Surprise goldfish in a bowl

Uncertain future: In this courtroom sketch, Meng sits beside a translator during a bail hearing in Vancouver. She faces extradition to the US on charges of trying to evade US sanctions on Iran. – AP

WHEN Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng Wanzhou appeared on Wednesday in a Vancouver courtroom, clad in an unbranded green tracksuit, the moment was witnessed by a single reporter from the local Vancouver Sun newspaper who happened to notice her name on the hearings list that morning.

By the end of the day, Meng’s arrest in Canada at the request of Washington was the biggest story in the world.