Giant rainbow flag unfurled in front of Taiwan autocrat's memorial hall

(Attention to strong language in paragraph five some readers may find offensive)

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Hundreds of people thronged a central square in Taiwan’s capital Taipei for a Pride event on Sunday, unfurling a giant rainbow flag in front of the main memorial hall for late autocratic leader Chiang Kai-shek before being ushered away by police.

Proudly democratic Taiwan is a bastion of liberal values in a part of the world where in many countries homosexuality remains illegal or taboo. Taiwan legalised same sex marriage last year, the first in Asia.

The “Taiwan Pride Parade for the World” billed itself as a show of solidarity with countries unable to hold LGBTQ celebrations due to restrictions on public events to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. The pandemic is under control in Taiwan.


An international crowd of more than 200 people waving rainbow flags and masks, some singing and dancing, marched up to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, where a small group briefly displayed the flag in front of the building, which houses a giant statue of Taiwan’s late leader.

After scattered shouts of “Fuck you, Chiang Kai-shek”, the crowd marched back down the steps, accompanied by a handful of police, blowing whistles to stop people lingering.
Chiang, who died in 1975, was lauded in life as an anti-communist hero, especially in the United States, but many Taiwanese revile him as a despot who imprisoned and killed opponents during a reign of terror.

Darien Chen, who represented Taiwan at Mr. Gay World 2013 and organised Sunday’s event, said they were holding high the banner for the rest of the world, with hundreds of events cancelled in the traditional Pride month.

“With the rest of the world under the peak of the epidemic, only Taiwan can do this,” Chen told Reuters. “Of course we won’t give in, and we must continue with this flame of hope and stand up for the world, to hold the only parade in the world in this Pride month.”

Taipei holds its main Pride parade in late October when the weather is cooler.

Thousands in western Myanmar flee as army plans operations, monitors say
(Reuters) - Thousands of villagers have fled their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after a local administrator warned dozens of village leaders that the army planned “clearance operations” against insurgents, a lawmaker and a humanitarian group said.
People who fled from Rathedaung Township arrive in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar June 27, 2020. Picture taken June 27, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer

But a government spokesman said late on Saturday an evacuation order issued by border-affairs officials had been revoked. Border affairs acknowledged issuing the order through the local administrator but said it affected fewer villages.

The warning to the village leaders came in a letter written on Wednesday, which was seen by Reuters and verified by a state government minister, Colonel Min Than.

The letter, signed by the administrator of Rathedaung township, Aung Myint Thein, told village leaders he had been informed the operations were planned in the township’s Kyauktan village and nearby areas suspected of harbouring insurgents.

The letter does not specify where the order came from, but Min Than, Rakhine state’s border affairs and security minister, told Reuters it was an instruction from his border affairs ministry, one of three Myanmar government ministries controlled by the army.

“Clearance operation will be done by forces in those villages,” the letter from the administrator said.

“While this is being done, if the fighting occurs with AA terrorists, don’t stay at the villages but move out temporarily,” it said, referring to the Arakan Army, the name of the Rakhine state insurgents.

The administrator could not be reached for comment by Reuters.

Min Than said the “clearance operation” described in the letter referred to military operations targeting “terrorists.”

He said the administrator had misinterpreted the order from his ministry and that the operations would only take place in a few villages, not the dozens mentioned, but confirmed other details.

The operations could last up to a week, Min Than said by phone, adding that “those who remain will be those who are loyal to the AA.”

On Saturday, government spokesman Zaw Htay said in a statement on Facebook the government had instructed the military not to use the term “clearance operations”. He also said the letter ordering people to flee had been revoked.

He did not answer phone calls from Reuters seeking further comment. Reuters did not see the revocation instructions.

This year the Myanmar army has been fighting the AA, a group from the largely Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group that is seeking greater autonomy for the western region, also known as Arakan.

Dozens have died and tens of thousands been displaced in the conflict. Save the Children says 18 children were killed and 71 injured or maimed between January and March, citing local monitoring groups. The army says it does not target civilians.

“Clearance operations” is the term the Myanmar authorities used in 2017 to describe operations against insurgents from Rakhine’s Muslim-minority Rohingya people. During those operations, hundreds of thousands of people fled from their homes. Refugees said the army carried out mass killings and arson, accusations the army has denied.

Rohingyas fled to neighbouring Bangladesh during that military crackdown, which the government said was a response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents.

The United Nations said in a statement on Sunday it was concerned by intense fighting in Kyauktan, including reports people were trapped and houses damaged. It called on all parties to “respect international humanitarian law, fulfil their responsibilities and take urgent measures to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure”.

On Saturday, the British, Australian, U.S. and Canadian embassies in Myanmar said they were “deeply concerned by the reports of the Myanmar Military’s clearance operations along the Kyauktan village tract” and “the worsening humanitarian and security situation across the region.”

“We are aware of the historic impacts of such operations disproportionately affecting civilians,” the statement said. It called on “all armed actors to exercise restraint while in areas inhabited by local communities, some of whom may not, by no fault of their own, be able to seek refuge elsewhere.”

In anticipation of the new operation, Min Than said 80 people had fled Kyauktan to elsewhere in Rathedaung township and that the army had prepared shelter and food.

Zaw Zaw Htun, the secretary of the Rakhine Ethnic Congress, a humanitarian group, said at least 1,700 had fled to the neighbouring Ponnagyun township.


Another 1,400 are sheltering in a nearby village and are in dire need of food and other supplies, said regional parliamentarian Oo Than Naing from Rathedaung township.

A military spokesman did not answer phone calls seeking comment about the operations. Reuters could not independently verify how many people had fled their homes.

The UK-based rights group Burma Human Rights Network said residents of 39 villages had begun to flee since the order was issued in Kyauktan on Wednesday, citing local sources. The Kyauktan area is home to tens of thousands of people, from both Rohingya and Rakhine communities, according to the Rakhine Ethnic Congress.

Journalists are barred from most of Rakhine state, and the government has imposed an internet shutdown on most of the region, making information difficult to verify.

Far right takes to Lisbon streets to deny racism is a problem

LISBON (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters marched through one of Lisbon’s main avenues on Saturday shouting “Portugal is not racist”, in a demonstration organised by the leader of a far-right party known for his derogatory remarks against ethnic minorities.

TELL THAT TO THE PEOPLE OF ANGOLA & MOZAMBIQUE AND BRAZIL

Portugal's far-right party Chega leader Andre Ventura marches with supporters in a protest against those who say racism exists in the country, in downtown Lisbon, Portugal, June 27, 2020. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

Dozens of police officers were on standby as protesters wearing face masks marched and waved Portuguese flags in the demonstration organised by the leader of the Chega (Enough) party Andre Ventura, a former soccer commentator. There were no immediate reports of violence or arrests.

In October, Ventura won the far right’s first seat in parliament since Portugal’s dictatorship ended in 1974.

“Today will be history because after 40 years the right decided to go out on the streets,” Ventura, who has been involved in several controversies since the election, told a crowd of supporters.


In January, Ventura called for a Black fellow MP with dual Portuguese-Guinean citizenship to be “returned to her own country” after she proposed that items in Portuguese museums be sent back to their countries of origin.

A month later, Ventura questioned if Porto striker Moussa Marega, who quit a soccer match in protest after being subjected to monkey chants and other insults, was a victim of racism.

Saturday’s protests took place at a time when Portuguese authorities are worried about a wave of new coronavirus cases across Lisbon’s suburbs and have been forced to reintroduce certain lockdown measures.

“We are outdoors, we know the virus dies under a certain temperature, we are social distancing, we have masks and I believe we are complying with all rules,” said Chega supporter Joao Rodrigues.


The march came around three weeks after thousands gathered in Lisbon and other Portuguese cities in protest against racism and alleged police brutality.

Among the crowd of right-wingers at the Saturday demonstration, a 27-year-old man stood alone and waved a rainbow LGBT+ pride flag in protest.

“Someone has to show this ideology in 2020 is wrong,” Joao Pedro said.


Reporting by Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira and Rafael Marchante; Editing by James Drummond and David Holmes

Scientists just beginning to understand the many health problems caused by COVID-19

Julie Steenhuysen Updated: Jun 27


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists are only starting to grasp the vast array of health problems caused by the novel coronavirus, some of which may have lingering effects on patients and health systems for years to come, according to doctors and infectious disease experts.

Besides the respiratory issues that leave patients gasping for breath, the virus that causes COVID-19 attacks many organ systems, in some cases causing catastrophic damage.

"We thought this was only a respiratory virus. Turns out, it goes after the pancreas. It goes after the heart. It goes after the liver, the brain, the kidney and other organs. We didn't appreciate that in the beginning," said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California.

In addition to respiratory distress, patients with COVID-19 can experience blood clotting disorders that can lead to strokes, and extreme inflammation that attacks multiple organ systems. The virus can also cause neurological complications that range from headache, dizziness and loss of taste or smell to seizures and confusion.

And recovery can be slow, incomplete and costly, with a huge impact on quality of life.

The broad and diverse manifestations of COVID-19 are somewhat unique, said Dr. Sadiya Khan, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.

With influenza, people with underlying heart conditions are also at higher risk of complications, Khan said. What is surprising about this virus is the extent of the complications occurring outside the lungs.

Khan believes there will be a huge healthcare expenditure and burden for individuals who have survived COVID-19.

LENGTHY REHAB FOR MANY

Patients who were in the intensive care unit or on a ventilator for weeks will need to spend extensive time in rehab to regain mobility and strength.

"It can take up to seven days for every one day that you're hospitalized to recover that type of strength," Khan said. "It's harder the older you are, and you may never get back to the same level of function."

While much of the focus has been on the minority of patients who experience severe disease, doctors increasingly are looking to the needs of patients who were not sick enough to require hospitalization, but are still suffering months after first becoming infected.

Studies are just getting underway to understand the long-term effects of infection, Jay Butler, deputy director of infectious diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters in a telephone briefing on Thursday.

"We hear anecdotal reports of people who have persistent fatigue, shortness of breath," Butler said. "How long that will last is hard to say."

While coronavirus symptoms typically resolve in two or three weeks, an estimated 1 in 10 experience prolonged symptoms, Dr. Helen Salisbury of the University of Oxford wrote in the British Medical Journal on Tuesday.

Salisbury said many of her patients have normal chest X-rays and no sign of inflammation, but they are still not back to normal.

"If you previously ran 5k three times a week and now feel breathless after a single flight of stairs, or if you cough incessantly and are too exhausted to return to work, then the fear that you may never regain your previous health is very real," she wrote.

Dr. Igor Koralnik, chief of neuro-infectious diseases at Northwestern Medicine, reviewed current scientific literature and found about half of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had neurological complications, such as dizziness, decreased alertness, difficulty concentrating, disorders of smell and taste, seizures, strokes, weakness and muscle pain.

Koralnik, whose findings were published in the Annals of Neurology, has started an outpatient clinic for COVID-19 patients to study whether these neurological problems are temporary or permanent.

Khan sees parallels with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Much of the early focus was on deaths.

"In recent years, we've been very focused on the cardiovascular complications of HIV survivorship," Khan said.

(This story corrects spelling of doctor's name to Khan instead of Kahn in last two paragraphs)

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; additional reporting by Caroline Humer and Nancy Lapid in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Canada's treatment of some farm workers a 'national disgrace': minister

FILE PHOTO - Canada's Minister of Health Patty Hajdu speaks during a meeting of the special committee on the COVID-19 pandemic, as efforts continue to help slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada June 16, 2020. REUTERS/Blair Gable

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The treatment of migrant workers in Canada by some farmers is disgraceful and the federal government is seeking to fix the problem, the country’s health minister told a parliamentary committee on Friday, as farms battle COVID-19 outbreaks among their employees.

Outbreaks of coronavirus infections have killed three people and infected hundreds more on farms in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, in recent weeks.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu said she had heard stories about the treatment of migrant workers that “would curl your hair,” and the way some farms treat them now is “a national disgrace.”

IT IS A HISTORICAL PHENOMENA BAD FARMER BROWN, THE IWW ORGANIZED FARM WORKERS AT THE BEGINNING OF LAST CENTURY, POST WWII IT WAS CPCML ORGANIZING AMONG EAST INDIAN WORKERS IN BC.

Hajdu added that she was working with Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough “on how to reform the temporary foreign worker program” but gave no details on what those reforms might look like.

Canadian farmers rely on some 60,000 temporary foreign workers, predominantly from Latin America and the Caribbean to plant and harvest crops. Many live in crowded bunkhouses where the virus can spread quickly.

“All the PPE (personal protective equipment) in the world will not protect you if you are sleeping in a bunkhouse that is housing 12 to 15 people that may not have any ability for distancing, certainly no private washrooms or kitchen,” Hajdu said when asked whether Canada would consider providing migrant workers with PPE upon their arrival in Canada.

Migrant farm workers are considered a vulnerable population and need to be supported should they fall ill, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam told reporters on Thursday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also said Canada must do more to protect migrant farm workers, who are considered essential workers.

Earlier this week, an Ontario official said the province would allow some people who have tested positive for COVID-19 but do not have symptoms to immediately return to work, provided precautions were in place.

Canada cop found guilty of 2016 assault of Black man

TORONTO (Reuters) - A white off-duty police officer was found guilty of assault in a 2016 attack on a Black man, a Canadian judge ruled in a livestreamed hearing on Friday.

Michael Theriault, a Toronto police officer, and his brother Christian Theriault, who was not from the police department, were charged with aggravated assault and obstruction of justice after the pair violently attacked Dafonte Miller in Whitby, Ontario, 50 km (30 miles) east of Toronto, using their fists and a pipe.

Miller, who was 19 at the time, lost his left eye as a result of the attack, which has drawn attention for its racial overtones and prompted questions about police brutality.

In recent weeks, police brutality against people of color has been gaining widespread attention in Canada, including an alleged attack on Chief Allan Adams, an indigenous leader in Alberta.
The brothers argued that they were acting in self-defense, after they allegedly found Miller attempting to steal their parents’ car.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca said although it was not his job to conduct an inquiry into race and policing, he was “mindful of the need to carefully consider the radicalized context from which this case arises,” local media reported.

Christian Theriault was found not guilty of aggravated assault. Both brothers were found not guilty of obstruction of justice.

The court is scheduled to return on July 15 to discuss a sentencing hearing.

Reporting by Moira Warburton in Toronto; editing by Jonathan Oatis

Canadian visa program may lure tech workers blocked by Trump

YOU'RE LOSS OUR GAIN TRUMP MAKES HEAD HUNTING EVEN EASIER

"NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK" AMERICA PROVERB
TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - A fast-track visa program that Canada launched in 2017 has attracted a growing number of tech workers, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown is set to further boost intake once COVID-19 restrictions ease, lawyers say.

FILE PHOTO: Marco Mendicino poses with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after being sworn-in as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship during the presentation of Trudeau's new cabinet, at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Blair Gable

The number of successful applicants to Canada’s Global Skills Strategy (GSS) program rose five-fold over its first three years, with more than 23,000 workers approved under the top five tech categories, data provided to Reuters by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows.

More than 2,300 applications for those same top five tech roles were approved from January to March 2020, ahead of the COVID-19 shutdowns that led to border closures and a sharp drop in immigration. The program boasts a two-week processing time.

Immigration lawyers told Reuters they were broadly in favor of the program, which some described as transparent and consistent, and an example of how Canada has been able to take advantage of Trump’s immigration stance since he entered the White House in 2017.

“There are employers who have non-U.S. employees in the U.S. who are definitely looking seriously at Canada,” said Kyle Hyndman, a partner with McCrea Immigration Law in Vancouver, who was contacted this week by a “major” company about bringing employees to Canada.

On Monday, Trump issued a presidential proclamation that temporarily blocks foreign workers from entering the United States on certain visas, which a Trump administration official said would create 525,000 jobs for U.S. workers.


“The fact that people started contacting me pretty much the next day is perhaps a suggestion that there are going to be more people interested,” Hyndman said.

U.S. technology companies including Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc, Facebook Inc and Netflix Inc have in recent years expanded their Canadian operations, although most companies declined to comment on their GSS usage or how Trump’s recent announcement will impact their hiring plans.

Tobi Lutke, the chief executive officer of Canadian e-commerce company Shopify, was quick to tout the Canada’s attraction following Trump’s immigration move.

The program “has made it possible to hire top talent beyond our borders,” said Sandeep Anand, senior lead on the global mobility team at Shopify, adding that it has helped relocate employees to Canada.

The majority of approved applicants to the fast-track visa program were computer programmers and interactive media developers, followed by information systems analysts and consultants, the IRCC data shows.

Indian citizens accounted for 62.1% of successful applicants to the fast-track program, followed by Chinese citizens. Nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens also have seen their applications approved.


The GSS data only covers the period up to March of this year, just before broader immigration in Canada fell off a cliff due to border closures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Lawyers, however, don’t expect it to last.

Betsy Kane, one of the founding partners of Capelle Kane Immigration Lawyers in Ottawa, said the program is going to see a surge of applications.

“Whenever one door shuts, the other door is sought.”


Reporting by Moira Warburton in Toronto and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Additional reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by Denny Thomas and Paul Simao

Dead dolphins wash up on France's shores in record numbers
CANCALE, France (Reuters) - Dead dolphins are washing up on France’s Atlantic coast in such high numbers that local populations of the mammals are at risk, marine biologists say.

The overwhelming majority drowned in the nets of fishing trawlers. Post mortems often show fractures, broken tails and flippers and deep incisions cut into their skin by the nets. Some have been mutilated as fishermen release their bodies.

“We’re reaching mortality rates that threaten the survival of the dolphin population in the Bay of Gascony,” said Morgane Perri, a marine biologist in Brittany, western France.

“For the last three years, we’ve seen more than 1,000 deaths (dolphins and porpoises) over a four-month period each winter.”

Common dolphins are the hardest hit. Scientists believe those found on beaches represent a small fraction of the total number dying in fishing nets off the coast of France. The real number is likely to be five to 10 times higher, they estimate.

Dolphins have for decades been caught in fishing nets in the Atlantic waters off western Europe. But marine scientists say the spike in numbers in recent years is a result of shifting fishing practices, and in particular the fishing vessels that trawl in pairs for sea bass.


French law requires fishermen to declare all cetacean by-catch. But Perri said this rarely happened.

The National Committee of Maritime Fishermen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The slow reproduction rates of dolphins, which are mammals and need to surface in order to breathe, means they are particularly vulnerable to sharp falls in numbers, according to the Pelagis Observatory in La Rochelle.

Population models show numbers are stable, said Helene Peltier, a researcher at the observatory. “But once you see the decline, it’s too late.”


Activist group Sea Shepherd wants trawlers to be banned from fishing in sea bass spawning grounds and better monitoring of fisheries. Acoustic ‘pingers’ designed to repel dolphins are also being trialled on some fishing boats.

“There is no single miracle solution,” Peltier said.

In West Bank, Israeli settler leaders complicate annexation plan

ITAMAR, West Bank (Reuters) - Jewish settler leaders who resist the creation of a Palestinian state are complicating Israel’s plans to annex scores of settlements in the occupied West Bank under U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace blueprint.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet is due next month to discuss the annexation plan, under which Israel would apply sovereignty over 30% of the West Bank - in areas where most of its about 130 settlements are located.

The plan is opposed by the Palestinians, who seek a state in all of the West Bank, as well as in the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as a capital. Most world powers agree.

The plan also faces resistance from settler leaders who oppose Trump’s calls for a future Palestinian state that would envelop at least 15 Jewish settlements - despite U.S. guarantees of protection for, and access to, the future “enclaves”.

“We’re talking about strangling a community,” said Hananel Elkayam, mayor of Itamar settlement, one of the 15 named in the plan.

In misgivings echoed in the other 14, Elkayam predicted residents would be unable to commute to jobs through territory that would be in a new Palestinian state, would by denied construction and would be at greater risk of attack than now.

“I would tell (Trump): Thanks very much for the plan, thanks very much for the great affection for the Jewish people (but) we’ll set our own destiny,” Elkayam said.

KEEPING DOOR TO DIPLOMACY OPEN

U.S. officials will this week discuss whether to give Israel the green light for annexation moves seen by the Palestinians and many other countries as illegal land-grabs.

Israel’s West Bank settlements were built by successive governments on land captured in a 1967 war. More than 400,000 Israelis now live there, with another 200,000 in East Jerusalem, which was also taken in 1967.

A Direct Poll survey last week found 56.8% of settlers support the Trump plan, more than the Israeli average.

Elkayam and other settler leaders say that backing is for annexation - on condition that plans for Palestinian statehood are scrapped.

Israeli and U.S. officials want to be seen as keeping a door open to diplomacy. Where that door might lead worries Yochai Damri, head of a regional council that includes four of the 15 listed settlements.

Damri sees Palestinian statehood becoming more likely if the Republican president is defeated by Democrat Joe Biden in November’s U.S. election, and if, or when, Netanyahu is succeeded by centrist Benny Gantz, the Israeli premier’s partner in a fragile unity government.

The Trump plan says residents of the future enclaves can stay put “unless they choose otherwise”. Damri and other settlers hear in that a hint that they should quit to make way for Palestinian territorial contiguity.


Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Timothy Heritage

Kremlin dismisses Japan's objection to geological survey in Okhotsk Sea
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday it had a sovereign right to carry out work in the Sea of Okhotsk off Russia’s far eastern coast after a Japanese official objected to Moscow conducting a geological survey there.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga described Russia’s survey as unacceptable and in conflict with Tokyo’s position on four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, the Japan Times cited him as saying.

“Russia has a sovereign right to carry out any research on its territory,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a conference call on Friday.

The geological survey in the Sea of Okhotsk, near the disputed islands, began on June 18 and is set to last for three months, Russian news agencies reported.

Japan calls the four Russian-held islands, off its main northern island of Hokkaido, the Northern Territories. Known in Russia as the Southern Kuriles, the islands were seized by Soviet forces in the closing days of World War Two.

The territorial issue has blighted relations between Russia and Japan for decades and has prevented them from signing a formal peace treaty ending World War Two.

Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Gareth Jones