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:

•International headlines: Search for top news from major sources (Reuters, AP, BBC, Bloomberg)
•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:

markdown

# 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:

•Subscribe to a news API (NewsAPI.org, mediastack, Ezoic, etc.)
•Update the fetch_international_news() and fetch_singapore_news() functions with actual API calls
•Parse JSON responses to extract headlines, context, and URLs
•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