Paris to honor Orlando shooting victims with rainbow lights on Eiffel Tower

From across the world, officials and public figures are expressing condemnation and shock over the Florida mass shooting at the Pulse Orlando nightclub on Sunday, when police say a gunman wielding an assault-type rifle opened fire, killing at least 49 people and wounding dozens. Paris City Hall began paying respects in the afternoon with a display of American and rainbow flags, while French President Francois Hollande condemned the mass killing as an attack on freedom. France feels deeply the horror of deadly attacks after the November terror attacks on a music hall, restaurants and bars and the main sports stadium killed 130. Bearing rainbow flags and signs reading "stand with Orlando," Londoners observed two minutes' silence, before 49 balloons - one for each person killed - were released into the air. Senior politicians including London Mayor Sadiq Khan joined the vigil near the Admiral Duncan pub, where three people died and dozens were wounded in a 1999 bomb attack by a far-right extremist. British lawmakers also held a minute's silence Monday after what Home Secretary Theresa May called "not just an act of terror but an act of homophobic hatred." The world's largest body of Muslim-majority nations condemned the mass shooting but also warned against "political campaigning and self-serving agendas" in the wake of the tragedy. Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah says the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history is a "senseless act of terror and hate" and that "Palestinians stand with the American people in this difficult time." Musharraf, who is facing court cases at home but left Pakistan in March for treatment abroad, says on his Facebook page the world must "address the root causes of global terrorism to suck the oxygen out of the extremist narrative of hate, intolerance, bigotry and the promotion of obscurantist ideology that is radicalizing vulnerable Muslims around the world." Saudi Arabia outlaws same-sex relationships and non-Muslim gays and lesbians can be sentenced to death by stoning, according to Human Rights Watch. State TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari as saying "Iran, based on its main policies of condemning terrorism and its strong determination to confront this ominous phenomenon, condemns the Orlando terrorist attack." Egypt stands next to the American people in these difficult times, offering sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishing the injured a speedy recovery. Egypt's statement urged for international solidarity and a "firm, comprehensive approach to confronting terrorism, which knows no borders or religion, and is incompatible with all humanitarian principles and values." The United Arab Emirates — home to the Western-friendly metropolises of Abu Dhabi and Dubai— condemned "the terrorist attack" in Orlando, expressed its solidarity with the United States and called on the international community to work to "eliminate the scourge of terrorism." Lebanon's Foreign Ministry is strongly condemning the "cowardly" attack in Orlando, expressing solidarity with the victims and the U.S. government and blaming the massacre on the Islamic State group. An Associated Press reporter saw two young men take out a placard saying "Love wins" before police officers came up and led them away. Separately, Thailand's Royal Palace released a message to President Obama from King Bhumibol Adulyadej expressing sympathy and condolences to him and the bereaved families "for their irreparable loss caused by this shocking incident." Indonesia's foreign ministry said the government condemns the attack and extends deepest sympathy to the families of victims and the American people. Anti-gay rhetoric by officials has been increasingly common in the world's most populous Muslim nation over the past year, fueled by army leaders and conservative religious groups who view homosexuality as an import from the West. China's official Xinhua News Agency issued a statement saying President Xi Jinping had telephoned his American counterpart Barack Obama to express his condolences over the Orlando shootings. Xi was quoted as saying that "on behalf of the government and people of China, I convey to President Obama and the American government and people my deepest sympathies, sincere condolences and deep grief for the victims." Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that the Orlando mass shooting was "an attack on all of us — on all our freedoms, the freedom to gather together, to celebrate, to share time with friends." The mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub happened shortly after a same-sex kiss was removed from a production of the musical "Les Miserables" in Singapore, and after the government said it would look into rules of foreign funding for gay pride parades like Pink Dot. Warsaw residents and authorities have placed flowers, rainbow flags and lit lights in front of the U.S. Embassy in a sign of respect for the victims.