12/02/2012 BBC Weekend News

Tributes tonight to the singer Whitney Houston, who has died in

Los Angeles. She was 48. Her body was found in a deadly Hills hotel

room. Attempts to resuscitate her failed. -- Beverly Hills.

She was one of the best-selling female artists of all time, but

later struggled with drug and alcohol dependency.

Also tonight: Violence in Athens as the Greek parliament prepares to

vote on a crucial new European Union bail out.

And swan has says sorry. The Liverpool striker apologises for

refusing to shake hands with Good evening. Tributes have been

paid to the singer Whitney Houston, who has died in Los Angeles. She

was 48. Her body was found in a hotel room, where she was preparing

to attend a party. She was one of the most highly acclaimed singers

of her generation, but her career had been blighted by drug addiction.

This report contains Flash photography.

A small tribute left in memory of Whitney Houston outside the hotel

She inspired a generation, was one of the world's best-selling artists.

But her career was unravelled by her addiction to drugs and alcohol.

At the church in her home town, where she sang as a child, there

were prayers of remembrance. family shared Whitney Houston with

the world. But she was a mother, daughter, sister. That is the focus

that we want to keep in front of everybody today, to continue to

lift the family up and respect this time of grief and their privacy at

this time. Whitney Houston was found in her hotel room, on the 4th

floor at the Beverly Hills Hilton. Paramedics were there within

minutes of the alarm being raised, but could not revive her. It is

still not known what caused her death. Some reports speculate she

was found in the bath. As yet there have been no details from the

coroner or her family. It was midnight when her body was taken

from the hotel. A last image, eerily reminiscent of another icon

of her era, Michael Jackson. She had been due to attend a big Grammy

Award party here last night, hosted by Clive Davis, the man who made

her name. She was expected to sing. There were tributes from far and

wide for one of the biggest-selling female singers of all time.

always had that incredible energy. She gave you that hug. It shut your

body. This is the Grammy Award weekend, the biggest party for the

This was her last appearance, a What happened in the hours before

she died is still a mystery. There will be many tributes to an

extraordinary life and incredible Over a 30 year career, Whitney

Houston sold 170 million albums, singles and videos and won 6 Grammy

awards. The soundtrack for The Bodyguard, in which she starred,

was among the biggest selling in cinema history. David Sillitoe

If anyone was born to sing, it was Whitney Houston. Her mother was a

singer, Aretha Franklin was a The image in the beginning was

innocent, clean-cut pop music that had grown from her strict Baptist

upbringing. I started in church, singing their. At about 13 I

decided that I wanted to professional leasing. My mum took

me by the hand and we went to the # I want to dance with somebody...

She had a run of seven number-one singles. Last night she had been

preparing to attend a party and honour of the man who launched that

career. I am personally devastated by the loss of somebody who meant

so much to me for so many years. But the clean-cut, church-going

image soon slid after a marriage to Bobby Brown. There were years of

drug abuse. Her demeanour changed. Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is

it cocaine? Is it pills? It has been, at times. All of them?

Sometimes it was all too obvious that something was very wrong. But

what you cannot forget is that she had been blessed with one of pop's

Let's go back to Alastair Leithead in Los Angeles. Any more word on

the circumstances of Whitney Houston's death? No, that is the

focus now, what happened in the hours before she was found in her

hotel room here at the Beverly Hilton. There has been speculation,

because she had such a public battle with drug addiction and

alcohol addiction that people have jumped to conclusions. Some of the

entertainment journalists here are suggesting she was found in the

bath. At this stage, no statement from the family or coroner on

exactly what happened. There have been fierce clashes in

Athens between police and demonstrators opposed to new

austerity measures being debated by the Greek parliament. The

legislation, aimed at securing a new European Union bail out, is due

to be voted on this evening. A rejection could precipitate a

cricketer fault. As the sun came out in Athens, the

mood began to darken. Riot police lined up outside Parliament.

Everyone knew what was likely to happen next. Among the crowds of

protesters, even middle-class teachers that had enough of the

politics of austerity. All of the people in Greece do not want those

measures. We are here to protest against this crime that is about to

take place in parliament today. a 5th year of deep recession, anger

boils over quickly here. And with grim inevitability, as night falls,

more violence on the streets outside Parliament. It seems the

only way to get these controversial measures past is behind a ring of

steel around this building. It's hardly normal democracy. But these

are not normal times in Greece. And many here wonder if the price is

worth paying. To get another bail out from the eurozone worth 130

billion euros, the Greek parliament was told it had to pass another

austerity package containing 3.3 billion euros worth of big cuts in

public sector jobs, pensions and the minimum wage. Greece needs

money before March 20th to meet debt repayments of 14.5 billion

euros or it will go bankrupt. Europe has given Greece an

ultimatum. Here is the deal, take- it-or-leave-it. Parliament will

probably say yes, because the alternative could be worse. But it

hurts. The Arab League has issued a

statement agreeing for the first time to begin contact with Syria's

opposition movement. The organisation has also suggested the

setting up of a joint peacekeeping mission with the UN Security

Council to stop the ongoing bloodshed. The statement was issued

in Cairo. Jeremy Bowen is there. A significant move? Well, this was

the toughest action so far about the Syrian crisis used by the Arab

League. It was not very long on specifics. There were no details

about what kind of peacekeeping force, what specific context they

have in mind. Arms shipments, perhaps? They also called for

diplomatic isolation of Syria and a strengthening of sanctions. Now,

the question is, how much of this will be translated into concrete

action? It seems much more certain now that this whole matter will go

back to the UN Security Council, despite the fact there has already

been a veto by the Russians. If it goes there, the question is if the

Russians will use that to veto again.

The Liverpool footballer Luis Suarez has apologised for not

shaking hands yesterday with Patrice Evra. The Manchester United

player he was banned for racially abusing. He said he realised he had

got things wrong. Liverpool's managing director said that the

club were extremely disappointed with his actions.

It was supposed to be the moment of reconciliation. It was anything but.

Luis Suarez's snap of Patrice Evra prompted shock, air anger and then,

Just as significant is a statement from Liverpool. The club have

always defended Luis Suarez. Today they said they were extremely

disappointed in him, that he had misled them by telling them

beforehand he would shake hands. He has not only let himself down, they

say, but also Kenny Dalglish, his team-mates and the club. His

behaviour was not acceptable. Kenny Dalglish also apologised for his

brisk post-match interview. I think you are banned out of order to

blame Luis Suarez for anything that happened today. A new spirit of

attrition at Anfield. Suarez's in particular was welcomed by the fans.

to Liverpool and all of the fans. don't think it should have happened

in the first place. They should have just shaken hands. Called it a

day, end of story. Liverpool's image has been dented. After four

months of acrimony, the sport hopes that lessons have been learned.

This is not just Liverpool. We have to make sure that all senior people,

senior players, owners of clubs, they really by Ian to what we are

trying to do. Manchester United said they accepted the apology and

now wanted to move on. So, so will football, after one of the Sport's

ugliest sagas. The Prime Minister has backed the

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley over his controversial plans to

reform the National Health Service. David Cameron said he was at one

with Mr Lansley over the Government's Health and Social Care

Bill. However, a senior Liberal Democrat has said it would be

better if Mr Lansley was moved on from his post.

The Prime Minister is making it plain there is no question of him

walking away from his beleaguered Health Secretary. For the

grassroots Conservative Home website claimed three Cabinet

ministers had raised concerns about the controversial changes to the

NHS. Far from washing his hands of it all, David Cameron told the

Other ministers voiced their support as well. I am not aware of

any Cabinet minister that has expressed reservations about it.

You just said the Cabinet was totally united, that is not what

Conservative Home says. I'm not aware of the internal workings of

Conservative Home. I am aware of our discussions around the Cabinet

table, which have been very supportive of the reforms.

Lansley was heckled in Scotland last week. Some Conservatives say

he has failed to explain his plans. A senior Liberal Democrat said he

should be moved from his post. political judgement is that in the

second half of the parliament it would be better to move on from...

For him to move on, you mean? different health secretary, yes.

Plans to introduce more competition into the NHS and give GPs more

control over health care are opposed by many help bodies. The

opposition say legislation should be dropped altogether.

overwhelming consensus of opinion amongst doctors, nurses, NHS staff

and also, it would seem, the sensible members of Mr Cameron's

cabinet is that it is better for the NHS to abandon the organisation

and work back through the original structures of the National Health

Service. The Government faces further battles to get its bill

through the House of Lords. Downing Street said the Prime Minister is

ready to take on his critics and challenge them to say how they

would secure the future of the NHS. Some of the biggest stars at the

silver screen are in London for the BAFTAs this evening. Director

Martin Scorsese will pick up an award for his outstanding

contribution to cinema. The film's The Artist and Tinker, Tailor,

Soldier, Spy are in line for awards. Well, I am very sorry about that.

We are having difficulty talking to Will Gompertz. Let's have a report

that he produced earlier. As evening falls, the stars come

out. Brightening up a London's The British film industry is all

dressed up for its big night out. He would have thought that all of

the talk would be about a silent film? The Artist, a French movie

set in Hollywood before the advent of the Torquays, is up for awards

including Best Film. It will be up against Tinker, Tailor, Soldier,

Spy, shortlisted in 11 categories. Gary Oldman plays George Smiley.

It's a performance that has won him a leading actor nomination. He will

be slugging it out with heart- throbs Brad Pitt and George Clooney,

who got the nod for his role in the do descendants. Meryl Streep's Iron

Lady goes hand back to hand back with Marilyn Monroe. It looks to be

a battle of the bonds for leading actress award. Hugo, a family film

set in the 1930s, has been nominated for nine awards including

Best Director for Martin Scorsese. He already knows he will not be