The Dakar Rally starts next Saturday, "but eyes in Argentina are looking to the other side" of the country, where flooding in the Litoral region "has resulted in three deaths and the evacuation of more than 20,000." This could "seriously affect" some of the areas the drivers are scheduled to pass through. The flooding "is a consequence of the El Niño effect" (AS, 12/27). ... Cricket fans attending the Victoria Bitter One Day Int'l Series in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney will be offered a "Field of Flavours" food market offering int'l cuisine. Inspired by late-night food markets, the events will be created with the help of celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita and will include Indian, Vietnamese and Mexican cuisines (Cricket Australia). ... The Int'l Ski Federation (FIS) on Wednesday banned camera drones from its World Cup races, a day after one of the flying objects "crashed and nearly hit the Austrian skier Marcel Hirscher during a slalom race in Italy." Dir of Men’s Races Markus Waldner said that the FIS will prohibit drones "as long as I am responsible." He said that he had made the decision "because they are a bad thing for safety." The drone, carrying a TV camera, "shattered on an icy slope just behind Hirscher" a few seconds after he had started his second run in a nighttime race in Madonna di Campiglio (AP, 12/23).