New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her ministers will take a 20 per cent pay cut given the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
"This is where we can take action and that is why we have," Ardern told the media, adding that the six-month plan will also include public service CEOs.
The move, she explained, is aimed at acknowledging those people who have lost jobs, taken pay cuts or who were reliant on wage subsidies due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Nurses, police and health care professionals will be exempt from the pay cut.
New Zealand's offices, schools and non-essential services have been closed for 21 days, with the government expected to decide whether to extend the "Level 4" shutdown next week.
So far, the country has recorded more than 1,300 positive cases and 9 deaths.
Australia said on Saturday it would double the maximum penalty it can impose on tech firms found to have failed to uphold a ground-breaking social media ban for children, as evidence mounts that the ban has had little effect on teen use.
A strong earthquake struck Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region on Saturday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said, sending out tremors that could be felt from the capital Kabul across the border into neighbouring Pakistan.
Serbia's populist president Aleksandar Vucic, under pressure after months of anti-government protests, said on Saturday he will resign within weeks and the country will hold early presidential and parliamentary elections.
The death toll from Venezuela's devastating twin earthquakes rose above 1,400 on Saturday as foreign rescue teams poured into the country and authorities pressed on with the search for survivors in the hardest-hit coastal areas.
A light aircraft crash into Beijing's tallest building on Friday killed the pilot and injured 13 people who were not on board, the local government said following the unusual accident for the Chinese capital, where airspace is heavily restricted.
The UAE Ministry of Defence has announced the death of soldier Issa Ghuloom Al Baloushi, who passed away during a training mission in the country on Saturday.
The UAE has expressed deep concern over the continued military escalation by the two warring parties in several areas of Sudan, including El Obeid, and the impact on civilians and the worsening humanitarian situation.
Under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE is sending humanitarian aid to people affected by the ongoing crisis in Lebanon through the UAE Aid Agency.