At an hour when Ahmad and Mohammed should have been in the classroom, the two brothers sat idle at home in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

The 10-year-old twins are part of a generation abruptly cut adrift by a fiscal crisis that has slashed public schooling from five days a week to three across the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority's deepening budget shortfall is cutting through every layer of society across the West Bank.

President Donald Trump warned Iran of potential consequences should it fail to strike a deal with the United States, as negotiators prepare for the latest round of talks in Geneva on Tuesday.

Mediated by Oman, the recently resumed discussions are aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, with Tehran expressing cautious optimism at Washington's "more realistic" position on its nuclear programme.

By Steve Holland

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Feb 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved "indirectly" in talks between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program set to begin on Tuesday in Geneva, adding he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal.

"I'll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they'll be very important," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

SYDNEY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his government would not repatriate Australians living in a Syrian camp that holds families of suspected Islamic State militants.

"We have a very firm view that we won't be providing assistance or repatriation," Albanese told ABC News.

Thirty-four Australians released on Monday from a camp in northern Syria were returned to the detention centre due to "technical reasons," two sources told Reuters.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

TV producer Dana Eden, who co-created the hit Israeli spy thriller series "Tehran", has been found dead in a hotel room in Athens, Greek police told AFP on Monday.

The 52-year-old Israeli national's body was found Sunday night at a hotel near Syntagma Square, in the heart of the Greek capital, the force said.

"An autopsy has been ordered, the surveillance cameras have been reviewed, and everything seems to indicate it was a suicide," a police spokesperson said.

ROME, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Italy stands ready to help train police forces in Gaza and elsewhere in the Palestinian territories, its foreign minister said on Monday, as Rome aims to play a role in stabilizing the Middle East.

"We are ready to train a new Gaza police force, and we are also ready to train a Palestinian police force," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told a news conference in Rome.

BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - EU Commissioner Dubravka Suica will travel to Washington this week to attend a meeting of the Board of Peace, as set up by U.S President Donald Trump, in her capacity as an observer, a spokesperson for the EU Commission said on Monday.

By Orhan Qereman

ROJ CAMP, Syria, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Syrian Kurdish forces on Monday released 34 Australians who were detained in a camp holding families of suspected Islamic State militants in northern Syria, saying they would be flown to Australia from Damascus.

Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been handed to members of their families who had come to Syria for the release. They were put on small buses for Damascus ahead of their departure from the country. A military vehicle escorted the buses.

PARIS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - French police on Monday searched the Arab World Institute in Paris in connection with an investigation into its former head, ex culture minister Jack Lang, and his ties with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into alleged tax fraud against Lang and his daughter Caroline following the release of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Arab World Institute said it could not comment immediately.

ATHENS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Israeli producer of hit spy thriller "Tehran" was found dead on Sunday at a hotel room in Athens, Greek police officials said while a probe into the incident is underway.

The body of the 52-year-old woman, identified as Dana Eden, was found after a relative made several failed attempts to reach her.

The case is being treated as suicide based on evidence and testimonies, the police officials said.

Greek investigators found pills at the scene. A coroner also found bruises on the victim's neck.