Greece

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said a 5-euro fee to access state hospitals had been scrapped and 4,500 healthcare workers would be hired, the latest move by his leftist government to ease what it calls a humanitarian crisis in the country.

Friends and family members of jailed terrorist suspects and convicts currently on hunger strike, staged a protest outside Greek Parliament on Syntagma Square on Thursday. Raising a banner in front of the monument of the Unknown Soldier, a popular tourist spot, the protesters called for ?victory? for the prisoners.

Jailed ex-Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos on Thursday appealed to his wife, Viki Stamati, to return to the mental health facility she escaped from earlier in the day.

Four correctional officers were arrested on Thursday in relation to the escape of Vicky Stamati, wife of the jailed former minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, from the Dromokaitio Psychiatric Hospital. The prison employees, who were responsible for guarding Stamati, will be taken before a prosecutor later on Thursday, while police continue searching for the fugitive.

Main Opposition New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras lashed out against the government on Thursday, accusing it of having lost control at the country's Universities and tolerating assaults against police departments.

As Greek and Turkish diplomats prepare for talks on confidence-building measures that are expected to start on April 22, Ankara appears to be fueling a debate that began in Turkey?s National Assembly last week which questions the status of 16 Greek islands in the Aegean.

Four prison guards in charge of guarding Viki Stamati, the spouse of jailed ex-Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos who escaped in the early hours of Thursday from a mental health facility, were arrested on the same day. All four were expected to face a local prosecutor on Thursday.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in Parliament on Thursday morning that it is unacceptable that public opinion is being informed by websites on the negotiation with the partners.

New Democracy deputy Yiannis Voutsis had earlier said that deputies are informed on the government's proposals on the Internet.

The public health sector is a top priority for the coalition government, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday during a scheduled visit to the Healh Ministry, his first ministerial visit following his election in January.

The room pictured is the one at Dromokaiteio mental institution from where Vicky Stamati escaped after being held in custody since April 2012 for money laundering. Proto Thema photographed the balcony from where she left the hospital at dawn on Thursday mroning. Her room was on the ground floor. The balcony door had bars that she managed to break open.