Brazilian self-styled mystic Athos Salomé, known to his followers as the “Living Nostradamus,” has issued a new set of predictions for 2026, warning of rising global instability and the potential for new conflict zones to emerge in the year ahead. Salomé, who has previously claimed to foresee major international events, outlined a series of geopolitical, environmental and health-related threats that he believes could escalate over the next twelve months.
In his latest forecast, he identified two remote regions as likely flashpoints for indirect confrontations between major powers. One is the Sahel, the vast belt of land stretching across central Africa where instability has surged in recent years. The region, which separates the Sahara from the savanna to the south, has seen a sharp increase in extremist violence, with a significant share of global terrorist incidents now occurring there. Countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Chad face persistent threats from armed groups linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS, with kidnappings, attacks on civilians and assaults on state institutions becoming more frequent.
Salomé suggested that as Western military forces continue to withdraw from parts of the Sahel, rival powers could attempt to fill the vacuum. He argued that extremist activity in northern Niger in particular could draw outside nations into a proxy struggle for influence. According to him, the departure of French and American personnel from the region leaves space for new players to assert their interests, potentially intensifying tensions already felt across a line of states confronting poverty, political upheaval and chronic insecurity.
The mystic also pointed to the Arctic as a second prospective theatre of competition in 2026. He referenced the rapid militarisation of the region following the war in Ukraine, noting that Russia has expanded its northern naval capabilities and repositioned military assets further into the Arctic Circle. At the same time, the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO has reshaped the strategic landscape, bringing new allied territory directly into proximity with Russian forces. Melting sea ice has opened additional routes for maritime shipping and increased access to natural resources, heightening friction between states seeking commercial and military advantage. Salomé claimed that recent movements of Russian missile systems into Arctic positions raise the risk of direct contact between Russian and NATO operations during the spring and summer ice-melt period.