Family devastated by ‘unacceptable’ charges over methanol deaths of Australian teenagers in Laos

The brief

The Australian government says it wants “real charges with teeth” over the fatal methanol poisoning of two teenage travellers in Laos, as authorities prepare to lay lesser charges that have been called “bitterly” disappointing. Melbourne travellers Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, were backpacking through the south-east Asian nation in late 2024 when they were fatally poisoned with methanol while drinking at Nana backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng. A British woman, an American man and two Danish women also died in the incident. Officials in Laos were due to conclude their investigation on Friday, with two offences expected to be laid that carry up to one year in jail…