Syria to lift emergency law, official says

Syria to lift emergency lawSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Assad is expected to address the country "within the next couple of days," a source says Syria will lift 1963 emergency law, information ministry official saysSyrian government asks people to ignore calls for rallies in a Damascus squareViolence has been reported in Daraa, Latakia and elsewhere (CNN) -- Syria will lift its emergency law that has been in place nearly 50 years, a government official said Sunday, as the country grapples with deadly violence surrounding anti-government protests.

"I can tell you that it will be lifted," said Reem Haddad, spokeswoman for the Syrian Information Ministry, discussing the law that allows the government to make preventive arrests and override constitutional and penal code statutes.

It is too early to say when the emergency law will be lifted, she added, in an interview with CNN.

In effect since 1963, the law also bars detainees who haven't been charged from filing court complaints or from having a lawyer present during interrogations.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was also expected to address his embattled nation, amid reports of protesters being shot to death in recent days as they called for government reforms. A source close to the Syrian government told CNN that Assad is expected to speak to the nation "within the next couple of days," and likely not Sunday.

Violence has consumed recent demonstrations in the restive city of Daraa and the coastal town of Latakia, according to witnesses.

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Japan reactor core may be leaking radioactive material, official says

Military officers on Friday hold a blue sheet over people exposed to high levels of radiation at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Water contamination in unit No. 3 basement likely from reactor core, an official saysThe plant's operator has been urged to improve its radiation control measuresPressure had risen at the No. 1 unit, though it now seems "rather stable" Tokyo (CNN) -- Authorities in Japan raised the prospect Friday of a likely breach in the all-important containment vessel of the No. 3 reactor at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a potentially ominous development in the race to prevent a large-scale release of radiation.

Contaminated water likely seeped through the containment vessel protecting from the reactor's core, said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Japan nuclear and industrial safety agency.

Three men working inside the No. 3 reactor stepped into water this week that had 10,000 times the amount of radiation typical for that locale, Nishiyama said. That water likely indicates "some sort of leakage" from the reactor core, signaling a possible break of the containment vessel that houses the core.

The containment vessel is designed to prevent radioactive material from escaping into the atmosphere, even if other parts of the reactor are damaged. A rupture in the containment vessel could pose problems for workers who are trying to prevent that, depending on its severity.

The three workers who were exposed to radiation by stepping in the contaminated water had the highest levels of radiation recorded so far, said Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns the plant.

The incident raised questions about radiation control measures at the plant as 536 people -- including government authorities and firefighters -- continued working there Friday, according to an official with Tokyo Electric.

Workers are undertaking various measures to prevent the further release of radioactive substances into the air and beyond.

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