(Al Jazeera English: 0800 PST, January 31, 2011) Protesters in Egypt called for a national strike on Monday as they pressed for the resignation of the president. Hosni Mubarak has made more concessions as he strives to cling on to power, while opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei joined protesters in Tahrir Square on Sunday as they defied a third nighttime curfew.

Meanwhile, in Tunisia, Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of a long-outlawed Islamist party has returned after two decades in exile. And in Southern Sudan, celebrations are underway after initial referendum results showed voters chose to separate from the north in overwhelming numbers. More on these stories below:

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Less than a year ago elections were held in Sudan in which President Omar-al-Bashir maintained his control amidst much controversy. The international community settled down to business as usual. But in the back of everyone’s mind, the upcoming referendum on South Sudan’s secession lurked like a tidal wave on the horizon. As of this writing, the ballots have not been tallied and despite violent flare-ups in border areas, the word up is secession, not unity.

Our Sudanese friend Hisham (you may remember him from the interview about the April elections) has created an animation to celebrate that decision, and to make the case for peace between the people of both incipient states. We can only hope the message is heard and heeded.