Brand owner Mondelēz was accused of reducing weight of Alpine Milk bar from 100g to 90g without significantly altering the packaging

Many chocolate lovers consider shrinkflation a serious crime – and they have been vindicated after a German court ruled that the makers of Milka cheated consumers by cutting the bar’s size, while keeping the wrapper the same.

The three-week case in a regional court was brought by Hamburg’s consumer protection office. It accused the chocolate brand’s US owner Mondelēz of deceiving shoppers by cutting the weight of Milka’s classic Alpine Milk bar from 100g to 90g without significantly altering the distinctive purple packaging.

Rural dwellers reveal failings in backup plans, as campaigners call for deadline to be extended from 2027 to 2030

“Every time there is a power failure I lose all means of communication with the outside world,” says Robert Dewar of life in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands since the landlines were transferred from the old copper cable network to broadband connections.

Blackouts also knock out the village’s mobile phone signal. “Our most recent power cut lasted for 42 hours,” Dewar says. The interruption outlasted his five-hour emergency backup battery. “If I had had a heart attack there is damn all I could have done about it, except compose myself, say my prayers, and await the outcome.”

Experts report more young people with conditions such as bunions after wearing shoes that are too small or narrow

Parents should care for their children’s feet in the same way as their eyes and teeth, according to footwear specialists who say they are seeing more young people with painful conditions such as bunions.

Bunions are bony lumps on the side of the foot. People can be genetically pre-disposed but ill-fitting shoes are seen as an aggravating factor.