at one point an australian rainbow lorikeet pecked at her, though neither chancellor nor bird was hurt in the encounter. i don t know my parents from my laura keats. brave bird. very few politicians up there to peck at angela merkel s policies. stephanie was telling us earlier as she could end up as the second chancellor. let s get some of the day s other news. the separatist former head of catalonia s regional government, carles puigdemont, has been released from detention in italy while an extradition request from spain is considered. he was detained in sardinia on thursday. spain wants him to return to stand trial on charges of sedition, linked to a failed attempt at catalan independence in 2017. the leaders of the so called quad the us, australia, india and japan have been meeting at the white house. the group, which first formed after the devastating 2004 tsunami, discussed their role in safeguarding a stable, democratic indo pacific.