Last Sunday, the British Columbia soccer community received some tragic news, as youth coach and administrator, Hardip Mann was killed in a car accident on the Coquihalla Highway.

Hardip, was a leading figure in the Indo-Canadian soccer community, and a founding member of Pacific Eagles FC. This past year he also coached his Under-14 girls team at Whalley Soccer Club.

[Full Story]

IT SEEMS CERTAIN THAT 'GOLDEN' WEIGHTLIFTER JASVIR SINGH WILL BE SELECTED FOR OLYMPICS
That is because Jasvir, who was featured in The VOICE on February 16 when he was one of the 99 top B.C. athletes that Premier Gordon Campbell paid tribute at the 2008 Premier's Athletic Awards, won the gold for Canada in the 62 kg category at the Pan-American Weightlifting Championship in Peru (March 18-23), which was to select spots for the countries of this hemisphere for the 2008 Olympic Games. [Full Story]

IMMIGRATION LAWYER KURLAND WARNS OF POLITICAL TROUBLE AHEAD
In 2002 all foreign nationals were given the right to a visa when they met all requisite conditions for visa issuance by the Liberal Government in 2002. In 2008, the Conservative Government intends to revoke the "right" to a visa, downgrading it to a privilege in Bill C-50, and bundling the immigration legislative change with the budget bill. [Full Story]

DIALOGUE ON ELIMINATING RACISM: GREATER NEED FOR SOLIDARITY AND MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
The International Day for the elimination of racism was celebrated last Friday at the "Stop Racism" dialogue, an event organized by Asian Pulse TV and Trinjan. According to Barbara Binns, retired race and ethnic relations instructor from Langara College: "The UN International Day for the Elimination of Racism draws our attention to the fact that racism is a global reality." [Full Story]

FIRST ANNUAL RBC DESI-FEST ALL SET TO ROCK VANCOUVER
RBC desiFEST was originally launched in Toronto in 2007 and was an overwhelming success. As a result, plans to expand the festival are underway, with a kick off in Montreal on March 29. This national event will feature a DJ competition and the winner will be invited to be the ambassador at the grande finale event in Toronto on May 31. [Full Story]

VOICE MIRROR

SHAKTI AWARDS HONOURS FIVE PHENOMENAL WOMEN OF LOWER MAINLAND
The Shakti Award night held on Saturday, March 22 in Vancouver by Andhi Productions was a celebration of International Women's Day and was marked by the formal presentation of the Shakti awards to five phenomenal women of the Lower Mainland. [Full Story]

TWO INDO-CANADIANS NOMINATED FOR YWCA VANCOUVER WOMEN OF DISTINCTION AWARDS
Two Indo-Canadian women have been nominated for the for the 25th Anniversary YWCA Vancouver Women of Distinction Awards: Harjoti Shergill in the Non-Profit and Public Service category and Nirmala Raniga in the Business and the Professions category. [Full Story]

CANADIAN MARRIAGE FRAUD VICTIMS' SOCIETY WELCOMES PROPOSED IMMIGRATION CHANGES
This society was formed in March 2006 in view of the mounting number of frauds going on in the name of marriage. Abandoned brides' tragic stories are very touching . Though married, they seem to have abandoned all hope that they will ever be able to join their fraudulent NRI husbands. These discards are still languishing in the four walls of their ancestral homes, cursing their fate. [Full Story]