India toxic alcohol toll tops 100

The number of people who have died in the western Indian state of Gujarat after drinking toxic illegal alcohol has now risen to 107, police say.
Meanwhile, in raids across the state, police have detained over 800 people and Chief Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to punish those responsible.
In Ahmedabad city, where the deaths have taken place, schools and colleges have shut in protest.
Officials say the final toll may be higher as more people are in hospital.
Most of the dead are slum dwellers. Gujarat is a "dry" state where the sale of alcohol is banned.
But deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in South Asia.
Last year, about 150 people died from drinking tainted alcohol in the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
'Done nothing'
"The way more than 100 people have died because of hooch tragedy... is really shameful on the part of the state government," news agency Reuters quoted Manish Doshi, a leader of the youth wing of the state opposition Congress party, as saying.
India's toxic liquor tragedy
"It's been three days since the tragedy took place and the government has done nothing," he said.
The Youth Congress and the Congress-supported students' association National Students' Union of India (NSUI) called on schools and colleges in the city to remain shut.
The Congress has also called for the resignation of Chief Minister Narendra Modi who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Slum dwellers and poor labourers in Ahmedabad were first admitted to hospital on Tuesday after they fell ill following a night of drinking.
After the fatalities rose sharply, the state government suspended six policemen for negligence.
Illegally brewed alcohol is readily found across India and is popular because it is cheap and said to be stronger than legal brews.
But it is often laced with chemicals and pesticides in an attempt to boost its strength and has often caused people to die.
Gujarat is a "dry" state where consumption and sale of alcohol is banned.
It was the home state of India's independence leader, Mohandas Gandhi, who was a strong advocate of prohibition.
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Labels: South Asia.

Pakistan petrol tax row continues
The row has left petrol consumers furious
A lawyer has challenged in court the new petrol levy imposed by Pakistan's government on Thursday.
Advocate Shoaib Shahid argued that under the constitution Pakistan's president has no powers to impose taxes through an ordinance.
Correspondents say it is the latest move in a mounting row over oil prices.
On Thursday Pakistan introduced an ordinance imposing a petrol levy after the Supreme Court cut a carbon tax imposed by parliament last month.
The Supreme Court's ruling brought down oil prices by over 10 %.
But officials said the government would lose $1.52bn because of the tax cut.
President Asif Ali Zardari's ordinance introduced on Thursday effectively returned oil prices to their previous levels.
Prior to the court order, one litre of petrol was being sold at 62.13 rupees (77 US cents) and diesel at 78 cents.
Following the court order, petrol prices on Wednesday fell to 63 cents while that of diesel fell to 66 cents.
Officials said they feared the loss of revenue as a result of the court decision would increase the budget deficit beyond the limit approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is funding the Pakistani budget.
'Controversy'
Court officials say the petition may come up for hearing on Monday.
The legal challenge has deepened the controversy over petroleum prices, the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says.
Oil prices - fixed on 01 July through the finance bill for the year 2009-10 - were back to previous levels on Thursday in line with the presidential ordinance.
The row has left investors shocked and consumers furious.
It has also sparked a debate on whether the judiciary can intervene in legislative matters of parliament and aspects of the core financial policy through which the executive runs the affairs of the state., our correspondent says
The government in Pakistan is often criticised for relying heavily on indirect taxes which are easy to collect but are a burden on the poor.