Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, April 28

SINGAPORE -- The 32nd summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) concluded here Saturday, reaffirming the bloc's cooperation and common vision.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said ASEAN leaders have adopted deliverables which are in line with the priorities this year for ASEAN to strengthen its resilience and innovative capacity. (Singapore-ASEAN summit)

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PEKAN/LANGKAWI, Malaysia -- Candidates contesting the Malaysian general election submitted their nomination papers on Saturday morning, formally kicking off an 11-day election campaign in which the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, led by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Razak, is seeking a new mandate.

Najib's party, the United Malays National Organisation, has won every election since Malaysia's independence, together with BN, which also has the Malaysian Chinese Association and Malaysian Indian Congress as its two major component parties. (Malaysia-Election)

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MANILA -- A bronze statue in Manila symbolizing the World War II sex slaves abused by Japanese soldiers has been removed, less than five months after it was erected.

The statue was removed around 8 p.m. local time Friday night. Activists sympathetic to the plight of the former sex slaves gathered at the site Saturday morning and they are expected to issue a statement later Saturday. (The Philippines-"Comfort Woman"-Statue-Removal)

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KABUL -- Insurgency and counter-insurgency have got momentum in the war-battered Afghanistan since the so-called annual spring offensive was launched by Taliban on Wednesday.

According to security officials, scores of militants have been killed and many others sustained injuries in different parts of the country over the past 24 hours, as the militant group has launched multi-pronged and well-coordinated offensives against security forces in the country. (Afghanistan-Taliban) Enditem