Singer Houston re-enters clinic

Houston has admitted drug problems in the past

Singer Whitney Houston has entered a rehabilitation clinic for the second time in a year.

Houston's publicist Nancy Seltzer confirmed on Wednesday that the 41-year-old had checked into the facility, but gave no further details.

Houston, who has been working on a new album, spent five days in a clinic in March 2004.

She admitted on US TV network ABC in 2002 that she had abused drugs but had overcome her problems through prayer.

Overshadowed

In 2000 she was detained at Keahole-Kona International Airport in Hawaii after she was allegedly found to be carrying a quantity of marijuana.

However, the charges against her were dropped after a drugs counsellor said the singer did not need treatment for substance abuse.

Last month Houston was admitted to hospital in Paris with suspected food poisoning, after being taken ill on a flight.

The singer has won six Grammy awards and scored a string of chart-toppers, including Saving All My Love For You, One Moment In Time and I Will Always Love You, from the soundtrack to her hit film The Bodyguard.

However, her troubled private life has overshadowed her musical achievements in recent years.

Houston's husband Bobby Brown spent time in jail in 2004 for parole violation, and received a suspended sentence for missing child support payments.

The couple, who live in Atlanta, were married in 1992 and have a 12-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.