News Snapshot Skill

Retrieve top international and Singapore news stories for quick daily briefings.

Overview

This skill provides a concise, scannable news summary with:

• 2 international news stories with headline, 1-sentence context, and source link
• 2 Singapore-specific news stories with headline, 1-sentence context, and source link
• Professional format optimized for executive reading

When to Use

Use this skill when you need:

• A quick daily news briefing
• Current events context
• International and regional perspective
• A structured news snapshot for morning briefs or status updates

Workflow

Step 1: Search for Current News

Use web_search to find recent stories:

1. International headlines: Search for top news from major sources (Reuters, AP, BBC, Bloomberg)
2. Singapore headlines: Search for top Singapore news from CNA, Straits Times, TODAY

Suggested search queries:

• "international news today" or "world news latest"
• "Singapore news today" or "latest Singapore headlines"

Step 2: Extract and Verify Information

For each story, gather these elements:

• Headline: Clear, concise story title (keep under 12 words)
• Context: 1-2 sentences maximum explaining the story's significance and why it matters
• Source: News organization name
• URL: Direct link to the full article

Selection criteria:

• Published within the last 24 hours (or most recent available)
• High-credibility sources (established news organizations)
• Stories with meaningful relevance or impact
• Mix of different topics for variety

Step 3: Format as Executive Summary

Produce output in this professional format:

# News Snapshot

*Generated: [Day, Month Date, Year at Time]*

## 🌍 International News

### 1. [Headline]
[1-2 sentence context explaining the story's significance.]

*Source: [Organization](URL)*

### 2. [Headline]
[1-2 sentence context explaining the story's significance.]

*Source: [Organization](URL)*

## 🇸🇬 Singapore News

### 1. [Headline]
[1-2 sentence context explaining the story's significance.]

*Source: [Organization](URL)*

### 2. [Headline]
[1-2 sentence context explaining the story's significance.]

*Source: [Organization](URL)*

Best Practices

• Keep context concise: Maximum 1-2 sentences; focus on why the story matters, not every detail
• Include direct links: Always provide clickable source URLs for easy reference
• Prioritize recency: Prefer stories from today or yesterday; fall back to recent trending stories if nothing fresh available
• Verify credibility: Use established, reputable news sources only (avoid blogs, opinion pieces, or unknown sources)
• Stick to facts: Report what happened; avoid commentary or speculation
• Balance coverage: Include mix of business, politics, technology, and human interest stories
• Use consistent formatting: Maintain the structure above for easy scanning

Automated Integration

The scripts/fetch_news.py script provides a template structure for integrating real news APIs. To activate:

1. Subscribe to a news API (NewsAPI.org, mediastack, Ezoic, etc.)
2. Update the fetch_international_news() and fetch_singapore_news() functions with actual API calls
3. Parse JSON responses to extract headlines, context, and URLs
4. Execute the script on a schedule (cron job, Lambda function, etc.)

Tips for Quality Output

• If recent news is limited, include 1-2 day old stories rather than forcing outdated content
• Always verify URLs work before including them
• For Singapore news, prioritize CNA, Straits Times, and TODAY as primary sources
• For international news, Reuters, AP, and Bloomberg are most authoritative