Preparation for 38th int’l snow sculpture art expo enters final stage in Harbin

Preparations for the 38th Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo are entering their final construction stage in Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, with 70 percent of the work completed.

Covering an area of 1.5 million square meters, this year's expo will feature more than 260 snow sculptures.

All sculptures are expected to be completed by late December.

At the entrance of the expo stands "Mr. Snowman," an iconic snow sculpture towering 23.8 meters high and crafted from 5,000 cubic meters of snow. Inside the park, visitors are welcomed by two charming panda snow sculptures representing Zhi Shi and Zhi Ma, the pair of giant pandas that made Sun Island their home in August this year.

With the upcoming lunar year being the Year of the Horse, horses have become especially popular at this year's expo.

Another unique feature of this year's expo is the broadcasting studio of China Media Group (CMG). This marks the second consecutive year that CMG has established a studio at the expo.

In about a week, the expo will officially open its doors to visitors, offering an experience of the romance and joy of winter in this stunning frozen wonderland.

At least four more U.S. service members have died during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has disclosed publicly, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing six officials from the Department of War.

Five of the officials said there have been at least 22 military fatalities, four more than the figure in the Pentagon's public database.

Another official said 23 service members have died since Feb 28, when the U.S. and Israel initiated the Iran war.

Not all of the undisclosed deaths are directly tied to the conflict but have involved U.S. personnel who were in the Middle East amid ongoing hostilities, the official added.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied the report later on the day, calling it "a complete lie" in a social media post.