Today is the first International Day of Happiness, as proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in July last year. The UN says the occasion marks "the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives".

Fifa president Sepp Blatter and the rest of the world soccer organisation convene for a two-day meeting in Geneva, with Indonesian football association PSSI's membership one of the 33 items on the agenda. The PSSI narrowly avoided suspension in December when it was given a three-month extension to end its long-running dispute with the breakaway Indonesian Super League. Indonesia faces a ban from all international competition, loss of eligibility for its referees and the loss of financial assistance from Fifa.

In the lead-up to World Water Day on Friday, the dean of the Open University's school of science and technology, Ho Kin-chung, leads a tour in Tai Po's Lam Tsuen today to talk about the school's findings on Hong Kong river quality. Also, university president John Leong Chi-yan will host a ceremony at the office of the Organic Community Grower Group to announce new conservation studies.

British finance minister George Osborne unveils his latest tax and spending plans in an annual budget likely to stick firmly to the coalition government's austerity drive despite the country's economy coming close to another recession. Analysts expect Osborne, whose Conservative Party rules in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, to brush off calls to curb huge spending cuts. Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to keep to a path of austerity, despite a turbulent few weeks that saw Britain lose its top-level AAA credit rating.