Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/769023
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 JANUARY 2017 News 8 Thursday TVM 20:50 Fuel prices to rise by 4c from today TIM DIACONO FUEL prices today go up by 4c a li- tre, Enemed announced yesterday. Unleaded petrol will rise from €1.28 to €1.31 per litre, while die- sel and kerosene, both go up from €1.14 per litre to €1.18. ePower fuel will cost €1.46 per litre. The prices will remain at this fixed level until the end of March. Enemed, which imports and dis- tributes petroleum products, also announced that it will later this month launch a new type of die- sel that produces 20% fewer emis- sions than the current diesel sold at the pumps. In a statement, de facto energy minister Konrad Mizzi said that the cost hike was due to the fact that the international cost of crude oil rose by 32% between Septem- ber and the end of December. "In the last three months, all EU countries were forced to increase their fuel prices – some even in- creased petrol by 9c and diesel by 13c per litre," Mizzi said. "In Malta, prices have remained stable and will even now remain signifi- cantly cheaper than the EU aver- age." Mizzi pledged that the govern- ment would do its utmost to cush- ion the impact of higher global oil prices on the cost of fuel as much as possible and noted that fuel prices have gone down 11 times under the current Labour admin- istration. Mizzi lost his energy portfolio in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal last year but has remained in charge of energy affairs in his capacity as "minister within the Office of the Prime Minister". 'People paying the price for cor- ruption' – PN The Nationalist Party was quick to respond, claiming that the an- nouncement was proof that the public is being made to pay the price for the government's corrup- tion. "Joseph Muscat had pledged to never raise petrol and diesel prices," the PN said in a statement. "Petrol and diesel prices will re- main amongst the most expensive in Europe, this despite the fact that the international price of oil is less than half the price it was three years ago." The PN called on Muscat and Mizzi to shoulder political respon- sibility for the price rise, recalling how the minister had instructed Enemalta to hedge fuel with Azer- baijani state-owned oil company Socar, a deal that saw Enemalta lose around €11 million. "Shortly after that deal, Mizzi and [OPM chief of staff] Keith Schembri, opened secret com- panies in Panama in which they planned to deposit at least a mil- lion dollars a year. Muscat has al- ways defended Mizzi and Schem- bri," the PN said. Girls get better grades in most subjects CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The report also shows that in the majority of subjects the largest percentage of candidates who obtained Grade 1 were females. The gender gap is more pronounced in State schools than in church schools and independent schools. Male candidates from Church Schools still tend to outperform can- didates from other sectors in most subjects. But in general candidates from independent schools were the most likely to obtain obtained Grades 1, 2, and 3. Most 16-year-olds sat for nine or ten examinations. While most females sat for 10 exams, most males sat for 9. However male can- didates were more likely than female candidates to register for 12 or more subjects or for fewer than six exams Most candidates sat for one science examination, with Physics be- ing the most common. Considerably more females than males sat for Biology as their only science subject. Chemistry is seldom applied as the only science subject. In 2016, 16.6% of 16-year-olds applied for examinations in the three science subjects. This percentage is the second highest since 2004. As for foreign languages, most candidates applied for one foreign language examination, with Italian being the most common. For students sitting for two language examinations, Italian or French were by far the most prevalent choice. Customs Department awarded grant for new canine unit YANNICK PACE THE Malta Customs Department has been awarded €331,262.40 by the European anti-fraud agency, OLAF, for the setting up of a new canine unit. In a statement, the department said that it had submitted a pro- posal to OLAF under the Hercule III programme and that, after eval- uation by OLAF's evaluation com- mittee, the proposal was accepted. The new canine unit will con- sist of eight sniffer dogs and will be aimed at combating fraud and contraband of illicit goods, par- ticularly cigarettes and tobacco, the department said. Thanks to the new canine unit the Customs Department will be better equipped to combat fraud and contraband of illicit goods