being treated for methanol poisoning.

As part of the FCDO Travel Aware campaign, it is issuing information on recognising the symptoms and reducing the risks of methanol poisoning.

Hamish Falconer, the minister responsible for consular and crisis, said: “Methanol poisoning can kill – it can be difficult to detect when drinking and early symptoms mirror ordinary alcohol poisoning. By the time travellers realise the danger, it can be too late.

“I encourage all travellers to check our travel advice and Travel Aware pages before they go on holiday.”

What is methanol?

Methanol, or CH3OH, is very similar to ethanol – the pure form of alcohol in alcoholic drinks.

Like ethanol, it is an odourless, tasteless, and highly flammable liquid – but it has a different chemical structure that makes it toxic for humans.

Otherwise known as wood alcohol, methanol is most often used to make solvents, pesticides, paint thinners, and alternative fuels.

What makes it so dangerous is the way our bodies metabolise it.

Once consumed, our enzymes metabolise methanol into formaldehyde, the substance used to make industrial glue and embalming substances, before breaking it down into formic acid.

“The formic acid upsets the acid balance in blood and the major consequence is initially the effect on someone’s breathing. There are effects on many other organs, the kidney being one,” says Professor Alastair Hay, emeritus professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds.

“Formaldehyde attacks nerves, particularly the optic nerve and blindness is a potential risk,” he adds.

How does it end up in alcoholic drinks?

In southeast Asia and other popular tourist destinations, methanol can be found in alcoholic drinks for two main reasons.

Firstly, it is cheaper than ethanol, so it is sometimes added instead to save costs, before the counterfeit alcohol is bottled and sold in shops and bars.

Alternatively, it can occur by accident when alcohol is homemade – something common across the region.

When alcohol is distilled and fermented without the appropriate monitoring, it can sometimes produce methanol in toxic quantities.

Because it is impossible to tell the difference between methanol and ethanol content without specialist equipment, homemade drinks are often offered to tourists without anyone knowing how dangerous they are.

What are the symptoms of methanol poisoning?

Methanol is highly toxic, so as little as 25ml can prove fatal.

Methanol poisoning can be treated by using ethanol to counter the effects on the body – but only within the first 10 to 30 hours after consumption.

This makes early diagnosis and warnings to others critical. Some symptoms, however, can appear 12–48 hours after drinking.

The most common symptoms are:

• Vomiting and nausea;
• Changes in vision, including blurring, loss of sight, tunnel vision and difficulty looking at bright lights;
• Abdominal and muscle pain;
• Dizziness and confusion;
• Drowsiness and fatigue.

Methanol poisoning symptoms are similar to those from alcohol poisoning – but are often more severe. If drinks were left unattended or your symptoms appear disproportionate to the amount you drank, it could be methanol poisoning, authorities warn.

How is it treated?

Professor Hay says treatment involves removing methanol from the blood via dialysis – while “keeping someone mildly drunk” by giving them ethanol at the same time.

“The principle behind administering ethanol is quite simple; it delays methanol metabolism,” he says.

“Both alcohols are broken down by the same liver enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase. But the enzyme prefers ethanol.

“So ethanol acts as a competitive inhibitor largely preventing methanol breakdown, but markedly slowing it down, allowing the body to vent methanol from the lungs and some through the kidneys, and a little through sweat.”

This avoids the process of methanol ultimately metabolising as formic acid, he adds.

How can you avoid it while travelling?

The most commonly affected drinks are:

• Local spirits, such as rice and palm liquor, often labelled ‘special’ or ‘happy’ drinks;
• Spirit-based mixed drinks such as cocktails;
• Counterfeit brand-name bottled alcohol sold in bars and shops.

In order to minimise risks, travellers should:

• Buy alcohol only from licensed bars, hotels, or shops;
• Check labels for signs bottles may be counterfeit, including poor print quality or spelling errors;
• Avoid homemade alcohol;
• Check bottles are properly sealed before drinking from them;
• Avoid free drinks you have not seen poured yourself;
• Do not leave drinks or food unattended.