Warning: This story is about sexual abuse A gang rapist who abused a girl for hours with three of his friends has been granted early release from prison.Anthony Hirawani and three other men subjected a 16-year-old girl to the…

Jetstar is begging for forgiveness in an effort to win back furious customers after months of turbulence.

The airline has blamed "bad luck" for the string of recent cancellations and is promising improvements ahead of the Christmas period.

Jetstar has ruined the travel plans of thousands in recent months, with flights between the US and Asia cancelled.

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The airline has now spoken to 9News to apologise for its errors.

"We know we haven't delivered to the customer expectation," Jetstar Chief Operating Officer Matthew Franzi has said.

"We honestly do understand it has been hard, and frustrating and disappointing," cabin manager Catherine Barker said.

Franzi said Jetstar's string of issues is officially over, with the airline's fleet finally back to normal after a lightning strike and damage from runway debris forced two Boeing 787s out of action for more than a month.

"We plan to have spare aircraft, to lose two aircraft in such quick succession made a significant impact on our operation," Jetstar engineer Greg Evans said.

"It had nothing to do with the pandemic. It was kind of just bad luck in a way that these things happened at the same time."

READ MORE: Aussies stuck overseas for up to a week due to Jetstar cancellations

Having two of eleven 787s grounded exacerbated problems, leading to hundreds of Australians being stranded in Bali in September, some for more than a week.

The following week led to more pain for travellers, with 22 passengers forced to camp out on the floor of Narita Airport in Japan for days.

Staff shortages have also caused chaos.

The airline says it has solved the issue by hiring 1500 extra staff across the Qantas Group.

Jetstar now has fewer flights and more spare planes available, which will mean higher prices and more expensive Christmas travel plans.

Independent travel expert Chris Zeiher has suggested the airline needs to use financial perks to win back passengers.

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"Jetstar really needs to do quite a lot to build their reputation back, whether that's via travel vouchers, whether that's via cheaper flights or other incentives whilst you're onboard," Zeiher said.

But Jetstar has said that is not the plan, having already offered vouchers to all customers affected by the disruptions.

NSW Police are warning residents to lock their doors after noticing a rise in teenage gang-related robberies across Sydney.

Officers have charged 27 people, 17 of those under 18 years old, with 186 offences in the last two months.

It's promptedpolice to create a new a taskforce called Operation Java.

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"It's extremely scary," detective superintendent Paul Dunstan said.

"It's quite a brazen offence to break into someone's home while they are sleeping in bed, often there are kids at home, and they're rifling through wardrobes and cupboards trying to find these keys.

"We believe there are a couple of different groups that are committing these offences."

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Many of the crimes are being posted to social media, which is a trend that's particularly concerning for police.

"They are recording themselves committing these offences and joy riding in these high-performance cars and sharing it on platforms like TikTok to flex amongst their friends," Dunstan said.

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He said police had hours of strong CCTV provided by residents, which their investigators are working through.

Many of the break-and-enters occurred when people had left their doors closed but unlocked.

Investigations into the various reports of property crime are ongoing.

Two Victorian women have been fined and banned from being responsible for animals for eight years after allowing their morbidly obese and injured pet dog to suffer.

After a cruelty report was made, Belinda Jones and Stacey Thompson were verbally warned by RSPCA officers to facilitate American bulldog Cheryl's drastic weight loss and seek immediate veterinary care for her leg injury.

Despite the warning, when officers attended the property for a follow-up visit, Cheryl's condition had not improved.

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The dog was found to be more than double the normal weight of a breed her size – almost 55kg – and was suffering from a "a golf ball-sized growth on her left front leg".

Cheryl's weight significantly impacted her ability to move and she was unable to stand easily from a seated position.

"In addition to the many health concerns that come with obesity, the excess weight impeded her ability to move freely and would have negatively impacted her quality of life on many levels," RSPCA Victoria inspectorate team leader Michelle Green said.

"Cheryl's owners admitted they had not followed the previously issued direction to seek veterinary care and it was apparent that Cheryl was suffering.

"Overweight animals suffer from a variety of health concerns and it's imperative that owners are aware of appropriate diets that are nutritionally balanced and matched to a dog's age and level of activity."

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The women were fined $1800 and convicted of failing to provide veterinary treatment, failing to provide proper food and causing pain or suffering to an animal.

Cheryl has since been removed from the care of the women and placed in a foster home, where she is understood to have since lost weight.

She is now "more physically active and living a healthy, happy life", the RSPCA said.

The British government has dropped plans to cut income tax for top earners, part of a package of unfunded cuts that sparked turmoil on financial markets and sent the pound to record lows.

Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng said on Monday that he will not scrap the top 45 per cent rate of income tax paid on earnings above £150,000 ($260,000) a year.

"We get it, and we have listened," he said in a statement.

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The U-turn comes as more lawmakers from the governing Conservative Party turn on government tax plans announced 10 days ago.

It also comes hours after the Conservatives released advance extracts of a speech Kwarteng is due to give later Monday at the party's annual conference, saying: "We must stay the course. I am confident our plan is the right one."

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UK Prime Minister Liz Truss defended the measures on Sunday, but said she could have "done a better job laying the ground" for the announcements.

Truss took office less than a month ago, promising to radically reshape Britain's economy to end years of sluggish growth.

But the government's September 23 announcement of a stimulus package that includes £45 billion ($78 billion) in tax cuts, to be paid for by government borrowing, sent the pound tumbling to a record low against the dollar.

The Bank of England was forced to intervene to prop up the bond market, and fears that the bank will soon hike interest rates caused mortgage lenders to withdraw their cheapest deals, causing turmoil for homebuyers.

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The wet season is well and truly underway with every Australian state and territory being warned of heavy rainfall and potential new flooding, including in already full rivers.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said showers and thunderstorms were on their way to southern South Australia, including Adelaide, north-west Victoria and the New South Wales South Coast tomorrow.

By Wednesday morning, rain is expected to move further east into Queensland, central NSW, South Australia, and Victoria.

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The BoM has warned already full rivers are at risk of more flooding across in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and southern Queensland.

"Many communities that recently experienced flooding or are currently in flood will likely see rivers rise in the coming week including inland and western areas of NSW, before moving to the ranges and eastern NSW districts towards the weekend," a BoM spokesperson said.

"The ground remains saturated, and any additional rainfall will cause streams and rivers to rise."

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Showers and storms will ease by Thursday but will return on Friday in southern Queensland, central and eastern NSW, central and eastern Victoria, and northern Tasmania.

Much of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania are also set for a wet weekend.

Nine's weather presenter Garry Youngberry said the first storm system would move over land tomorrow, bringing heavy rains.

Queensland is looking at 50mm-100mm of rain for the south-west and southern interior regions, and 25mm-50mm for the south-east corner.

A total of 50mm-100mm has been forecast for NSW, but the north-west, Central West, and the South Coast will be closer to 100mm.

"I am afraid we will definitely see some flooding from this, and unfortunately it will be the inland areas for our farmers as well, and in Queensland it will be the south-western corner," Youngberry said.

"They really don't need a great deal of rain. Thankfully, though, north-east corner of NSW, the areas that have been flooded recently will see the lightest falls of 25 to 50mm."

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However, the heaviest falls are set for outback NSW, which "really can't take" the added load.

"There will definitely be flooding over this next week," Youngberry said.

Eileen Pritchard feared for her safety and the safety of her dog when confronted by a man brandishing a knife and yelling at her to control her dog or he would.”I didn’t know what was going to happen to me or my dog,” Pritchard…