Lead investigative judge into the Beirut port blast, Tarek al-Bitar, has issued judicial writs related to the ammonium nitrate shipment that caused the catastrophic August 4 explosion, the National News Agency said on Tuesday.

The writs are aimed at unveiling “how the ammonium nitrate was purchased, the shipment’s owners, the firms involved in the deal, the party for which it was imported, who paid for it and the exact identity of those behind it,” NNA said.

President Michel Aoun held talks Tuesday in Baabda with U.N. Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi.

During the meeting, Aoun handed Rochdi a copy of a report submitted by Lebanon to the U.N. about “the damage to the environmental and maritime resources” from the oil spill that has recently hit its southern shores.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday invited lawmakers to hold a plenary parliamentary session on Friday at the UNESCO Palace -- parliament’s temporary venue.

State-run National News Agency said the session is aimed at studying and approving draft laws and proposals that are on parliament’s agenda.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri held talks Tuesday in Abu Dhabi with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

A terse statement issued by Hariri’s press office said discussions tackled “the various situations and developments in Lebanon and the region.”

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim met Tuesday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki, as media reports said his initiative for resolving the government formation crisis is “still on the front burner.”

Ibrahim did not make a statement while leaving Bkirki but informed sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Tuesday that his initiative could be “the only solution that is strongly present on the table.”

Lebanese protesters set up new road blocks Tuesday to vent anger over political inaction in the face of deepening poverty, but security forces managed to re-open some to traffic.

The country has been mired in economic crisis, which has brought surging unemployment and spiraling prices while the currency has plunged to a new low to the dollar on the black market.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari held talks Monday with Shiite religious leader Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan, who is the country’s grand Jaafarite mufti and the son of Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, the head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council.

The talks, at Qabalan’s office, tackled “the local and regional situations and means to boost cooperation between the two brotherly countries,” Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

The Progressive Socialist Party announced Monday that it has held phone talks with Hizbullah and Amal Movement officials to prevent any sectarian discord resulting from any incident linked to the road-blocking protests that are engulfing the various Lebanese regions.

“People have the right to expression in rejection of this entire dire situation, and the PSP adheres to this on the basis of refraining from harming civil peace and stability,” the party said in a statement.

Army Commander General Joseph Aoun on Monday called on political officials to address the deteriorating economic and financial situations while vowing to protect “stability and civil peace.”

“The army is part of this people and it is suffering alike,” Aoun said in a meeting Yarze with the army’s top officers.

Pope Francis has promised that his next foreign trip will be to crisis-hit Lebanon, shortly after he wrapped up a historic visit to Iraq.

“Lebanon is a message… Lebanon is suffering,” the pontiff added in an in-flight press conference, vowing to visit the country as soon as possible.