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Celtic have been confirmed as Scottish Premiership champions for the ninth season in a row - and Hearts relegated - after the SPFL ended the season.

The decision was taken at a board meeting on Monday after the 12 clubs agreed at the end of last week that completing the campaign was unfeasible.

Average points per game played has been used to determine final placings, with the only change to the table from when football was halted on 13 March being that St Johnstone move above Hibernian into sixth place.

Celtic were 13 points ahead of nearest challengers Rangers - having played a game more - when the season was put into abeyance. Like most teams in the division, Neil Lennon's side still had eight games to play.

Hearts were four adrift of Hamilton Academical at the bottom with a possible 24 points available.

• More on this story here.

Speaking at the World Health Assembly, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended the work of the WHO, but suggested it could be improved.

"The World Health Organization is the legitimate, global institution where all the threads come together. Because that is the case we have to keep looking at how we can further improve its functioning," Merkel said, appearing via video link.

Merkel said international cooperation was key to overcoming the pandemic.

The WHO has been strongly criticised by some world leaders, particularly US President Donald Trump, who has accused it of mismanaging the pandemic.

Kostas Koukoumakas
Athens, Greece

Image source, Reuters

Greece today entered the third phase of the government’s plan to lift restrictions.

Greeks are now allowed to travel to neighbouring regions on the mainland, and ferries to Crete have restarted.

"There was heavy traffic on the highway; people ran to the countryside," a friend told me on the phone while he drove from Athens to western Greece.

Archaeological sites also opened today. President Katerina Sakellaropoulou visited the famous Acropolis in Athens with a group of officials and archaeologists, all observing 1.5 metres of social distancing. "Marbles shine in the sun," she told journalists - paraphrasing the Greek poet and Nobel prize laureate, George Seferis.

Middle and high schools reopened on Monday as well as shopping malls. People were queuing outside a mall in Marousi suburb of Athens earlier today, craving the chance to browse newly opened shops with an iced coffee in hand.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been speaking on videolink after Xi Jinping at the World Health Assembly.

He has emphasised the importance of a global approach to tackling the virus.

"If we do discover a vaccine against Covid-19... everyone must have access to it," he says.

"As long as the disease remains a threat to a few, it will remain a threat to everybody," he adds.

"It's also a question of principle. Human health cannot be quarreled over, cannot be appropriated and cannot be bought and sold."

Guy Hedgecoe
BBC News, Madrid

Image source, Reuters

Seventy per cent of Spain is now in phase one of the government’s planned three-phase lifting of the national lockdown.

Today, several provinces along the Mediterranean coast in Valencia, in the southern region of Andalusia, and in the country’s interior joined other areas which moved into phase one last week.

Cafes and restaurants in those places can now serve customers, but only at outdoor tables; groups of up to 10 people can gather in the street or in homes; and smaller cultural events are allowed to take place.

In the southern coastal city of Malaga, for example, many bars and restaurants opened after two months of closure to serve customers outdoors. However, there has been a heavy police presence there and in other cities to ensure that continuing restrictions are respected.

Madrid and Barcelona are not yet in phase one, due to safety concerns, and therefore remain under tighter restrictions.

A pointed comment from President Xi, amid calls for an independent review of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He urges a "comprehensive review of the global response to Covid-19, after it has been brought under control..." and adds that it should be "conducted in an objective and impartial way".

Xi also pledged $2bn (£1.65bn) over two years to help with theCovid-19 response and said any vaccines developed against thedisease by China will be made a "global public good".

President Xi Jinping is up early at the World Health Assembly, after South Africa's representative experienced some technical difficulties.

"All along we have acted with openness, transparency and responsibility," he says.

Let's see what more he has to say about the response to Covid-19.

The UN secretary general has opened the World Health Organization's annual World Health Assembly by saying that there needs to be more global unity in fighting Covid-19.

There has been "little [global] unity in response to Covid-19", António Guterres said.

He added that the pandemic will potentially be "even more devastating in developing countries".

Later today, the Northern Ireland executive is meeting to look at whether the scientific advice justifies lockdown measures being eased.

But a handful of changes have already been introduced, with garden centres opening today and queues already forming at recycling centres.

Marriage ceremonies are also being allowed for people who are terminally ill.

It comes as the Republic of Ireland begins the first stage of its five-step plan for reopening, with groups of four allowed to meet while observing social distancing and some outdoor businesses reopening.

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Qatar and Kuwait have announced tough penalties for people who fail to wear a face mask in public. Those breaking the rules in Qatar risk up to three years in prison, while the maximum punishment in Kuwait will be three months.

Lebanon’s four-day lockdown has ended, although an overnight curfew will remain in place. Lockdown measures were reintroduced last week after the number of cases surged when some restrictions were eased.

Deaths in Yemen's port city of Aden have surged to at least five times higher than normal, an NGO and medics say, prompting fears about the spread of coronavirus in the war-torn country.

As Muslims around the world prepare to celebrate the end of Ramadan later this week, a number of countries have announced stricter measures to prevent the spread of the virus during Eid al-Fitr. Saudi Arabia is planning a nationwide lockdown over the holiday, while Egypt will bring forward the start of its curfew by four hours and halt public transport for six days.

Loss of smell or taste has now been added to the official list of symptoms that may indicate Covid-19 in the UK.

Until now, people were only advised to self-isolate to prevent the spread of infection based on their symptoms if they had a fever or a cough.

But ear, nose and throat doctors had been warning for weeks that more symptoms should be included.

Earlier, we reported one scientific expert warning that the UK may be missing up to 70,000 coronavirus infections because it was focusing only on fever and coughing.

Read more here.

The World Health Organization's annual World Health Assembly is about to get underway.

The assembly is the WHO's decision-making body and this year's meeting will be held virtually due to the pandemic.

All eyes will be on Chinese President Xi Jinping when he addresses the assembly later via videolink.

China has faced global criticism for not alerting the WHO and the world early enough about the outbreak.

A joint EU-Australia draft resolution calling for an inquiry into the origins and spread of the virus needs the backing of two-thirds of the 194 members of the assembly before a resolution can be put forward. So far at least 116 nations have given their support.

But China's foreign ministry repeated on Monday that it was premature to begin an investigation into the source of the outbreak.

The WHO itself has faced criticism - particularly from US President Donald Trump - for its handling of the crisis and Washington has withheld funding.

You can tune into the proceedings live here. , external

Mental Health Awareness Week this year falls in unprecedented times as people around the world come to terms with the isolation and uncertainty lockdown restrictions can bring.

"A lot of anxiety is rooted in worrying about the unknown and waiting for something to happen - coronavirus is that on a macro scale," says Rosie Weatherley, spokesperson for mental health charity Mind.

So how can we protect our mental health?

The World Health Organization has released advice on protecting your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak, external, which was broadly welcomed.

Kirstie Brewer's article here has lots of information on dealing with anxiety, OCD and how to maintain good mental health during long periods of self-isolation.

You can also watch A Royal Team Talk: Tackling Mental Health on iPlayer or via this link, with Prince William, Gareth Southgate, Peter Crouch, Thierry Henry, Danny Rose and Jermaine Jenas joining Dan Walker for a revealing conversation about men's mental health.

Many European countries are gradually easing their lockdown measures. The decision comes as number of new infections and daily deaths are on the decline.

The table below shows you the worst-hit countries - the darker the colour the higher was the number of daily new infections.

The European country with the highest daily increase is Russia where the pandemic took root later than in the rest of the continent and which seems to still be at the peak of new cases.

Russia now has the second highest number of infections worldwide with a total of more than 280,000. The official death toll is still relatively low, standing at 2,631.

Image source, PA Media/Ford

Two major car manufacturers are restarting their factories in the UK today, following government calls for people to return to work where possible.

Ford has resumed operations at its engine plants in Dagenham and Bridgend, meaning all of its European factories are now back at work. And in Luton, the Vauxhall van factory has also reopened with half its usual staffing.

The companies say they intend to prevent the spread of the virus using a range of measures, such as face masks and temperature checks. For a small number of roles where it is not possible for workers to keep two metres apart, they are using plastic shields.

Last week, up to 2,000 workers returned to Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull factory and Aston Martin has also begun a phased return to work for employees at its plant in St Athan, Wales.

Megha Mohan
BBC Gender & Identity Correspondent

Image source, Monica

Lockdown in Panama is strictly enforced, with men allowed out one day and women the next. But this has been used by some as an excuse to harass members of the trans community.

Monica, 38, recently walked into a local shop. She knew the Chinese family who ran it well. They adored her. But as she entered, the atmosphere changed. The owner approached her silently, his face not breaking into the smile she was used to seeing.

"We can't serve you, Monica," he said. "The police said we can only serve women today. They said, 'No maricon,'"

The transphobic term made Monica shudder, but at the same time, it wasn't a complete surprise. The police in her neighbourhood had targeted her before for being a trans woman.

Read more of Monica's story here.

Seven schools have closed as a precaution in the north-eastern French city of Roubaix after a child tested positive for coronavirus.

Officials say they will tell the families of those who came in contact with the child. Meanwhile, the shuttered schools will conduct lessons remotely.

French schools began to reopen last week as the country slowly eased its lockdown. But many were concerned about the move, with one poll showing 69% of respondents thought authorities could not keep them safe. A number of other schools have since closed because of positive cases.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told French broadcaster RTL on Monday that 70 cases of the virus had been found in the roughly 40,000 schools that have opened since last week. He said all affected schools had been shut, showing how strict the authorities were being on safety.

But he also said that not teaching children could have serious consequences. "Our children must not be collateral victims of health measures," he reportedly said.

Image source, Getty Images

As some people in England return to work, security guards trained in crowd control have been put on duty at some major stations.

More frequent services are now running, although people are still being asked to only use public transport when there is no alternative.

Some industry figures have expressed concern about increased passenger numbers, but so far stations generally do not appear to be busy.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the World Health Assembly later, the country's foreign ministry has said any investigation into the origins of the coronavirus would be premature.

Xi will deliver a speech via video link at the opening ceremony of the conference. China has been accused by some of early attempts to cover up the outbreak, which has gone on to claim more than 300,000 lives globally.

A joint EU-Australia draft resolution calling for an inquiry into the origins and spread of Covid-19 has the backing of 116 nations at the World Health Assembly. It needs the backing of two-thirds of the 194 members of the assembly before a resolution can be put forward.

However, China has voiced its staunch opposition to such a move and opposed a similar call from Australia last month.

On Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said it was still too early for an investigation as most countries believed the pandemic was not over.

Image source, Getty Images

Police say they have given "suitable advice" to the writer Neil Gaiman after he admitted travelling from New Zealand to the Isle of Skye – via Los Angeles and London – despite Scotland's lockdown rules only allowing "essential travel".

The author of Good Omens and American Gods said he went to his home in Skye so he could “isolate easily” after he and his wife, the singer Amanda Palmer, agreed they “needed to give each other some space”.

Inspector Lynda Allan from Police Scotland said officers visited Gaiman, and he was given "suitable advice about essential travel and reminded about the current guidelines in Scotland".

Responding to criticism online, Gaiman said he was a UK taxpayer and on the electoral register in Scotland, adding that it was permitted to return home.