By Rae Wee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar gained broadly on Monday as protests against COVID restrictions in China stoked uncertainty and dented sentiment, sending the yuan sliding and pushing nervous investors toward the safe-haven greenback. The COVID protests have flared across China and spread to several cities in the wake of a deadly fire in Urumqi in the country’s far west, with hundreds of demonstrators and police clashing in Shanghai on Sunday night. Against the offshore yuan, the dollar rose 0.76% in early Asia trade to 7.2456. The Aussie, which is often used as a liquid proxy for t…