Madeleine Albright, a Czech immigrant who went on to become the first female secretary of state in US history, has died aged 84. A long-time foreign policy veteran, Albright became America’s top diplomat in 1997 during the Clinton government. Often hailed as “a champion of democracy”, Albright was instrumental in efforts to end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. Her death from cancer was confirmed by her family in a statement. “She was surrounded by family and friends,” the statement said. “We lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend.” Among those to pay tribute to her after the announcement of her death were former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who later followed in her footsteps as Secretary of State.(BBC)…[+]