Latest news with #adolescent
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Nutrition bars to be given to adolescent girls to address anaemia
The Telangana government, on Thursday, launched a scheme to provide nutrition bars, made of peanuts and millets, to address anaemia among adolescent girls (14-18 years). Each bar consists of 600 calories, 18-20 grams of protein and necessary micronutrients. Anaemia can result in weakness, diminished physical and mental capacity, maternal mortality, increased morbidity from infectious diseases, perinatal mortality, premature delivery, low birth weight, and (in children) impaired cognitive performance, motor development, and scholastic achievement, according to National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 report. Women and Child Welfare Minister Danasari Anasuya launched the scheme titled Indiramma Amrutham on a pilot project basis, which would be implemented in Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem and Jayashankar Bhupalapally districts, where there are more cases of anaemia. The scheme was designed in consultation with the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). It would benefit 50,269 girls: 23,399 in Bhadradri Kothagudem, 18,230 in Asifabad and 8,640 in Jayashankar Bhupalapally. Depending on the feedback, it would be extended to other districts. Two free packets would be given to each through Anganwadi centres, and each packet will have 15 nutrition bars. 'Anaemia is a condition that is marked by low levels of haemoglobin in blood. Iron deficiency is estimated to be responsible for about half of all anaemia globally, but anaemia can also be caused by malaria, hookworms and other helminths, other nutritional deficiencies, chronic infections, and genetic conditions,' according to the NFHS report. Prevalence in Telangana According to the report, 58% of women in Telangana have anaemia. It was particularly high among rural women, women aged 15-19, and Scheduled Tribe women. More than two-thirds (70%) of children aged 6-59 months are anaemic. Some parents consult dieticians with a complaint that though iron rich foods were given, the mineral is deficient in their children. Dietitian Shubhangi Surana, founder, Rainbow Nutrition Clinic in Secunderabad, said that what people have along with the foods plays a role in absorption of iron. 'Incorporate Vitamin C when eating Iron. It always helps. Lemon, Guava, Tamarind, Tomatoes - to an extent - are sources of vitamin C. Calcium is antagonist to iron. So avoid Calcium rich foods with iron,' said Ms. Surana. Abitha Chilkuri, dietician and nutritionist, said that coffee and tea with milk contains toxins that bind with dietary iron and make it unavailable for absorption. 'They should be avoided for at least an hour before, during or immediately after a meal,' she said. Ms. Surana said that Calcium (for bone development), Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Iodine, fiber are other nutritional requirements for the girls in the age group. In order to achieve optimum growth, bone mass, muscle mass and overall good health without any vitamin and mineral deficiencies and to improve longevity adolescents must consume food that is rich in calcium such as finger millet(ragi), green leafy vegetables like amaranth, sesame seeds, milk and milk products, said Ms. Abitha.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Belite Bio Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update
Following a pre-specified interim analysis, an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) recommended the pivotal Phase 3 trial (DRAGON) of Tinlarebant in adolescent Stargardt disease (STGD1) patients proceed without any modification; trial completion expected Q4 2025 (including a three-month follow-up period) DSMB also recommended the Company submit the interim data for further regulatory review for drug approval A pivotal global Phase 3 trial (PHOENIX) of Tinlarebant in geographic atrophy (GA) patients is ongoing with 464 of targeted 500 subjects enrolled Raised $15 million in gross proceeds in a registered direct offering on February 5, 2025 Conference call and webcast on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. ET SAN DIEGO, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Belite Bio, Inc (NASDAQ: BLTE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical drug development company focused on advancing novel therapeutics targeting degenerative retinal diseases that have significant unmet medical needs, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, and provided a business update. 'We continue to advance the clinical development of Tinlarebant, reaching a major milestone with the favorable interim analysis of our Phase 3 DRAGON trial earlier this year,' said Dr. Tom Lin, Chairman and CEO of Belite Bio. 'We are excited by the encouraging feedback from the DSMB on the safety and efficacy outcomes in DRAGON as we work toward trial completion by the end of 2025. We are focused on maintaining strong execution across our late-stage clinical programs as we aim to deliver new treatment options for people living with degenerative retinal diseases, where there is significant unmet need.' First Quarter 2025 Business Highlights and Upcoming Milestones: Clinical Highlights Tinlarebant is an oral, once-daily, potent retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) antagonist that decreases RBP4 levels in the blood and reduces vitamin A (retinol) delivery to the eye without disrupting systemic retinol delivery to other tissues. Vitamin A is critical for normal vision but can accumulate as toxic byproducts (bisretinoids) in individuals affected with STGD1 and GA, the advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), leading to retinal cell death and loss of vision. Stargardt disease (STGD1): Accumulation of cytotoxic bisretinoids compounds has been implicated in the onset and progression of STGD1, for which there are no approved treatments. Tinlarebant has been granted Fast Track and Rare Pediatric Disease Designations in the U.S.; Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S., Europe, and Japan; and Sakigake (Pioneer Drug) Designation in Japan for the treatment of STGD1. DRAGON Trial: Ongoing, 24-month, randomized (2:1, active: placebo), double-masked, placebo-controlled, global, multi-center, pivotal Phase 3 trial in adolescent STGD1 patients Following a pre-specified interim analysis, an independent DSMB recommended trial continuation without modifications, maintaining a sample size of 104 subjects In addition, the DSMB recommended submitting the data for further regulatory review for drug approval Primary efficacy endpoint is the growth rate of atrophic lesions; safety and tolerability will also be assessed Trial completion expected by Q4 2025 (including a three-month follow-up period) DRAGON II Trial: Combination of a Phase 1b open-label trial to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Tinlarebant in adolescent Japanese STGD1 patients and a Phase 2/3, 24-month, randomized (1:1, active: placebo), double-masked, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial in adolescent STGD1 patients Enrolled 16 subjects in the Phase 2/3 trial, with a target enrollment of approximately 60 subjects, aged 12 to 20 years old, including approximately 10 Japanese subjects; data from the Japanese subjects is intended to facilitate a future new drug application in Japan Primary efficacy endpoint is the growth rate of atrophic lesions; safety and tolerability will also be assessed Geographic Atrophy (GA): GA is a chronic degenerative disease of the retina that leads to blindness in the elderly. Accumulation of cytotoxic vitamin A byproducts (bisretinoids) has been implicated in the progression of GA. There are currently no FDA-approved, orally administered treatments for GA. PHOENIX Trial: Ongoing, 24-month, randomized (2:1, active: placebo), double-masked, placebo-controlled, global, multi-center, pivotal Phase 3 trial in GA patients 464 of the targeted 500 subjects have been enrolled to date Primary efficacy endpoint is the growth rate of atrophic lesions; safety and tolerability will also be assessed Company expects to conduct an interim analysis Corporate Highlights In February 2025, Belite completed a registered direct offering priced at the market, raising gross proceeds of $15 million, with the potential for additional proceeds of approximately $15 million from the exercise of five-year warrants issued in the offering. First Quarter 2025 Financial Results: Current Assets: As of March 31, 2025, the Company had $157.4 million in cash, liquidity funds, time deposits, and U.S treasury bills. R&D Expenses: For the three months ended March 31, 2025, research and development expenses were $9.4 million compared to $6.8 million for the same period in 2024. The increase in research and development expenses was primarily attributable to (i) share-based compensation granted in the third quarter of 2024 and first quarter of 2025, (ii) slightly higher clinical trial expenses related to the PHOENIX trial. G&A Expenses: For the three months ended March 31, 2025, general and administrative expenses were $6.1 million compared to $1.6 million for the same period in 2024. The increase resulted primarily from an increase in share-based compensation granted in the third quarter of 2024 and first quarter of 2025. Other Income: For the three months ended March 31, 2025, other income was $1.2 million compared to $0.5 million for the same period in 2024. The increase in other income was attributable to accrued interest from time deposits and U.S. treasury bills. Net Loss: For the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company reported a net loss of $14.3 million, compared to a net loss of $7.9 million for the same period in 2024. Webcast Information Belite Bio will host a webcast on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company's financial results and provide a business update. To join the webcast, please visit A replay will be available for approximately 90 days following the event at the Company's Investor Relations website at About Belite Bio Belite Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical drug development company focused on advancing novel therapeutics targeting degenerative retinal diseases that have significant unmet medical need, such as Stargardt disease type 1 (STGD1) and Geographic Atrophy (GA) in advanced dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in addition to specific metabolic diseases. Belite's lead candidate, Tinlarebant, an oral therapy intended to reduce the accumulation of toxins in the eye, is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 study (DRAGON) and a Phase 2/3 study (DRAGON II) in adolescent STGD1 patients and a Phase 3 study (PHOENIX) in patients with GA. For more information, follow us on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or visit us at Important Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements about future expectations and plans, as well as other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts. These statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the potential implications of clinical data for patients, and Belite Bio's advancement of, and anticipated preclinical activities, clinical development, regulatory milestones, and commercialization of its product candidates, and any other statements containing the words 'expect', 'hope' and similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including but not limited to Belite Bio's ability to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its drug candidates; the clinical results for its drug candidates, which may not support further development or regulatory approval; the timing to complete relevant clinical trials and/or to receive the interim/final data of such clinical trials; the content and timing of decisions made by the relevant regulatory authorities regarding regulatory approval of Belite Bio's drug candidates; the potential efficacy of Tinlarebant, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the 'Risk Factors' section in Belite Bio's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Belite Bio, and Belite Bio undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. BELITE BIO, INC UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (Amounts in thousands of US Dollars, except share and per share amounts) For the Three MonthsEnded March 31, 2024 2025 Expenses Research and development 6,765 9,396 General and administrative 1,563 6,121 Total operating expenses 8,328 15,517 Loss from operations (8,328 ) (15,517 ) Other income: Total other income, net 463 1,240 Loss before income tax (7,865 ) (14,277 ) Income tax expense 6 - Net loss (7,871 ) (14,277 ) Other comprehensive income (loss) Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of nil tax (96 ) 18 Total comprehensive loss (7,967 ) (14,259 ) Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in per share calculation: - Basic and Diluted 29,677,173 32,084,106 Net loss per ordinary share - Basic and Diluted $ (0.27 ) $ (0.45 ) BELITE BIO, INC UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands of US Dollars, except share amounts) December 31, March 31, 2024 2025 Current assets $ 147,073 $ 159,287 Other assets 5,059 4,914 TOTAL ASSETS $ 152,132 $ 164,201 TOTAL LIABILITIES $ 6,311 $ 6,131 TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY 145,821 158,070 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 152,132 $ 164,201 Ordinary shares authorized 400,000,000 400,000,000 Ordinary shares issued 31,857,802 32,595,001 Ordinary shares outstanding 31,826,549 32,544,784 Media and Investor Relations Contact: Jennifer Wu ir@ Julie Fallon belite@ in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Oxygen detected in most distant galaxy: 'astonished' astronomers
Oxygen has been detected in the most distant galaxy ever discovered, surprised astronomers said Thursday, offering further evidence that stars in the early universe matured far quicker than had been thought possible. The galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0, which was discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope last year, is so far away that its light took 13.4 billion years to reach Earth. This means the galaxy can also reveal what the universe was like in its infancy, when it was just 300 million years old -- two percent of its current age. Since coming online in 2022, the powerful Webb telescope has discovered that galaxies in the young universe were much brighter, more advanced and more numerous than scientists had expected. These discoveries have been so startling they have raised doubts about whether something important is missing in our understanding of the universe. For the latest research, two international teams led by Dutch and Italian astronomers probed the JADES-GS-z14-0 galaxy using the ALMA radio telescope in Chile's Atacama desert. They detected traces of oxygen, according to the European Southern Observatory, confirming hints previously spotted by the Webb telescope. During this period known as the cosmic dawn, newly born galaxies were thought to only have young stars, which mostly contain light elements like hydrogen and helium. Only later were they supposed to get heavier stuff such as oxygen. But the two new studies found that JADES-GS-z14-0 has around 10 times more heavy elements than had been anticipated. "It is like finding an adolescent where you would only expect babies," said Sander Schouws of Leiden Observatory, the first author of a Dutch-led study to be published in The Astrophysical Journal. "The results show the galaxy has formed very rapidly and is also maturing rapidly, adding to a growing body of evidence that the formation of galaxies happens much faster than was expected," he said in a statement. Astrophysicist Stefano Carniani, lead author of the Italian-led paper to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, said he was "astonished by the unexpected results". "The evidence that a galaxy is already mature in the infant universe raises questions about when and how galaxies formed." pcl-dl/phz
Leaders
08-03-2025
- General
- Leaders
Int'l Women's Day 2025: Saudi Arabia's Journey of Empowerment, Achievements
On March 8, 2025, the world marks the International Women's Day. It is a global occasion to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women across the globe. In Saudi Arabia, the International Women's Day is a celebration of a long journey towards empowerment under Vision 2030, granting women their rights and increasing their economic and social participation. International Women's Day The first International Women's Day was held in 1911. It has become a global holiday following its promotion by the United Nations in 1977. Each year, millions of people worldwide celebrate the achievements of women across all aspects of life, while advocating for gender equality. It aims to recognize women's contributions in various fields, address gender inequality issues, mobilize action for a more equitable and inclusive world for women, and foster solidarity among people in support of women's rights worldwide. Under the theme, 'For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,' the International Women's Day 2025 calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all, with a focus on empowering young women and adolescent girls to drive change. Celebrating Saudi Women Saudi Arabia also celebrates the International Women's Day by showcasing the achievements of Saudi women, highlighting their active participation in nation-building and social development, and their vital role in realizing Saudi Vision 2030 objectives. Saudi women have succeeded in all aspects of life, achieving remarkable milestones in scientific and practical fields, in line with cultural norms and modern advancements. This has significantly contributed to driving national development and nation-building. Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom has embarked on key reforms to increase women's participation in the labor market, resulting in several decisions, legislations, and regulations that enhanced women's status in the Saudi society and made them active partners in all fields. Women's Role in Sustainable Development On the occasion of the International Women's Day 2025, the Chairman of the National Society for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al-Fakhri, praised the Kingdom's efforts to empower women. Al-Fakhri highlighted Saudi Arabia's efforts to ensure women's full rights through legislative and regulatory reforms, which have boosted their economic and social participation, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Moreover, he noted that women empowerment promotes social and economic stability and accelerates progress towards realizing the objectives of Vision 2030, which prioritizes raising women's participation in the labor market and increasing their leadership and developmental roles. Saudi Women in Labor Market Under the revolutionary Vision 2030, Saudi women participation in the labor market has seen a significant surge due to the leadership training and guidance initiative for women cadres. Moreover, 1,707 Saudi women have assumed key positions, surpassing Vision 2030 target of 1,000 women. From 2017 to 2023, the share of women in the labor market jumped from 21.2% to 34%. Furthermore, the rate of women economic participation more than doubled, climbing from 17% to 35.5%. During the same period, the percentage of women in middle and senior administrative positions increased from 28.6% to 43.8%. Sarah Al-Suhaimi The initial goal of Vision 2030 was to increase women's share in the workforce from 22% to 30%. However, after exceeding this target, the Kingdom has set an ambitious goal of raising female participation in the workforce to 40% by 2030. Saudi Business Leaders This progress has been evident in the Forbes Middle East 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2025 list, where 8 Saudi women emerged among the region's top business leaders. They included the Chairperson of the Saudi Tadawul Group, Sarah Al-Suhaimi; the CEO of the Al-Inma Medical Services Company, Fouziyah Al-Jarallah; the CEO of Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), Jomana R. Alrashid; and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Riyad Bank, Enji Ahmed Al Ghazzawi. The list also included the COO of Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), Ghada Al Jarbou; the Founder of the regional headquarters of 500 Global MENA in Saudi Arabia, Amal Dokhan; the CEO of the Gulf International Bank (GIB) in Bahrain, Sara Abdulhadi; and the General Manager for Fitch Ratings in Saudi Arabia, Nejoud Al Mulaik. Women in Leadership Positions Additionally, Saudi women now assume key positions in the diplomatic service, such as ambassadors, leaders in international organizations, negotiators, and diplomats representing the country in foreign missions. Princess Rema Bandar Al Saud In the light of this, Forbes Middle East celebrated 4 Saudi women among the Top 20 Arab Women in Government 2025 list. These women have made the most profound impact in leading positions across government institutions, with the exclusion of ministerial and parliamentary posts. The Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Rema Bandar Al Saud, secured the 2nd spot on the list. Other Saudi women on the Forbes list included the Chairwoman of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), Shihana Alazzaz; the Ambassador and Head of Mission of Saudi Arabia to the European Union (EU), Haifa Al Jadea; and the Regional Director for the Middle East at the UN Tourism, Basmah Al-Mayman. Women's participation in Sports Saudi women have shown an unparalleled excellence in all genres of sports. Women's football in Saudi Arabia has undergone a 'remarkable transformation' since 2018. According to a report by NEOM and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), more than 70,000 girls now participate at the grassroots level, with over 1,500 registered players nationwide. Moreover, the number of professional female players surged by 195%. Donia Abu Taleb Furthermore, the Saudi Taekwondo athlete, Donia Abu Taleb, has achieved remarkable milestones in her sports career. In March 2025, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded Abu Taleb the 2024 Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Award for Asia, for the first time in Saudi sports history, according to SPA. Donia Abu Taleb is currently ranked 1st globally in the World Taekwondo Federation's general ranking for the under-53 kg weight category. She gave a historic performance at the Paris Olympic Games 2024, securing her spot in the quarterfinals of the Women's taekwondo -49kg category after beating the Israeli Abishag Semberg 2-1 in the round of 16. Short link : Post Views: 93
The Guardian
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Lights … camera … attraction! The 31 most romantic moments in cinema
Who among us didn't fall for Captain Von Trapp from the moment he sang Eidelweiss? Maria, on the verge of flunking out of nun school, didn't stand a chance. The PG sexual tension then becomes unbearable during a ländler; the captain can't take his eyes off Maria, forcing her to blush so hard that she legs it back to the abbey. But after the reverend mother talks sense into her (choose the captain, not God, duh!) the pair reunite and finally confess their love in a gazebo, before singing in the moonlight: 'Here you are standing there loving me, whether or not you should'. Not even the revelation that the actors were told off for laughing so much during filming can dim the romance – it only adds to the adolescent thrill of it all. And the one tiny, goose-pimply moment that tops it off is Von Trapp whispering: 'Oh, my love.' Hollie Richardson It's 1940 and Paris is falling to the Nazis, watched from a high window by Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund, who, with devil-may-care defiance, drink champagne and crack wise about their 'bad timing' in choosing now to fall in love. What was Ilsa doing 10 years ago, Rick wonders. Ilsa says she was getting braces fitted for her teeth and asks him the same question. Rick answers with a reticent, manly smile, as if amused by a memory that would never otherwise be dredged up: 'Looking for a job …' Apart from anything else, this is a great age-gap romance (Humphrey Bogart is 43; Ingrid Bergman, 28) and the film alludes, perhaps daringly, to the fact that Rick was an adult during the Depression, while Ilsa was a schoolgirl (he does, after all, call her 'kid'). While she was sublimely innocent of life's cares, Rick was worried about money. Perhaps even now, he does not care to tell Ilsa exactly what he was doing when she was getting her braces fitted. There is such gorgeous, protective romantic gallantry in this moment. Peter Bradshaw Typically, when I tell people that Titanic always makes me cry, they assume I mean the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio sinks into the abyss. Incorrect. That scene is just fine. What really gets me is the very end of the movie, when the camera pans over elderly Rose's photos as she sleeps (or dies). This woman lived a full life – married, had kids, rode on horseback, travelled the world – yet in her final moments, what she remembers is a brief, long-ago affair with a man who never got to age. That, at the age of 101, Rose DeWitt Bukater would still think about her two torrid days with Jack Dawson – that your love could burn so intensely you feel it for the rest of your life; that his face could be so beautiful it haunts your final hours – was a cataclysmic revelation to my 12-year-old self. And it remains James Cameron's most convincing fantasy, an insanely romantic notion that, despite all my lived experience, reason, equanimity and general distaste for mushiness, still hits. Adrian Horton A boy and a girl step into a listening booth. They don't know the record shop or the city; they barely even know each other. Director Richard Linklater decided not to play his actors the track – Come Here, by Kath Bloom – before filming and you can see Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy suppressing smiles when the vocal kicks in, tempted to deflect the song's raw emotion by cynically laughing it off. The awkwardness builds. We assume that a fumbling kiss must be coming. But it is the song that's the kiss. It moves them and blesses them and allows them to stroll on through the city and have another kiss somewhere else. Xan Brooks Playing out in the harsh setting of a Yorkshire farm, God's Own Country is about a young man, Johnny (Josh O'Connor) whose family life, though rooted in love, is as jagged and inhospitable as the landscape. Then Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu), a Romanian, turns up to help with lambing. Unlike the Saxby family, Gheorghe has a softness to him, and a kindness. In one scene, Gheorghe dresses an orphaned lamb in the skin of another that has just died, so that the tiny creature is accepted, and suckled, by a new mother. It is the film's turning point: the moment when Johnny begins to learn the meaning of gentleness, tenderness and love. Charlotte Higgins The first meeting between Ally (Lady Gaga) and Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) – if you can call it that – is so heady, so beguiling, that it makes A Star Is Born's inevitable slide into tragedy even more devastating. At the film's core is the idea that true love allows you to see someone's true self, without any of the baggage that comes from fame or money or addiction – and that great art might be a way to communicate that truth to the wider world. Watching Jackson go from scepticism to adoration to love at first sight in the course of one song feels like the apotheosis of that idea. Shaad D'Souza It's hardly a picture of an aspirational romance. He's just a boy, standing in front of a girl, telling her that in spite of his better judgment and her lower social class, he loves her 'most ardently'. A roiling argument understandably ensues. Though what gives the scene, from Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, a sense of romantic drama is composer Dario Marianelli's racing score, the pounding rain, the lush greenery and, most importantly, the burning chemistry between Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen's Mr Darcy. Between trading barbs thick with sexual tension (Elizabeth: 'your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain') the rain-drenched protagonists draw closer and closer until they are inches away from a kiss. When Darcy pauses and walks away, Elizabeth's face says it all: love can be very confusing. Rebecca Liu In just a few minutes, during which only coded formalities are spoken, Crown Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) clocks that one of the reporters lined up before her (Gregory Peck) is the man with whom she has been secretly carousing around Rome; he indicates that he is not going to betray her; and both of them acknowledge that despite the depth of their feelings, this is where they must leave it – although he can't help but look back towards the empty stage when everyone else has gone. Never have discretion, restraint, dignity, realism and the sadness of a road that cannot be taken seemed so romantic. Chris Tryhorn The three parts of this little-seen 2000 film are each set in the same house in different time periods; all three sets of inhabitants are lesbians. In the final section, set in what would have been the present day when the film was released, a couple played by Sharon Stone and Ellen DeGeneres are trying for a baby with a sperm donor. It ends with a wonderful scene in which Stone's character has found out she is pregnant and the pair dance around the bathroom in their slippers to Natalie Cole's This Will Be. It may not be anything like your classic fairytale ending – there's no grand gesture, no heartfelt speech, and obviously no Prince Charming – but it shows a private, joyful moment between two people who have been loving each other for a long time. Lucy Knight Economy is the key to romance in the movies. Here, we see two people, shot in alternating over-the-shoulder closeups. After some exposition, Bourne asks what we've all been thinking: why do you keep popping up in his movies? Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) takes a beat, puts down her coffee cup. 'It was difficult … for me. With you.' They look at each other, Nicky searching his face for clues, Bourne granite-faced. The silence stretches, uncomfortably (actually, 15 seconds). We're also looking at their faces for clues. 'You really don't remember anything?' 'No.' Two cops walk in. 'We need to go.' And … back to the Bourney stuff. But it's all there, in that 40-odd seconds, for viewers to divine for themselves. Jason Deans Falling in love as you believe you're about to die? Opening scenes don't get more operatically romantic. It's the second world war, and Royal Air Force pilot Peter Carter (David Niven), his plane badly damaged, is signing off from this mortal realm to radio operator June (Kim Hunter). Quoting Walter Raleigh and poet Andrew Marvell ('What a marvel!'), Niven makes Carter the quintessential dashing Brit, his stiff upper lip softened by a smile. He asks June if she's pretty: 'Not bad,' she replies sorrowfully, a sublime comic moment from Hunter that tempers the whole scene. The film began production in the same week the war ended, and the whole thing is charged with love for existence itself: 'I love you, June, you're life and I'm leaving you,' as Carter says so magnificently. Ben Beaumont-Thomas Grand romantic gestures are not part of most people's lives, the quotidian reality of being and putting up with someone barely recognisable from the fantasy offered up on screen. But Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus Phantom Thread shows us an epic act of love that's both absurdly perverse and immediately relatable. It's the moment when, putting two and two – and mushrooms – together, Daniel Day-Lewis's petulant egotist knowingly eats the poisoned omelette made by Vicky Krieps's exasperated bride. It's about so much – relinquishing control, understanding balance, embracing change, a dom allowing another dom to play sub – and it's easily the most romantic movie moment to precede a hellish, fight-for-your-life day on the loo. Benjamin Lee While there are myriad possible inspirations for Maggie, Diana's royal dresser in Pablo Larraín's biopic, there is no evidence of queer romance or close adoration in Diana's own life. But when Maggie, played by Sally Hawkins, tells Kristen Stewart's Diana, 'I'm in love with you. Yes, I mean in that way. Completely,' you feel comforted that this woman who is so tormented by the expectation of performance in a loveless marriage finds some genuine kinship, even if it's not totally returned in that way, and even if it is fiction. The royal family want to subject Diana to treatment for her illness, to which Maggie says, 'Fuck doctors, what you need is love. Love, shocks and laughter.' The two run around on the beach, Diana finally knowing love and freedom, before departing – implicitly for ever. Jason Okundaye Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) are slumped in bed in a smack-induced stupor. 'Just gimme a kiss,' slurs Sid. Cut to a wide-shot of the pair in a smoky, steely-blue New York alleyway, snogging against a dumpster as rubbish falls from the sky in slow motion; the woozy score mounts and spirals, a synthesised ticking sound seeming to warn the pair that time is running out. There is nothing romantic about where the film is heading, and its director Alex Cox rightly regrets the 'bogus' ending, in which the dead lovers take a yellow taxi cab to the afterlife. ('We should have shown Sid dying in a pool of vomit,' Cox said.) But that only makes this fleeting hallucinated kiss, mournfully photographed by Roger Deakins, all the more precious. Ryan Gilbey This Mumbai-set romance is a film of exquisite poignancy and restraint in which – spoiler alert – the couple don't even meet. They connect via a mixup over a misdelivered lunchbox and communicate via chaste letters. A meeting is arranged, but the lonely Saajan (Irrfan Khan) steps back, doubting himself, unable to take the decisive step that will return him to life. The final scene always has me holding my breath. Ila (a luminous Nimrat Kaur) has finally resolved to leave her neglectful and unfaithful husband. She sells her wedding jewellery and writes – in her head – a final letter to Saajan as she prepares to catch a train for Bhutan, where happiness is valued higher than money. Or is that just a dream? Is something far darker planned? But Saajan has at last found his own courage and, squatting in the train carriage amid the singing dabbawalas who can lead him to the owner of the lunchbox, is making his way to Ila, his soulmate. Will they connect or will he arrive too late? The ending is left open. I can think of no other film in which I yearn quite so ardently for the two to live happily ever after. Imogen Tilden The final scene of Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail is one of the most spellbinding in romcom history. Bookstore owners Joe (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen (Meg Ryan) fall in love as anonymous strangers on the internet, back when we all had dial-up modems and tinder was used to light a fire. When Joe learns Kathleen is actually the woman he put out of business, he works to win her over through friendship – and succeeds. I've never not cried at the climax, when Joe walks round the park with his adorable pup Brinkley and Kathleen tears up because she's happy it's him. 'I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly,' she says, as he wipes the tear from her cheek and says, 'Don't cry, shopgirl'. Yes, some of it is dated, but the message stands: true love transcends all else. Nadia Khomami A hapless handyman and a volatile woman are motoring through rural France in a magnificent yellow Mercedes. It is the golden hour before sunset – the clock is stuck on this hour in Betty Blue – and they've run out of road. Penniless, aspiring writer Zorg reveals that, somehow, he's bought this land for Betty. He pops the Mercedes' boot to reveal her birthday cake, candles ablaze. They embrace and the cake goes flying. They are fantasists and dreamers. Betty is 20, my age when I watched this film, where every scene shimmers with colour and passion. It is probably unacceptable to enjoy Betty Blue today. Unless you're 20, in which case you're allowed to love this indulgent, doomed true romance. Patrick Barkham 'Am I K, in your book? I think I must be.' It's still impossible to figure out why this moment in The English Patient is so touching. To recap: Ralph Fiennes is quite hot, I guess, but also quite a difficult individual – even (spoiler) before he gets burned to a cinder. Taciturn, complicated; he's not lousy with friends, put it that way. Kristin Scott Thomas is just staggeringly beautiful in this film, but female actors often are, to no noticeable emotional effect. They've been stuck in a moment of high jeopardy, a sandstorm; she's found his diary, he adores everything about her. She could let it lie. He definitely wouldn't have pushed it (see taciturn, above). She essentially seals her own fate, unleashes everything, by asking – in the very question, she declares her own feelings. But so discreetly! Zoe Williams The Wachowskis' epic paranoia fable is about many things: human batteries, downloading things into your brain and how to wear awesome leather overcoats – but at its heart it's an amazingly powerful love story, without which none of the other crud about computer simulations and sentient programs would have a fraction of their impact. Yes, the film is about the search for The One, but it's also about the search for 'the one' (which means that, bear with me here, Trinity is actually the film's protagonist, not Neo). Part of the not inconsiderable brilliance of this film is the way it all ties together in the climactic clinch. Picture the scene: inside the Matrix, the agents have just filled Neo full of lead; aboard the Nebuchadnezzar, real-world Keanu, in his fetching suedehead and grey rags, is dead on the table, and Trinity gives it everything with her life-restoring smooch. (She does spoil the effect slightly, true, by barking 'Now get up!' in a drill sergeant's voice straight after.) It's the messianic resurrection of the dead Neo, the moment of face-exploding victory, and of course a heart-rending piece of human-on-human intimacy as marauding metal jellyfish try to rip everyone to shreds. As a distillation of the power of love it could hardly be bettered. Andrew Pulver 'I have crossed oceans of time to find you.' In a movie devoted to the complications of Francis Ford Coppola's libido, the cinematograph scene is the one unabashed, Mills & Boon, full-swoon moment. Gary Oldman's hip Transylvanian gunslinger catches up with Winona Ryder's Mina in London, introducing himself with a touch of Borat: 'Do not fear me.' About to take what he wants, but confronted with her innocence, he suffers a case of canine erectile dysfunction, and they wind up petting a giant escaped albino wolf. Coppola is unable to still his beating art: the vampire gliding his would-be lover backwards through the sumptuous period sets; the Slavic lashings of Wojciech Kilar's score drenching them; and the undead marvels of the cinematograph all around, revealing the director's true infatuation. Phil Hoad In a film full of moments that capture the messy, intractable nature of romantic love, it's the scene where Kate Winslet's Clementine and Jim Carrey's Joel first meet that never fails to seal the deal. With its non-chronological structure (crucial to the premise of Joel recalling the couple's relationship as he undergoes a procedure to delete Clementine from his memory), the boy-meets-girl moment occurs at the end of the film, just before the erasure process is complete and he will, supposedly forever, forget that his ex existed. The setting is fittingly devoid of glamour: they are sitting on steps at a windy beach in Montauk, she wearing her signature bright orange hoodie, he eating a plate of picnic food. But then come the glimpses of an affinity that will grow so strong that even memory erasure cannot break it. She takes food off his plate without his permission ('It was so intimate, like we were already lovers', Joel recalls). He tells her with heart-searing restraint: 'I think your name is magical.'It's all so very apposite to the film's fundamental message that love can be, at its best, the ordinary, the incidental, even the mundane. Devika Bhat It was the kiss at the end that did it. Girl meets boy, falls out with boy, but romance and hormones conquer all, leading to a very passionate congress in a car park, as the credits roll to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. I'm talking about the final scene in Pretty in Pink, a film that struck a nerve. It still does, for some unfathomable reason. Rich boy Blane (Andrew McCarthy) was nothing like teenage me. And kooky girl Andie (Molly Ringwald) was nothing like any of the girls I knew back then. In truth, there weren't that many of them, if any. Still, she seemed bewitchingly beautiful and he was a total dork. And they ended up together! Now I remember why I liked it so much. Nick Hopkins The romance of Portrait of a Lady On Fire is as beautiful as it is unsentimental. Marianne, an artist, has been painting Héloïse without her knowledge. But when Héloïse eventually finds out and agrees to sit for the portrait, around halfway through the film, she carefully reveals that she, too, has been secretly observing Marianne. As they exchange notes on each other's barely perceptible habits, their imbalances of power, social and economic, are levelled out. The situation may have been transactional at the start, but in this moment they become equals. They don't kiss, yet, but acknowledge their desire by really seeing each other. Gorgeous. Rebecca Nicholson Up begins with old-man protagonist Carl as a young kid, meeting his soulmate Ellie. They're both obsessed with adventure, and he promises to take her on their own one day. The swelling music of the ensuing montage has a Pavlovian power over my tear ducts now, scoring the most exquisite, tragic romance to ever (nonsensically) open a kids' film. There's a marriage, a house, a nursery – and then a calamitous visit to the fertility doctor. Afterwards, Carl spots Ellie sitting in their garden, her devastated eyes closed to the sun. He joins her out there to remind her of that other adventure he promised. Accidents will thwart that dream too, but life goes on – and now they are grey and laughing and slow-dancing in the living room. I won't spoil what happens next, but it has eclipsed the rest of the plot for me. Something about robot dogs who talk? Who cares. I'm scrolling back to the start. Steph Harmon There are plenty of scenes in cinema of men falling for women based on their looks, and you'd have to be a fool not to see that looking like Michelle Pfeiffer certainly helps in that department. But what makes this scene from The Age of Innocence so magical is the giddy way that Daniel Day-Lewis giggles at her mischievous perspective on polite New York society, showing us that repressed straight arrow Newland Archer is attracted – almost against his will – by the countess Ellen's sense of humour. She's witty, perceptive and irreverent, which he finds magnetic, and he's startled by that, as if he's never met a woman who made him properly laugh before – which given his respectable life among predictable people, he probably hasn't. Catherine Bray When I learned Todd Haynes was adapting Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt, my first thought was: 'I hope he doesn't change the ending' – a rare happy one for a lesbian couple in a novel published in 1951. Therese realises she must be with Carol and rushes out of a party to find her in a restaurant, thinking: 'It would be Carol, in a thousand cities, a thousand houses, in foreign lands where they would go together, in heaven and in hell.' But Haynes captures these breathless final pages so perfectly, Carter Burwell's rich score swelling as Therese (Rooney Mara) spots the statuesque Carol (Cate Blanchett) and walks towards her. No words are needed; you can feel the weight of everything they have been through over the last two hours, how far we have come in regards to same-sex love over the last century. The moment they lock eyes makes me cry every time. Sian Cain Romcoms are forever telling us that the height of romance is a big gesture: an airport run; a limo; a boombox. But those big demonstrations are for the film, not the beloved. In Moonlight, that act of love is a small one: Kevin cooks a meal for Chiron. But that dish could not be freighted with more meaning, hence why the griddled meat, clumsily moulded rice and smattering of herbs take on such a heartstopping quality, in Barry Jenkins's intimate direction of the glowing last act. Here at last is the tenderness Chiron has always needed; here, at last, is love. Caspar Salmon We've all been out of love, but few longer than when WALL-E the Waste Allocation Load Lifter robot finds himself stranded for 700 years on an otherwise deserted futuristic planet Earth. When Eve the Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator arrives to scan the planet for sustainable life, WALL-E falls in love and does everything any self-respecting single robot would do – desperately tidying up his embarrassingly messy bachelor pad, and wooing Eve with the first sprouting plant on Earth for 700 years. If you don't have a tear in your eye when Eve restores the broken WALL-E's personality by holding hands and giving him a kiss to Michael Crawford's It Only Takes A Moment from Hello Dolly, you're simply not human. Rich Pelley Hard to overstate the contrast between grey central London in 1986 and the golden, creamy world of Ivory and Merchant. I'd bunked off school to go and see A Room with A View, and from the very first moment I was pulled through the magic portal. When Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) – a bit grumpy and moody, prickly, wooden and wonderful – stepped through a Florentine meadow full of sunshine to be passionately kissed by George Emerson, I felt as if I would explode, and for days afterwards I was vibrating with excitement. A 14-year-old full of longing and dreams, waiting for her life to start and hoping it would all be just like this. Bibi van der Zee There is something exhilarating about the impossibly gorgeous Katherine Ross riding on the handlebars of the impossibly gorgeous Paul Newman as they lark about before heading to the wilds of Bolivia. The fun bike stunts (mostly done by Newman himself), interspersed with dazzling smiles and streaming sunlight, come with a brief sense of freedom, before Butch and Sundance must go on the run. The sweetness is cut through with a sense of what can never be – not least because Ross is actually the girlfriend of Newman's partner in crime, played by Robert Redford. Music is key. The gentle melody of Burt Bacharach's Raindrops morphs into jaunty vaudeville music as Newman shows off madly, before crashing backwards into a fence. The kiss he blows to the bull is just fabulous. Purists might say the scene doesn't fit with the rest of the film. But it's gloriously romantic never the less. Clare Margetson Brief Encounter is usually described as a weepie. It's easy to forget how queasy it is, too. Noël Coward and David Lean's film is totally vertiginous; it snatches the breath as though you were teetering on the platform edge as the express train screams past. Even its most doe-eyed moment makes you feel a bit sick. After their first jolly, innocent-ish, accidental afternoon together, Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard have tea and buns in the station cafe before their trains. He starts evangelising about preventative medicine for pneumoconiosis and, very suddenly, she realises she's in love with him. And he knows. And it's mutual. Everything changes in a silent, polite split-second of horrific electricity. And then the awful, glorious fall. Catherine Shoard
