  The mid-rapidity charged particle multiplicities in pp and AA collisions at
LHC energies are described in the framework of a generalized eikonal model with
shadowing corrections incorporated in AA. We show that the pp data require a
Pomeron intercept close to 1.2, higher than the conventional one close to 1.1.
An $s^{0.11}$ energy dependence is obtained in the LHC range and beyond. The
size and centrality dependence of the AA multiplicity at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV
is reproduced and its energy dependence is predicted.
