TOKYO (Reuters) - More than 100 flights were canceled and evacuation warnings were issued for thousands of people as a powerful typhoon approached Japan's northeast on Tuesday, a region devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami five years ago.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Hess on Monday said it was securing its U.S. Gulf of Mexico facilities and evacuating non-essential personnel as a precaution ahead of Tropical Depression Nine.

HOUSTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Oil and gas operators in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico have shut production equal to 168,334 barrels per day of oil and 190 million cubic feet per day of natural gas as a precaution against a tropical storm, the U.S. government said on Monday.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Anadarko Petroleum has evacuated all non-essential personnel from its production platforms in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a company spokesman said on Monday by email, ahead of a storm threat from Tropical Depression Nine.

OSLO (Reuters) - A freak lightning storm has killed 323 reindeer in a remote mountainous area of Norway, officials said on Monday.

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa's recovery from its worst drought in over century could be stalled as anticipated rain relief from a La Nina weather system remains uncertain, the South African Weather Service said on Monday.

(Reuters) - Tropical Depression Nine, located about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west-northwest of Havana, Cuba, is expected to become a tropical storm later on Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

(Reuters) - Gaston, the first major Atlantic hurricane of the season, is forecast to remain a powerful system for the next several days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday.