If you\u2019re planning a summer getaway, booking early may no longer be optional. A mix of rising jet fuel prices, geopolitical tensions in West Asia and <\/span>flight reroutings<\/span><\/a> is pushing airfares to record highs, with longer travel times and fewer cost-efficient options. Airlines are adjusting pricing to offset higher operating costs, while travellers are becoming more flexible with routes and destinations. Here\u2019s what the current disruption means for your <\/span>travel plans<\/span><\/a>, and why the window for cheaper fares is quickly closing.<\/span><\/p>\n \nFrom palace stays to farm retreats: India makes its mark on TIME\u2019s 2026 list<\/b> Kashmir in bloom: Asia\u2019s largest tulip festival returns<\/b><\/p>\n Spring has arrived in the Kashmir Valley, and with it, one of its most anticipated seasonal spectacles. The Tulip Festival in Srinagar, set against the Zabarwan hills and overlooking Dal Lake, has opened with a record 1.8 million tulips across more than 70 varieties this year. As the garden blooms ahead of schedule, <\/span>here\u2019s everything to know<\/span><\/a> \u2014 from the best time to visit and ticket details to what makes this vibrant, short-lived season one of India\u2019s most striking travel experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n Travel perks, hidden charges and changing rules: What your money can get you\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n From <\/span>hotel loyalty programmes<\/span><\/a> evolving into full-fledged lifestyle reward ecosystems to <\/span>airport lounge access<\/span><\/a> benefits being tightened or linked to spending, the way travellers extract value from their money is shifting. At the same time, rising input costs \u2014 including the ongoing LPG shortage impacting restaurants \u2014 are surfacing in unexpected ways, with some eateries attempting to pass on costs through <\/span>questionable add-on charges<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n India\u2019s metro network is among the world\u2019s largest<\/b><\/p>\n The most dangerous thing on your plate is your phone\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Somewhere along the way, eating stopped being instinctive and started becoming performative. We examine the act of photographing, filtering and sharing meals as more than just a habit. It\u2019s a behaviour reshaping how we relate to food itself. Drawing on research and expert insight, the story<\/a> explores how social media feeds, oscillating between extremes of indulgence and restriction, are quietly influencing eating patterns, body image and even mental health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Scrolling, comparing, feeling worse: What social media is doing to young users<\/b><\/p>\n In the previous weeks, we looked at how governments around the world were reconsidering children\u2019s access to social media and the evolution of technology to enforce them, and platforms\u2019 adaptations. Now, a <\/span>new global report<\/span><\/a> links prolonged screen time \u2014 particularly passive, algorithm-driven content consumption \u2014 to lower life satisfaction, with teenage girls among the most affected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Meta wants your audience \u2014 even if it lives elsewhere<\/b><\/p>\n But talking about social media, it\u2019s not all negative. It is a brilliant tool for money-making if you know how to milk it right. With Meta\u2019s new <\/span>Creator Fast Track programme<\/span><\/a>, the company is inviting digital creators with large followings on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube to start earning on Facebook too, offering guaranteed payouts, a reach boost and faster access to monetisation tools. The move signals a bigger platform battle for creators, where audiences may live on one app, but income opportunities are increasingly being built across many.<\/span><\/p>\n Imtiaz Ali and the business of millennial longing\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n As Imtiaz Ali marks over two decades in Hindi cinema, his films read less like love stories and more like a quiet decoding of the millennial psyche \u2014 a generation that spends to feel whole, yet often feels unmoored. From <\/span>Rockstar<\/span><\/i> to <\/span>Tamasha<\/span><\/i>, his characters capture the emotional undercurrents behind today\u2019s biggest consumption trends \u2014 from slow travel and therapy culture to dating apps and passion-driven careers. In this piece, we explore how Ali\u2019s cinema anticipated the desires driving India\u2019s most powerful spending cohort, even as the cultural spotlight shifts to Gen Z.<\/span><\/p>\n What we watched this week: Dhurandhar: The Revenge<\/b><\/p>\n Aditya Dhar\u2019s <\/span>Dhurandhar: The Revenge<\/span><\/i><\/a> is finally here! Arriving as a full-blown “mass event,” the Ranveer Singh-starrer leans into scale, spectacle and pre-release hype. While Singh\u2019s feral screen presence anchors the film\u2019s sprawling revenge arc, the absence of key characters and underwritten supporting roles dilute its emotional heft. The sequel taps into visceral anger and blockbuster ambition, even as it begins to feel overstretched and reverse-engineered by the end.<\/span><\/p>\n Stories where fiction and murder collide<\/b><\/p>\n Oh, and in case you missed it \u2014 Utah-based Kouri Richins, a mother of three who self-published a children\u2019s book titled <\/span>Are You with Me?<\/span><\/i> after her husband\u2019s “unexpected” death, has now been found guilty of his murder. It\u2019s one of <\/span>several chilling cases<\/span><\/a> where writers were later accused or convicted of killing, with their own words appearing to cast an unsettling shadow over the crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
From a restored <\/span>350-year-old palace in Madhya Pradesh<\/span><\/a> to a <\/span>remote Himalayan lodge<\/span><\/a> reachable only on foot, a regenerative <\/span>farm stay in Rajasthan<\/span><\/a>, and an <\/span>experimental cocktail bar<\/span><\/a> in Delhi, India\u2019s diverse travel experiences are finding global recognition. These places have found a place in TIME\u2019s World\u2019s Greatest Places of 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.cnbctv18.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/metro-network-2026-03-5d7b2f5c9e78f8a9a302c653e21e06b0.jpg?im=Resize,width=640,height=360,aspect=fit,type=normal\")
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