Laos

President Barack Obama begins his 11th and final presidential trip to the Asia-Pacific in earnest on Friday, visiting China to nurture what has become arguably the world’s most important relationship and cementing an eight-year “pivot to Asia.”

“The mysterious plain of jars in Northeastern Laos is still one of the biggest uninvestigated archaeological sites in Southeast Asia.”

The saola, nicknamed the Asian unicorn, has been known to Western science for only about 20 years. Its habits and way of life are still mysteries. But one thing about it is clear: It’s living on the verge of extinction.

Many a tourist to Italy has relished the country’s famous pizza. But could that pizza be dangerous? An Italian TV news report says so — but the pizza industry is crying foul. That story and more in today’s Global Scan.

Paul C. Lo and his family came to America from Laos in the 1970s as part of a huge wave of Hmong refugees — ethnic villagers pushed out of Laos by communist forces during the Vietnam War. Lo, who is now 45 years old, was recently named the first Hmong American judge in US history.