RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Over 2,500 Brazilians paid their respects on Friday to a prominent social worker, who died in Tuesday's devastating earthquake in Haiti.

    Zilda Arns' remains were brought back for burial in Curitiba inBrazil's southern state of Parana, where she lived.

    "If there is a person in Brazil who was responsible, as an individual, for the reduction in infant mortality and for the lives of our children, this person was Zilda Arns," said Sao Paulo State Governor Jose Serra.

    Senator Flavio Arns, Zilda Arns' nephew, said his aunt "lived to do good, and more importantly, taught people to do good."

    Arns was a founder of the Pastoral Care of the Child and the Pastoral Care of the Elder, two nationwide social organizations linked to the Catholic Church.

    Arns received several awards for her work. She was nominated candidate for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize along with other 999 women, in an initiative called "1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize."

    Arns was killed on her way to a conference when she was hit by debris in a street in the Haitian capital city of Port-au-Prince, according to her relatives. She was 75 years old.

    Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would also come to Curitiba to pay tribute before Arns' burial on Saturday.

Number of Brazilian military died in Haiti rises to 14

BRASILIA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The number of Brazilian soldiers who died as a result of the earthquake that hit Port au Prince, Haiti's capital, on Tuesday rose to 14, according to a statement released Thursday by Brazil's Ministry of Defense.

Four officers remain unaccounted for, and 14 were injured -- two will be returned to Brazil and another two have been hospitalized in the Dominican Republic, neighboring Haiti, the statement added. Full story

Brazilian gov't mourn over death of humanitarian worker in Haiti earthquake

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim gestures during a press conference in Brasilia, Jan. 13, 2010. The Brazilian government announced on Wednesday that its financial aid to be granted to Haiti to help the reconstruction after Tuesday's disastrous earthquake will reach 15 million U.S. dollars.(Xinhua/Radiobras) Photo Gallery>>>

    RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government on Wednesday mourned over the death of Zilda Arns, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee who was killed on a humanitarian mission in Haiti by the devastating earthquake Tuesday. Full story