Facing financial crisis, Iraqi ministers halve their salary

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - 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 Islamic State 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 Islamist 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". (Reporting by Dominic Evans; Editing by Andrew Heavens)