UZBEKISTAN REPLACES DEFENSE MINISTER.

Uzbek president Islam Karimov yesterday released Col. Gen. Rustam Ahmedov as defense minister and appointed Maj. Gen. Hikmatulla Tursunov in his place. Tursunov, 44, had been serving as commander of Uzbekistan’s border troops, a component of the State Security Service. Ahmedov, who had been defense minister since 1991, was appointed minister for emergency situations — a militarized agency that copes with natural calamities and large-scale accidents. There was no immediate explanation for the change. (International agencies, September 29)

Opposition Forces Meet in Moscow.