Uzbekistan\'s hardline President Islam Karimov has named the head of the country\'s security council as his new defence minister. Ruslan Mirzayev got the job despite being one of 12 men named by the EU this week as subject to travel restrictions. The EU said the measure was a response to the Uzbek government\'s crackdown on the town of Andijan in May. Mr Mirzayev replaces Kodyr Gulyamov, who was also on the EU list. The Uzbek government says 187 people died in the Andijan unrest, which it blamed on Islamic militants. But rights groups say more than 500 people were killed, among them unarmed civilians shot by Uzbek security forces. The government has been strongly criticised for rejecting an international investigation into the incident. The travel restrictions can be lifted in certain situations. Another of the men on the list, Interior Minister Zakirjan Almatov, is believed to be in Germany receiving treatment for cancer. (BBC)