World Bulletin/News Desk

Iraqi ministers agreed on Tuesday to take a 50 percent pay cut while the country grapples with a financial crisis brought about by falling oil prices and a war with ISIL militants.

Last week the OPEC oil exporter said it had scrapped a draft 2015 budget because of the slide in crude oil prices, which have sharply cut government revenues as Iraq faces additional costs of a long campaign against the militants.

A statement issued after Tuesday's cabinet meeting said the pay cut would come into effect on January 1 and would last "until the end of the financial crisis".