BBC News with Sue Montgomery

The British

pharmaceutical

company GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay $3bn to settle what US officials are calling the biggest healthcare fraud in American history. The authorities say Glaxo has broken US laws in the marketing of several of its products as Paul Adams reports from Washington.

Among the allegations are the GSK tried to get patients under the age of 18 to use an antidepressants Paxil that had only been approved for adults, and that it promoted another drug Wellbutrin for uses that had not yet been approved. Prosecutors also alleged that the company distributed misleading information and influenced doctors with meals and spa treatments, which amounted to

kickbacks

. In a statement, GlaxoSmithKline expressed regret and said the company had learnt from its mistakes.

The UN human rights chief has warned for nature escalation of the crisis in Syria. Navi Pillay said the violence was being

fueled

by increasing flow of arms to both the government and the opposition. She didn't specify where the weapons were coming from, but correspondents say the government has been armed by Iran and Russia while the opposition is receiving weapons from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Ms Pillay asked that Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court.

"In my view, both government forces and armed opponents have been involved in actions harming civilians. Those responsible for attacks against civilians must be held accountable, and so I