CAIRO (Reuters) - The new leader of the Muslim Brotherhood said on Tuesday government efforts to squeeze Egypt's biggest opposition group out of politics would only spur on "deviant" and potentially violent Islamic movements.

Mohamed Badie, 66, told Reuters the group would campaign in this year's parliamentary election, but a state crackdown would likely prevent a repeat of its success in 2005 when it secured a fifth of the seats.

The government of President Hosni Mubarak, whose predecessor was gunned down by Islamic militants, is wary of any group with Islamist leanings, including the Brotherhood which long ago renounced violence and insists it seeks peaceful reform.

Since 2005, the authorities have gradually pushed the officially banned Brotherhood out of mainstream politics and regularly rounded up its members. The Brotherhood secured its seats in parliament by fielding candidates as independents.

"The Muslim Brotherhood, which carries the banner of moderate Islam, must be given the chance to teach Egyptian society to benefit the nation and its people," Badie, picked as the group's new leader this month, said in an interview.

"When we were prevented from playing the role of spreading moderate Islam, thorns sprouted in Egypt's soil and so did terrorism," he said, adding he rejected "deviant and 'takfiri' ideology", referring to groups that declared people infidels.

Analysts see no sign of a return to the 1990s when al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, a group spurned by the Brotherhood, took up arms in a bid to set up purist Islamic state in Egypt. But they say pushing the Brotherhood out of politics may leave a gap for militants to fill and could lead to sporadic violence.

Badie echoed those comments, saying Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party had monopolised decision-making.

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - A close friend of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who helped steer the OPEC member out of diplomatic isolation became head of the country's top legislative body on Tuesday.

Mohamed Abdul Quasim al-Zwai, who was Libya's first envoy to Britain after the two countries renewed diplomatic relations in 1999, replaced Moubarek Abdallah al Shamekh as secretary of the secretariat of the General People's Congress (GPC) after a vote.

The GPC names the government and is the top consultative body in Gaddafi's system of grass-roots government in which political parties are banned.

The secretariat, which was cut to seven members from 12 this week to streamline decision making, coordinates the GPC's agenda and deliberations.

Experts on Libya say that, in practice, no GPC resolutions can be passed without the leader's approval.

Zwai was a school classmate of Gaddafi and joined him in overthrowing the north African country's ailing King Idriss in 1969.

In 2001 he became Libya's first ambassador to Britain in 17 years and worked closely with Gaddafi's reformist son Saif al-Islam to convince the British and U.S. governments that Libya wanted to scrap banned weapons programmes and end its isolation.

Inside Libya, Zwai is viewed as a technocrat and relative moderate. "He's seen as a pragmatist," said one Western former diplomat on condition of anonymity. "He has a good reputation and great influence, with lots of ministerial background."

Libya watchers say Gaddafi prefers to keep his vision for the country vague and they monitor top appointments closely for clues to where the government is headed.

Local media reported in October that Saif al-Islam had been named coordinator of a group of tribal, political and business leaders, making him Libya's second most powerful figure, but analysts say he is competing for influence with a conservative old guard.

LILONGWE (Reuters) - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to raise its health funding aimed to reduce maternal mortality in Malawi, Melinda Gates said on Tuesday.

Gates, the co-founder and co-chairperson of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told Reuters during her two-day visit to the impoverished southern African country that she was impressed with the progress made by Malawi in reducing maternal mortality -- death during or soon after pregnancy - which is among the highest in the world.

"If you asked me if we plan any more investment in reducing maternal deaths in Malawi, I would say yes because of the good progress being made in making sure that women go to clinics when they are pregnant and that is helping reduce the maternal mortality rate," she said.

Gates did not say how much investment will be targeted towards the fight against maternal mortality.

The government and U.N. agencies say that initiatives to work with communities have helped reduce maternal deaths from 984 per 100,000 live births to 807 deaths for every 100,000 in the last four years. The rate still remains one of the highest in sub Saharan Africa.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will promise on Wednesday to set up an agreement with developing countries to combat tax evasion by the end of the year, a finance ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

The proposal would provide a framework for developing countries, predominantly in Africa, to share information on possible tax evasion with Britain and each other without having to set up a series of bilateral agreements.

"The UK will commit to finalise a multilateral tax information exchange agreement by the end of the year with a variety of developing countries and will urge other developed nations to follow our lead," the spokesman said.

Multilateral tax information exchange agreements already operate between the developed countries in the European Union.

The financial secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Timms, will promote the idea at a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris on Wednesday, and will urge the OECD to consult on new rules on how multinational companies report earnings from developing countries.

Britain wants multinationals that operate in developing economies to provide country-by-country breakdowns of profits and revenue -- rather than the regional breakdowns that are common at present -- to make it easier for officials to see where tax is due.

Britain will also provide technical assistance to tax authorities in developing countries, to help make them more reliant on their own resources rather than overseas aid, the finance ministry added.

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CAIRO (Reuters) - Prosecutors sought the death penalty on Tuesday in the trial of 26 men suspected of planning attacks in Egypt and said a foreign state was involved in the plot, linked to Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.

The case has highlighted the worries of conservative Sunni Muslim states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia about the growing influence of Shi'ite Iran and groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria.

Egypt alleges the accused planned attacks on foreign tourists and shipping in the Suez Canal.

"These attacks were planned by representatives of this foreign country that wants to spread its influence on the Arab and Muslim worlds. And Hezbollah is nothing but a tool used to carry out its wicked goals," prosecutor Amr Farouk told the emergency state security court.

"We demand the maximum punishment on the traitors."

Hezbollah, listed as a terrorist group by the United States, was formed with the backing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards during Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

The prosecutor called for death sentences for six of the defendants, charged with terrorism and espionage-related offences, a judicial source said.

Other charges against the 26 included giving information to a foreign organisation, plotting attacks inside Egypt and possession of explosive material.

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NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger has spent $20 million on buying new diesel-powered generators to improve electricity supplies to its regions and cut reliance on power from neighbouring Nigeria, the government said on Tuesday.

Niger relies on Nigeria, its larger but politically troubled oil-producing neighbour to the south, to supply 90 percent of its electricity. But power supplies are erratic and have prompted Niger to rethink its power supply options.

Nigelec, Niger's state power company, has used a $20 million loan from India's EXIMBANK to buy eight new generators, one for each of the country's regions, adding over 27 megawatts of power production capacity to the country, according to the government.

"With these acquisitions, Nigelec is protecting us from all crises and we should congratulate the company," Sountalma Mamadou, spokesman for the ministry of mines and energy, told Tenere, a local television station.

The loan deals were signed in late 2008, before Niger fell out with much of the international community over President Mamadou Tandja's successful campaign to change the constitution to remain in power after his second term ran out last year.

Niamey, the capital, has received the biggest boost with an extra 15 megawatts of power generating capacity.

The government reviewed its power policies after a series of power cuts in mid-2008 left residents in the dark and power reserved only for the government, armed forces and hospitals.

With the new generators, 70 percent of the capital will now be supplied with electricity, according to the government.

Niger, a vast nation straddling the Sahara desert, is seeking to become one of the world's leading uranium producers. It is also in the process of boosting hydroelectric capacity.

Since his row with donors, which has led to cuts in aid programmes but had little impact on investments in mining, oil or infrastructure projects, Tandja has told Nigeriens that they must work harder to be self-sufficient.

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ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Thousands of Ivorian opposition supporters marched peacefully through Abidjan on Tuesday to protest against what they said was President Laurent Gbagbo's stranglehold on the state media and election-delaying tactics.

Watched by heavily armed riot police, some 3,000 demonstrators marched towards the offices of the state-run Ivorian Radio and Television (RTI) broadcaster. Protestors chanted slogans calling for Gbagbo to give opposition parties equal access to the state media and hurry up with the polls.

Political tensions are rising in the top cocoa grower as Ivory Coast approaches the campaign period for an election meant to end years of stalemate following a 2002-3 war that split the country in two, leaving the north in the hands of rebels.

Opposition presidential candidates Henri Konan Bedie and Alassane Ouattara have complained of being marginalised by the national press, saying state broadcasters or pro-Gbagbo private media are giving the incumbent an unfair advantage.

"Equal access to state media is guaranteed to all by the law," said a statement read out by opposition youth leader Karamoko Yayoro. "We condemn the stranglehold of the media ... (exercised) by the candidate Laurent Gbagbo's clan."

Despite widespread fears of violence and a police roadblock preventing protestors marching onto RTI's offices, the demonstration remained peaceful throughout.

The vote has been repeatedly postponed since 2005 but is currently scheduled for around early March. The opposition accuses Gbagbo of deliberately holding back the process to extend his mandate, a charge he denies.

After years of political instability and limbo, many Ivorians are desperate to draw a line under a crisis that has paralysed the economy and scared off investors in what was once West Africa's economic powerhouse.

"We are in a situation of total hopelessness," said protester Pascal Noe, 28, unemployed. "Gbagbo has brought us war and nothing else. We want out of this crisis."

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund sharply raised its global economic growth forecast, casting developing countries in a leading role while rich nations struggle with high unemployment and government debt.

In an update of its World Economic Outlook, the IMF said on Tuesday the world economy will expand by 3.9 percent in 2010, much higher than the 3.1 percent it projected in October, and the pace will pick up to 4.3 percent next year.

"I don't think we're that optimistic but we're less pessimistic than we were in the last World Economic Outlook in October," IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard told Reuters Television in an interview.

"If you look at what our forecasts are for the recovery in the major advanced countries, these are still weak numbers. They're better than they were six months ago, but they're still quite mediocre," he added.

While an economic recovery appears to be gaining traction, the IMF warned the financial system remains fragile in the richer countries and banks will need a lot more capital.

Lending remains lackluster in advanced economies, which will constrain their pace of growth. Because of that the IMF reiterated its view that it was too soon to raise interest rates or remove many of the emergency financial supports put in place by central banks during the recent financial crisis.

As a group, advanced economies are expected to expand 2.1 percent this year and 2.4 percent in 2011, the IMF said.

In emerging and developing markets strong internal demand will provide "relatively vigorous" growth, the IMF said. It warned, however, that the flow of capital into many of these countries was becoming a growing concern because it could lead to asset price bubbles and appreciations in currencies.

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ABUJA (Reuters) - The head of Nigeria's army has pledged his commitment to protecting democracy and promised to stay out of politics at a time when President Umaru Yar'Adua's two-month absence has raised questions about who is in charge.

Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau, chief of army staff, said the army had remained "neutral but absolutely committed to the survival of our nascent democracy". It would continue to do so despite what he called attempts to drag it into politics.

Yar'Adua has been in Saudi Arabia receiving treatment for a heart condition since late November but has not formally handed executive powers to his deputy, raising uncertainty about who is steering government in Africa's most populous nation.

Nigeria emerged from decades of coups and military rule 10 years ago but the military remains a potent background force, with retired generals reinventing themselves as politicians and businessmen and still pulling the strings of power.

"The barracks is not a political battlefield and our soldiers are not tools to be used for creating disunity," Dambazau said in a speech on Monday night to mark the commissioning of an army base in the capital Abuja.

"The Nigerian army affirms its commitment to its constitutional responsibilities and will continue to contribute meaningfully to the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria."

Nigeria has seen some turbulence in Yar'Adua's absence.

Clashes between Christian and Muslim gangs killed hundreds in the central city of Jos last week, while there have been street protests and court challenges to the legality of government decision-making with the head of state away.

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KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's last elected prime minister said on Tuesday he would run for president in April's elections, promising to settle the Darfur conflict and "dismantle totalitarianism" in Africa's largest state.

Sadeq al-Mahdi was overthrown with the rest of his civilian government in a bloodless coup by Sudan's current President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 1989.

"Now it is possible for the people to reinstate (the person) who they believe represents their interests ... represents their aspirations," he told reporters after handing in his nomination for the ballot.

"This is simply a return to normal because I have not been fired by the people. I have been fired by the guns," he said.

The head of the opposition Umma party is also a descendent of a visionary Islamic leader who fought the British in the nineteenth century.

Sudan is preparing for a complex set of presidential and legislative elections promised under a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between north and south Sudan.

Umma and other opposition groups have complained of widespread fraud during voter registration and last year threatened to boycott the poll if democratic reforms were not pushed through.

Mahdi released a statement on Tuesday saying the elections should be delayed until November so that officials could have time to deal with all their concerns, but added he had decided to go ahead with his candidacy in the interests of the country.

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NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya risks suffering another eruption of violence even before its next presidential election in 2012 if long-awaited reforms are not put in place soon, the United States warned on Tuesday.

Ethnic clashes killed at least 1,300 people and drove 300,000 from their homes after a disputed ballot at the end of 2007, shattering the image of east Africa's biggest economy as the region's tranquil business, tourism and logistics hub.

A coalition government formed to end the turmoil has disappointed many Kenyans by doing little more than bicker aamongst its members, while local activists and donor nations say time is running out for it to enact the reforms it promised.

"Failure to implement significant reforms will greatly enhance prospects for a violent crisis in 2012 or perhaps even before, which might well prove worse than the last post-election crisis," U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said.

"Most Kenyans agree the window to achieve significant reforms will close by the end of this year, so the coalition leaders must act decisively and with a much greater sense of urgency," he told a business gathering in Nairobi.

Washington has already barred several senior Kenyan officials, including the attorney general, from visiting the United States over concerns about the slow pace of reforms, and Ranneberger said more travel bans might be issued soon.

"PUT BEHIND BARS"

"(We) may take additional actions in the coming weeks regarding persons who are not welcome," Ranneberger said.

The ambassador listed a string of unresolved corruption scandals that he said had cost Kenyan taxpayers more than a $1 billion and said Washington had suspended a planned five-year, $7 million programme with the Education Ministry that was due to start this year because of another procurement scandal there.

"Those culpable for the fraud should not merely be sacked; they should be prosecuted and put behind bars," he said, to loud applause from his audience of business leaders.

Graft is a major deterrent to private sector investment in the economy. Watchdog Transparency International ranks Kenya as the most corrupt nation in east Africa.

He said President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the former opposition leader, should set aside their differences in talks to create a new constitution, and said President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called both men recently to urge them to compromise.

"The development of a consensus draft and the holding of a successful referendum would constitute a very significant watershed for reforms," Ranneberger said. "My government, at the highest levels, would respond very positively to this."

The search for a new constitution -- viewed by some as a tool to check state powers and a guarantee of a fair distribution of resources -- began in the early 1990s, but its realisation has been held back by various political interests.

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - The pilot of an Ethiopian airliner that crashed off the Lebanese coast did not respond to a request to change direction before contact was cut, the Lebanese transport minister said on Tuesday.

He said it was too early, however, to draw any conclusion of pilot error.

Ghazi Aridi said the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane made a sharp turn before disappearing off the radar early Monday. A few minutes later the plane plunged into the sea with 90 people on board, all of whom are feared dead.

"The control tower asked him to go in a certain direction, but the pilot was not responsive, then communication was cut off and the plane disappeared off the radar," Aridi told Reuters.

"We don't know why he did that or what happened," he said. It was important not to jump to conclusions of pilot-error until the data recorders were found to determine what happened.

Lebanese and international search teams, including a U.S. naval vessel as well as European and U.N. peacekeeping ships, helicopters and planes scoured the Mediterranean coast for the victims and missing flight recorders.

Flight ET409 was carrying mostly Lebanese and Ethiopian passengers and was headed to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The plane apparently broke up in the air before crashing into the sea during a thunderstorm in a ball of fire before dawn on Monday.

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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq signed final contracts with Angolan state oil company Sonangol on Tuesday to develop the Qayara and Najmah oilfields.

Qayara has reserves of some 800 million barrels and Najmah 900 million. Both are in the violent Nineveh province in Iraq's north, where Sunni Islamist insurgents like al Qaeda remain active almost seven years after the U.S. invasion.

The deals were awarded in Iraq's second bidding round for oil contracts, held last month in Baghdad.

The Sonangol deals are two of a series that Iraq has started to sign which could vault its oil output capacity to 12 million barrels per day in seven years, a level rivalling top producer Saudi Arabia, compared with 2.5 million bpd now.

That would give the country the billions of dollars it needs to rebuild after decades of war and sanctions, and help it to emerge from the violence triggered by the 2003 invasion.

Sonangol clinched the deals with an offer of a $6 a barrel remuneration fee and a plateau production target of 110,000 barrels per day (bpd) for Najmah, and a fee of $5 a barrel and output target of 120,000 bpd for Qayara.

The fees are among the highest paid to any of the oil firms that won one of the 20-year oilfield service contracts tendered last year, reflecting the risks and relatively low quality of oil at the two sites.

The firm had initially proposed a remuneration fee of $8.50 a barrel for Najmah and $12.50 for Qayara, but later agreed to the Oil Ministry's lower offer.

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PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) - A coalition of former Nigerian militants and Niger Delta community leaders rejected on Monday government efforts to reintegrate thousands of ex-rebels, saying training centres and funding were inadequate.

The dispute, if not resolved soon, could threaten President Umaru Yar'Adua's popular amnesty programme which has brought months of relative peace to the Niger Delta, oil major Nigeria's main oil-producing region.

The Joint Revolutionary Council, representing several former militant commanders, demanded the government significantly improve education facilities and include oil and gas training programmes.

"More than 98 percent of the suggested training centres were non-existent, ill-equipped, non-accredited and non-recognised," Cynthia Whyte, the group's spokeswoman, said.

Community groups also asked for financial assistance for families of former militants.

"I think the package should include provisions for wives, children and dependents of ex-militants who died in the course of the struggle," said Udengs Eradiri, spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council.

The coalition said it would continue talks with the government in hopes the demands would be met.

Thousands of militants last year handed over their weapons in return for Yar'Adua's promise for clemency, monthly stipends, education, job opportunities and investment in the impoverished Niger Delta.

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ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's President John Atta Mills announced his first cabinet reshuffle on Monday, making minor changes but leaving the key portfolios of defence, energy, finance and foreign affairs unchanged.

The most significant change in the reshuffle, the first since Mills took power in January last year, was the replacement of Interior Minister Cletus Avoka with Martin Amidu, a deputy justice minister under longtime ruler Jerry Rawlings.

Mills's team came to power with the prospect of Ghana soon joining Africa's oil-producing club but also facing a vast public deficit and rampant inflation at a time when the global economy was in turmoil.

The government of the cocoa- and gold-producer has brought inflation nearly down to a target of 15 percent but Mills says the economic recovery remains his priority.

Amidu, regarded as a distinguished lawyer, was the vice presidential candidate of the ruling National Democratic Congress in 2000 when Mills lost to former President John Kufuor.

Mills also moved Information Minister Zita Okaikoi to the Tourism Ministry. She was replaced with John Tiah, a journalist and a leading Member of Parliament.

Enoch Teye Mensah, an influential minister under Rawlings and currently a leading Member of Parliament, has been appointed to the portfolio of employment and social welfare.

Other portfolios affected by Monday's reshuffle were Water Resources, Works and Housing; Women and Children's Affairs and Youth and Sports.

africanews

In addition to the enviable growth during last fiscal year, Tunisia's newly released annual report on the situation of children in the country revealed a remarkable improvement in the basic health and educational sectors of the North African nation.
Children in Tunisia
The report, which was released by the government over the weekend, said the rate of vaccine coverage rose to reach 97% of children aged between 12 and 24 months, and that pregnancy monitoring centres received 96% of registered cases.

Hundreds of psychological aid units have been set up across the country to strengthen the psychological health of teenagers.

Services related to early education (kindergarten) have evolved to reach 30%, the report further said.

While the number of students enrolled in the first year of basic education exceeds 72%, the number of institutions which have integrated children with disabilities reached 291 schools totaling 1266 children.

The report also highlights Tunisia’s commitment to disseminate digital culture among the new generations.

Figures show that 100% of the country’s basic education and secondary schools will benefit from computers, as well as 70% of primary schools.

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The acting head of the Guinea junta General Sékouba Konaté has said he had no intention of becoming the president of the country. He said the former head Dadis Camara too had the same intension before an attempted assassination attempt on his life failed.
Konate of Guinea
Konate blamed "demagogues and liars" for the wide spread rumour making rounds that the junta wanted to hold on to power after the death of President Lansana Conté.

Speaking to UN emissaries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Union (AU), Konaté argued that "God will punish all those who betrayed. "

"Neither I nor Dadis (Camara, the head of the junta) will be president in Guinea. We will repair the mistakes. Guinean people woke up and demanded free and transparent elections in order to move towards a democratic society," he said.

"Very satisfied" with the statements of general Konaté, the spokesman of the various delegations, Ibrahima Fall said adding that a meeting of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Guinea will be held on January 28th at the AU headquarters in Addis Abeba, the capital of Ethiopia.

Confidence

"We are confident in your determination to carry to term the historic mission entrusted to you. We see a patriotic act in your actions that go beyond your person. With a commitment without reservation we are on your side, "said Fall.

General Konaté had previously met Captain Moussa Dadis Camara in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso where he lived since he returned from Morocco where he was hospitalized after the attempted assassination perpetrated against him by his former aide.

Their meeting was held under the auspices of Burkinabe President, Blaise Compaoré, facilitator of the ECOWAS political crisis in Guinea.

General Konaté and Captain Camara agreed to the establishment of a national unity government headed by a prime minister proposed by the Active forces of the country who will organize "quickly" free and transparent elections.

On Thursday General Sékouba konaté named the leader of the Union for Progress of Guinea (UPG), Jean Marie Dore as Prime Minister.

africanews

The European Union has agreed on Monday to send troops to train up to 2,000 Soldiers from the Somali government battling with Islamist insurgents. The Mission led by Spain will involve about 200 European Union forces and begin in spring of this year in Uganda, according to EU foreign ministers.
soldiers
The Mission comes as Somali government led by moderate president Sharif Sh. Ahmed which controls a few areas in the capital requested to train 6,000 strong police forces.

Al-Qaeda inspired Al-shabaab group which is trying to toppling internationally-backed President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed runs most of southern Somalia and parts of Mogadishu.

EU foreign ministers said in a joint statement after meeting in Brussels that they should continue to help stabilise Somalia by supporting the security sector and development. "Also assistance to the population and capacity-building support", the statement said.

"In this context, the EU council agreed to set up a military mission to contribute to training of Somali security forces," BBC stated.

France had begun training about 500 Somali troops at its military base in Djibouti last year.

4,500 Ugandan and Burundian troops are deployed in Somalia for backing the Somali government.

Uganda was ready to deploy over 8,000 troops to the AMISOM mission in Somalia.

Somalia has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

africanews

An unidentified Tunisian man has been arrested in South Africa on terrorism suspicions after he travelled to that country using a U.K passport. South African police said they arrested the Tunisian man travelling on a U.K. passport because of a 'terror' alert from International Police (Interpol).
sa map
The man is reported to have been arrested on January 24 when he arrived from London at Johannesburg’s international airport.

South Africa’s Hawks Police Unit spokesperson Musa Zondi said, “He has a heart condition. So he is in hospital, under our guard.”

According to Zondi, the unidentified man had charges against him in Tunisia and that he was in South Africa for a meeting with TV’s Islam Channel.

Calls to London-based Islam Channel Limited’s office were not answered and Lawyers for the man blocked his deportation and plan to challenge his arrest.

Security has been tightened in many African entry and exit points, especially airports, after a 23 year-old Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, wanted to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas Day in the U.S.

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Mauritius' economy will expand by 4.5 percent in 2010, up from an earlier government forecast of 4.3 percent, barring any policy change or major external shock, the head of the central bank said.

Governor Rundheersing Bheenick told Reuters that an upward revision for the global economy by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would provide the Indian Ocean island's almost $10 billion economy with an "upwards pull".

"It seems like the (global) recovery will be robust and we can only benefit from that," Bheenick told Reuters in a telephone interview late on Monday.

"Although there are some worries about the timing and coordination of exit strategies in major markets, we do not believe there is any risk of a double dip or prolonged stagnation," he said.

Gross domestic product growth slowed to 2.8 percent in 2009 from an above 5 percent average for the previous three years, as demand for key exports dropped and local consumer demand crumpled.

The Indian Ocean island exports textiles and sugar and is a popular tourism destination for visitors from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It also has a thriving offshore financial sector.

Bheenick said he expected headline annual inflation to accelerate to 3 percent by June 2010 from 2.5 percent in December. The year-on-year inflation rate, a measure some analysts follow closely, would reach 4 percent in June, up from December's 1.5 percent, he said.

But he said inflationary pressures at home were under control with external shocks from rising commodity, oil and food prices presenting the greatest risk to consumer prices on the import-dependent island.