IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCT 26, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCT 26, 2016

• Taiwan has announced a simplified group visa policy to encourage tourist groups from Southeast Asian countries, including India and Indonesia, to visit the nation. 
• The group visa is free of cost for five or more people and is aimed at promoting Taiwan as a destination for exhibitions and conferences. 
• Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha began his 6-day visit to Russia On Oct 25, 2016.
• The visit comes after India and Russia announced deals worth over $12 billion.
• Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin is on a visit to North Korea.
• This is the first visit by a high-ranking Chinese official since February.
• This comes after the US urged China to agree on new UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, after the isolated state conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test recently.
• Jammu and Kashmir has the highest life expectancy in India for all ages, barring life expectancy at birth, as per the latest data released by the Registrar General of India, custodian of census data. 
• Important Points to Note : 
• Until 2010, Kerala had the highest life expectancy in all ages. 
• However, while Infant Mortality Rate in Kerala is 12, it's 34 in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Election Commission On Oct 25, 2016 announced that the pictures of candidates will be pasted next to their poll symbol on the electronic voting machines during elections in five states in 2017. 
• The political parties had apprised the EC about the trend of fielding namesakes of opponent candidates to mislead the voters. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of Urja Ganga, the highly ambitious gas pipeline project in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. 
• The gas pipeline project aims to provide piped cooking (PNG) gas to residents of the eastern region of the country and CNG gas for the vehicles.
• The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has deployed at least 100 women at 15 border posts along the Sino-India frontier, making it the first such posting of ‘mahila’ combatants in a forward area. 
• Note : The ITBP earlier this year commissioned 500 women troops for deployment at India-China border after training them for 44 weeks in battle craft and mountain survival.
• The government has allowed the Service voters, including armed forces personnel, to cast their votes in elections through e-postal ballot.
• Under this system, service voters can now download the blank post ballot sent to them electronically, mark their preference and post the filled-up ballot back to their respective returning officers.  
• India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parikar has released a book titled "Born to Fly". 
• This book is about the life of fighter pilot M P Anil Kumar, who became an icon of armed forces through his prolific writings despite having been paralysed after an accident.
• This book was authored by air commodore Nitin Sathe. 
• Bordeaux in France has been named the best city to visit next year by Lonely Planet in its 'Best in Travel 2017' list. 
• Cape Town in South Africa and Los Angeles in the United States have ranked second and third respectively. 
• Actress Deepika Padukone has been chosen to present an award at the upcoming MTV Europe Music Awards, to be held on November 6 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
• China's space laboratory Tiangong-2, which is orbiting the Earth with two astronauts onboard, launched a micro-satellite On Oct 25, 2016.
• Weighing around 47 kg, the micro-satellite is roughly the size of a desktop printer and is missioned to take photographs of Tiangong-2 space station and Shenzhou 11 manned spacecraft with a series of visible light cameras.
• Anti-war activist and politician Tom Hayden passed away.
• Hayden was one of the accused in the famous 'Chicago Seven' trial in which federal authorities charged him with conspiracy and inciting to riot at an anti-Vietnam War rally.
• Bank of America has unveiled a virtual assistant called Erica, that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to learn consumers' personal spending habits and offer financial advice. 
• It will help users understand financial concepts and warn them of imminent risks, among other things. 
• The bot will reportedly be available in Bank of America smartphone apps next year.
• The U-17 FIFA World Cup will be held in India from 6th to 28th October next year, with the draw scheduled for July 7, FIFA announced On Oct 25, 2016. 
• The tournament will be held in six cities across the country, namely Kochi, Mumbai, Guwahati, Delhi, Goa and Kolkata. 
• Important Note : This will be the first time India will host a FIFA-accredited football tournament.
• Lewis Hamilton beat Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg to claim the US Grand Prix.
• Hamilton is the double reigning F1 champion, winning the title in 2014 and 2015 after his first title in 2009 with McLaren-Mercedes.
• With this win, he became only the third Formula One racer to win 50 races, following former racers Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost. 
• Indian limited overs captain MS Dhoni is set to play in the 2017 edition of theVijay Hazare Trophy for his state Jharkhand. 
• Former World number four Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro won the ATP Stockholm Open after defeating American Jack Sock 7-5, 6-1 in the final.