Meanwhile, the Russian parliament strengthened punishment for lockdown violations, introducing heavy fines and prison terms of up to seven years in cases when a breach results in deaths.
President Vladimir Putin's changes, which have been approved by both houses of parliament, would overturn a current constitutional ban on him running for president again in 2024, allowing him to potentially stay in power until 2036.
The approval came just two days after Putin signed the reform bill, which has faced fierce criticism from opposition figures who say it will allow the longtime Russian leader to become "president for life."
Mikhail Mishustin, a little-known tax chief, was nominated by the president as the new prime minister after Vladimir Putin's announcement of a sweeping constitutional shake-up fuelled speculation about his future plans.
Human rights NGOs, including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, have expressed concern over the amendments that label journalists, bloggers and internet users as "foreign agents".
Protests erupted in the Russian capital Moscow in mid-July after the Central Election Commission refused to register a large numbers of opposition-minded candidates.
In recent weeks, thousands have attended street protests calling for free and fair elections after the exclusion of several opposition figures from local Moscow polls next month.
The move comes ahead of a series of planned nationwide demonstrations on Saturday being organised by Alexei Navalny's allies to protest against the exclusion of opposition candidates from a Moscow election next month.
Russian opposition is demanding free elections, after authorities disqualified a number of opposition candidates from the upcoming local polls due in September.
From US President Donald Trump signing a bill to benefit 9/11 victims to flooding in Pakistan, here are some of the top images making the news on July 29 and July 30, 2019.
Outspoken Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny most recently suffered from an “acute allergic reaction” in jail, triggering a wave of rumours and suspicion. This is how he drew Moscow’s ire and why he is in jail.
Prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been transferred from hospital back to jail to carry out the rest of his 30-day sentence while his own doctor fears he may have been poisoned.
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