UK's Johnson virus positive as new outbreaks appear in US

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first leader of a major country to test positive for the coronavirus while disturbing new outbreaks appeared in the United States, deaths surged in Italy and Spain and the world warily trudged through the pandemic that has sickened more than a half-million people.

As different populations strive for cures, Iranian media reported nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 1,000 sickened by ingesting methanol as a purported safeguard against the disease.

More than 595,000 people have contracted the virus around the world and about 27,000 have died. While the U.S. now leads the world in reported infections, five countries exceed its roughly 1,700 deaths: Italy, Spain, China, Iran and France.

Johnson announced he tested positive for the virus but was continuing to work from self-quarantine. Another casualty was a conference to review the implementation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, postponed indefinitely.

The treaty is considered the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and the 191 parties hold a major conference every five years to discuss how it is working. The meeting had been scheduled to begin on April 27 at U.N. headquarters in New York.

The deaths in Iran come amid longstanding bans on drinking alcohol in the Islamic Republic that prompts drinkers to rely on bootleggers whose products aren't always safe.

As the death toll continued to climb in France, health workers there received a huge show of gratitude — from the Eiffel Tower. “Merci,” French for ‘Thank you,” and “Stay at home” in English were emblazoned in lights at night on the world-famous landmark.

In a possibly hopeful sign, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared a new rapid test from...