At a joint meeting held Saturday evening, members of the National Press Authority and the Press Syndicate underlined the obligation for all media workers to adhere to the journalistic code of ethics.

During the meeting they also directed all journalists to "completely avoid all kinds of insults, slander and delving into personal lives."

According to a statement, these directives comes on the occasion of "the beginning of a new era to restore citizens' confidence in the press and present a positive image of public opinion about the profession of journalism, in addition to restoring the prestige of the press and its role in spreading ideals, ethics and principles of the lofty profession."

Attendees of the joint meeting instructed the heads of the National Press Authority and Press Syndicate to intervene to resolve recent publishing abuses after the syndicate received complaints against a number of chief editors of newspapers in the last two weeks.

Action would follow, the statement said, while ensuring the right of journalists to criticise, which is guaranteed by the constitution and law as a right to all citizens, without insulting or slandering, to preserve the syndicate's prestige and "respect of the profession."

In order to preserve the unity of the press group, resorting to the judiciary is a last resort, if amicable solutions among colleagues fail, noted the statement.