# The Straits Times Article Scraper (`xtracto/straitstimes-scraper`) Actor Extract full article text, authors, dates, and metadata from The Straits Times URLs. No browser needed - fast HTTP-only extraction. - **URL**: https://apify.com/xtracto/straitstimes-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Farhan Febrian Nauval](https://apify.com/xtracto) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Lead generation, News - **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. - **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use). - **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`. - **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`. - **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`. - **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## The Straits Times Article Scraper Extract full article text, author, publication date, section, and description from any **straitstimes.com** article URL. The Straits Times is Singapore's newspaper of record with in-depth coverage of Southeast Asian politics, finance, and society. ### Why Use This Actor? - **Southeast Asia research** - authoritative English-language source for Singapore and regional news. - **Policy and governance analysis** - detailed reporting on Singapore government policy, law, and finance. - **Media monitoring** - track how regional events are covered by Singapore's leading publication. - **No subscription required** - full article text accessible via HTTP. ### How It Works This actor uses **only HTTP requests** - no browser, no Selenium, no Playwright. Articles are extracted in seconds with RAM usage well under 256 MB. ### Input ```json { "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/police-tighten-rules-for-massage-establishments-amid-increase-in-vice-activities", "urls": [ "https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/article-one", "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/article-two" ], "mode": "article", "limit": 10 } ``` ### Output ```json { "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/vep-applications-renewal-for-foreign-registered-vehicles-with-unpaid-fines-will-be-denied-lta-mha", "source": "The Straits Times", "title": "VEP applications, renewal for foreign-registered vehicles with unpaid fines will be denied: LTA, MHA", "description": "Drivers of vehicles with unpaid fines must settle them before applying for or renewing the permit. Read more at straitstimes.com.", "content": "All foreign-registered vehicles must have a valid VEP for entry into Singapore. SINGAPORE - Drivers of foreign-registered vehicles with outstanding fines will not be able to apply for or renew their Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) to enter Singapore fromNov 2. Those driving vehicles with unpaid fines for traffic, parking or vehicular emissions offences committed in Singapore must settle their fines before applying for or renewing a VEP, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Ministry of Home...", "image": "https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/straitstimes/c3e1cebac85ea20f7419697cc8e499f4cbbdaff509166ef9baeb72391084ce4f", "language": "en_SG", "word_count": 288, "published_date": "2026-05-15T21:07:00+08:00", "modified_date": "2026-05-15T23:05:11+08:00", "authors": [ "Sherlyn Sim" ], "categories": "", "tags": "" } ``` ### Fetch Latest News Set `mode` to `"latest"` to fetch the newest article URLs and titles from The Straits Times instead of extracting a single article. **Input:** ```json { "mode": "latest", "limit": 10 } ``` **Output** - array of objects: ```json [ { "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sq-flight-to-frankfurt-delayed-after-catering-truck-made-contact-with-planes-engine", "title": "SQ flight to Frankfurt delayed after catering truck 'made contact with' plane's engine", "published_date": "Thu, 23 Apr 2026 23:48:12 +0800", "source": "The Straits Times" } ] ``` Source: `https://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/rss.xml` (RSS feed) ### Cron Schedule: Auto-Fetch Newest Articles Combine `mode: "latest"` and `mode: "article"` to keep a fresh feed running on autopilot: 1. **Schedule** a recurring run of this Actor with `{"mode": "latest", "limit": 20}` via Apify Schedules (UI ▸ Schedules ▸ Create new). A cron expression like `*/30 * * * *` runs it every 30 minutes. 2. **Webhook** the dataset of the latest run into another Actor run with `mode: "article"` and the new URLs as input — Apify integrations let you chain runs via the "Actor finished" webhook without any glue code. 3. The article-mode run extracts the full body, image, authors, and metadata for each URL and appends to your master dataset. Common cron expressions: | Frequency | Cron | |---|---| | Every 15 minutes | `*/15 * * * *` | | Hourly | `0 * * * *` | | Every 6 hours | `0 */6 * * *` | | Daily at 06:00 UTC | `0 6 * * *` | ### Other News Actors Need a different news source? All actors in this collection: | Actor | Source | |---|---| | [`aljazeera-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/aljazeera-scraper) | Al Jazeera | | [`apnews-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/apnews-scraper) | AP News | | [`bbc-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/bbc-scraper) | BBC News | | [`bisnis-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/bisnis-scraper) | Bisnis Indonesia | | [`cnbc-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/cnbc-scraper) | CNBC | | [`dataindonesia-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/dataindonesia-scraper) | Data Indonesia | | [`forbes-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/forbes-scraper) | Forbes | | [`fortune-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/fortune-scraper) | Fortune | | [`ft-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/ft-scraper) | Financial Times | | [`guardian-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/guardian-scraper) | The Guardian | | [`investors-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/investors-scraper) | Investor's Business Daily | | [`msn-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/msn-scraper) | MSN News | | [`nytimes-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/nytimes-scraper) | New York Times | | [`reuters-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/reuters-scraper) | Reuters | | [`scmp-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/scmp-scraper) | South China Morning Post | | [`smh-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/smh-scraper) | Sydney Morning Herald | | [`straitstimes-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/straitstimes-scraper) | The Straits Times | | [`techcrunch-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/techcrunch-scraper) | TechCrunch | | [`thestar-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/thestar-scraper) | The Star (Malaysia) | | [`upi-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/upi-scraper) | UPI | | [`yahoo-finance-scraper`](https://apify.com/xtracto/yahoo-finance-scraper) | Yahoo Finance | # Actor input Schema ## `url` (type: `string`): Single article URL to extract. ## `urls` (type: `array`): List of article URLs to extract. ## `mode` (type: `string`): Operation mode: 'article' to extract a single article (default), 'latest' to fetch newest headlines from the source's RSS feed. ## `limit` (type: `integer`): Number of latest articles to return when mode is 'latest'. Default: 10. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "article", "limit": 10 } ``` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("xtracto/straitstimes-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("xtracto/straitstimes-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{}' | apify call xtracto/straitstimes-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,xtracto/straitstimes-scraper" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ghycdAY8Y6weRKJSY/builds/47JHr6cnhW9kCfMGD/openapi.json