Newspaper headlines: 'Whooping cough warning' and Friday 'truancy up'

Friday's front pages do not have a single dominant story, but the Daily Mirror and a few others have highlighted the unfortunate news of five infants losing their lives to whooping cough. The publication notes that the country is going through its most severe outbreak of this disease in the last four decades.

According to The Metro, there is a widespread occurrence of whooping cough, also referred to as the "100-day cough".

The Mail newspaper has highlighted the ongoing surge of whooping cough cases, which has become their top story. The article reports that nearly 3,000 instances of this illness have already been recorded this year. Additionally, the paper features a photograph of Stormy Daniels, who is currently at the center of a legal case in the United States. The former President, Donald Trump, has entered a plea of not guilty on criminal accusations of falsifying business records that relate to a payment made to Daniels as hush money because of her involvement in adult film.

The newspaper The Guardian is reporting that Israel's attack on Rafah in the Gaza Strip has caused 100,000 people to flee. The article also mentions that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that his country will continue to fight, even if it means using every resource possible. This statement from Netanyahu comes despite warnings from the United States advising Israel not to engage in a ground invasion in Rafah.

An interview with Dominic Cummings was conducted by i. According to the former chief adviser to Boris Johnson, he saved a great number of lives during the Covid pandemic. Nonetheless, he believes that it's highly improbable that he and Mr Johnson will communicate with each other anymore.

The top news story in The Express is about how Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is advising that the Bank of England should not decrease interest rates until they are 100% certain that they have completely overcome the issue of high inflation.

The main story in The Daily Telegraph discusses the chancellor's cautioning of the Bank of England for being too hasty in lowering interest rates. Another article in the paper talks about the Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner guaranteeing MPs that Natalie Elphicke, who switched from the Conservatives to Labour, will not have an official position within the party.

The primary headline in The Times is about the education secretary who expressed his concern over the increase in the number of students who are absent from school on Fridays, which he deems as unacceptable.

According to the FT, Anglo American's shareholders in South Africa are receptive to the possibility of being acquired by BHP, a mining company.

The publication known as The Star released an article about scientists who are eager to conduct a mission to Uranus that would allow for a close and personal exploration.

According to a blog section in the Daily Telegraph, there seems to be a lot of trouble brewing in the Labour party due to Natalie Elphicke's switch from the Conservatives. Apparently, the deputy leader Angela Rayner has mentioned in private discussions with MPs that Ms Elphicke won't be having any "formal role" in policymaking for the party. This information comes only a few hours after the MP from Dover made the switch on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has stated that he has talked to several Tory MPs who are also contemplating joining the Labour party. Nonetheless, Streeting made it clear that Labour will not allow just any MP to join their ranks.

According to an article in the Times entitled "Fridays seeing a 20% increase in truancy," there has been a disturbing uptick in the number of students who are skipping school lately. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan reports that parents who are working remotely are partially to blame for this "intolerable" increase. Ms. Keegan warns that compared to the start of the week, an additional 50,000 young people are not in attendance at school due to truancy on Fridays. She believes it's time for guardians to let go of COVID-related expectations and highlights that even children with minor illnesses should attend class.

According to The Guardian, the Department for Work and Pensions failed to investigate almost half of the cases in which carers may have exceeded their earnings limit last year. This means that tens of thousands of unpaid carers are in danger of falling into debt and even facing criminal charges. The Department claims to have made their claiming procedures easier to assist those affected.

Dominic Cummings, who used to be Boris Johnson's top advisor, has spoken in an extensive interview with The i, which is believed to be his first since he left his job at Number 10 in 2020. He has suggested that he could make a political comeback with his 'Start-Up Party' if the Conservative party loses voter support in a future general election. Additionally, he criticizes the government's backing of Ukraine, stating that Kyiv is a "corrupt mafia state", and refers to the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, as a "pumpkin".

Many articles report that King Charles expressed happiness about leaving his confinement after participating in his initial military operation after learning about his cancer diagnosis. On Thursday, the King interacted with army personnel and their loved ones at an army training facility situated in Hampshire.

According to The Daily Mail, Great Western Railways had to explain statements made by train guards that had suggested that travelers might have to pay a fine if they placed their bags on vacant seats during busy periods. The spokesperson of the company claimed that there was no such regulation, and that their personnel were recognized for using jokes to emphasize crucial aspects.

According to a survey conducted by Cote Brasserie, French fries are becoming more popular than the traditional British chip as reported by The Daily Star. Out of those who were asked, 62% claimed they would prefer thinner fries as opposed to chunkier chips. Additionally, the survey noted that ketchup still reigns supreme as the top choice for dipping sauces, followed by curry sauce and then gravy.