It's time to review the state of LGBT people around the world. I am prompted to do this when I read that the US ambassador to Zambia, Daniel Foote, has said he has been threatened over his comments on the sentencing of a gay couple causing a deepening a diplomatic row. It is disturbing to hear this, especially when there are bad comments on our diplomatic core in our impeachment hearings.

Ambassador Foote said he was "horrified" by the jailing of Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba.

A judge quashed an appeal against their conviction last week, sentencing them both to 15 years in prison.

Same-sex relationships are outlawed in Zambia, where British colonial-era laws on homosexuality still apply.

Mr Foote implored the Zambian government to review the case and its homosexuality laws, but has since faced a backlash for doing so.

On Monday Zambian President Edgar Lungu rebuked the ambassador, saying his government will complain to the Trump administration. The president's outrage was echoed by Zambian Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji, who said Mr Foote's remarks were "tantamount to questioning the Zambian constitution".

Mr Foote, US ambassador since December 2017, responded to the furore in a press statement on Monday.

The career diplomat said he had cancelled scheduled appearances at World Aids Day events on Tuesday "because of threats made against me" on social media.

He said: "I was shocked at the venom and hate directed at me and my country, largely in the name of 'Christian' values, by a small minority of Zambians," Mr Foote said.

He denied accusations that his comments amounted to interference in Zambia's judiciary and constitutional affairs.

"It is up to Zambian citizens and the courts to decide if your laws correspond to your constitution, but your constitution itself provides every person the right to freedom and expression of conscience and belief," he said.

"I expressed my belief about a law and a harsh sentencing I don't agree with. I didn't interfere in internal affairs."In turn, Mr Foote accused President Lungu of interfering in judicial affairs through statements "rejecting homosexual rights".

In an interview with Sky News, Mr Lungu mounted a combative defense of Zambia's homosexuality laws.

"Even animals don't do it, so why should we be forced to do it?... because we want to be seen to be smart, civilized and advanced and so on," he said.

The US Administration has remained shamefully silent on human rights abuses against LGBTQ people around the globe. This has ben tracked by the Human Rights Coalition (HRC) who:

Repeatedly called on the White House and the State Department to demand U.S. leaders condemn atrocities and human rights violations being committed.

Organized a visit with a survivor of the anti-LGBTQ crackdown in Chechnya to Washington to demand that the U.S. take action to stop the violence and open its doors to the victims.

They have repeatedly called upon the administration to welcome LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers.

They called on the U.S. not to extend trade preferences for Tanzania until the Tanzanian government take concrete steps to improve the human rights situation for LGBTQ people and others.

HRC has condemned the State Department’s new "Commission on Unalienable Rights", which aims to narrow the scope of human rights - to the likely detriment of LGBTQ human rights.

Meanwhile, A gay homeowner who previously took the Hong Kong government to court over a rule that prevented him from living with his husband has mounted a second legal challenge, this time over inheritance in case he dies without a will.

Edgar Ng Hon-lam applied for a judicial review over the marriage provisions in two ordinances on intestacy and financial provision f...