King slashes salaries, bonuses of ministers

Saudi Arabia on Monday cut the salaries of cabinet ministers by 20 percent and froze the wages of lower-ranking civil servants in an intensified austerity drive to cope with lower oil revenues.

While ministers will have lower salaries, the 160 members of the Shura Council will see a 15-percent drop in their annual allowances for housing, furniture and cars, a royal decree said.

Council members - who include 30 women - are appointed by King Salman to advise the cabinet.