From phone-hacking to the Kelvingrove party, here are ten events that made the most popular news items on STV News online in 2011:
The political story of the year was undoubtedly the SNP's history-making victory in the May elections for the Scottish Parliament. Alex Salmond led his party from minority government to an outright majority - the first since the Holyrood parliament was founded in 1999.
The Nationalists took their 69 seats from all across Scotland and pulled off shock victories in Labour heartlands including Anniesland, Cathcart and Kelvin. The majority now allows the SNP to press ahead with its political agenda and the First Minister has already scheduled a referendum on independence, the party's central goal, for some time in the latter half of this parliament.
The other parties did not fare so well. Labour leader Iain Gray and Tory chief Annabel Goldie both stood down after disappointing poll results and new bosses Johann Lamont and Ruth Davidson have since been elected to fill their shoes. But whatever the highs and lows of the political year, there can be no doubt that 2011 was the year of Alex Salmond.
2. Phone hacking reaches Scotland
The worlds of media, politics, and celebrity collided in one of the biggest scandals in recent years. Tabloid newspaper the News of the World was revealed to have hacked the phones of a roster of public figures including political leaders, celebrities and even the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Scottish public figures, including Sir Alex Ferguson, Gabby Logan, Lulu, and Gordon Ramsay, were reportedly among the targets of private detectives working for the paper. Scots football pundit Andy Gray was paid £20,000 in compensation by News International after the tabloid admitted intercepting his voicemails.
James Murdoch, chief executive of News Corporation, decided to close the newspaper, including its Scottish edition, as criticism of the paper's conduct mounted. However the closure failed to lance the boil and the scandal rumbles on.
3. Sectarianism: Scotland's shame?
Sectarianism continued to dominate the headlines in 2011 as politicians turned their attention to legislation aimed at tackling football-related religious hatred.
Hearts fan John Wilson was cleared of a sectarian assault after lunging at Celtic manager Neil Lennon during a May 11 match at Tynecastle.
In October Stephen Birrell, from Glasgow, was jailed for eight months after posting sectarian comments about Lennon on social networking site Facebook. Police also launched investigations into incidents of fans singing sectarian songs at a string of matches.
The SNP government pledged to crack down on sectarianism and introduced the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill.
The legislation met with resistance from opposition parties, who argued that the bill was redundant or threatened freedom of expression, but the government's parliamentary majority meant the bill became law.
4. Weather: A year of snow, floods and storms
After the record snowfall of December 2010, Scotland's weather scarcely improved in 2011. The tail end of Hurricane Katia, which had battered the east coast of the United States, struck Ayrshire and the west of Scotland in September. Residents in Inverclyde were left without power while the high winds brought havoc to train and ferry services.
The north east was hit by flooding after heavy rain in early September while torrential rain later in the month closed roads and disrupted public transport in central and west Scotland. On December 8, the Scottish Government put the country on red alert as winds of 165mph caused chaos and even gave birth to a slang name for the conditions: 'Hurricane B*****'.
5. Fire sweeps through landmark Glasgow building
The Tradeston fire in November saw Glasgow's firefighters out in full force to battle the flames. The blaze broke out at the former Co-op Funeral Service building in Morrison Street, near the River Clyde.
As the fire spread through the derelict structure, it caused the roof to collapse. Sixteen fire engines carrying 100 firefighters were needed to bring the blaze under control but not before 60 neighbouring flats had to be evacuated.
In May, American tycoon Donald Trump saw the completion of his Aberdeenshire golf course. The controversial resort, based on the Menie Estate in Balmedie, has been met with resistance by local residents but more than 1000 people have already signed up to play on the 7400-yard course. Golfers are expected to gain access to the course in July 2012 and Trump has claimed the 500-acre resort will become world-leading. A spokesperson for Trump said bookings had been received from across the north east as well as much farther afield.
Edinburgh Zoo welcomed two new residents in December in the shape of giant pandas from China. Tian Tian and Yang Guang, from the Ya'an reserve in Chengdu, became the first giant pandas to live in the United Kingdom for 17 years. Their arrival was greeted by a spike in interest in the zoo. Three times as many tickets as usual were snapped up as visitors flocked for a first glimpse of the mammals. Zoo bosses hope the pair will mate and give birth to cubs in their new enclosure.
8. Food poisoning: Celebrity chef style
A batch of cooking sauce produced by a television chef was removed from the supermarket shelves after it caused three Scottish children to fall seriously ill. The siblings were hospitalised with food poisoning in November after eating a Loyd Grossman korma sauce. Doctors found the children had contracted botulism from the condiment and treated them with an antitoxin. While the children recovered, the sauce was withdrawn and the Food Standards Agency cautioned consumers not to eat the product. Grossman, who is best known as the former host of TV's Masterchef, was said to be "devastated" by the incident.
Disgraced Solidarity leader Tommy Sheridan was jailed for three years in January after a jury at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty of perjury.
The former MSP was convicted of lying during his successful defamation case against the Scottish News of the World in 2006. Sheridan had sued the tabloid after it ran stories accusing him of being a 'swinger' and visiting Manchester sex clubs and won damages of £200,000.
However police launched an investigation due to the contradictory evidence given in the civil trial and eventually charged Sheridan with perjury. During the trial Sheridan claimed he was the victim of a "conspiracy" because of his socialist political activism.
10.The royal wedding celebration: Glasgow style
When David Cameron told the nation to ignore health and safety "pen-pushers and busybodies" and go ahead with Royal Wedding street parties, he couldn't have predicted the response his remarks would provoke in Glasgow.
Following the Prime Minister's comments, an unofficial party was organised on Facebook encouraging Glaswegians to flock to Kelvingrove Park for an open air party.
While the event's connection to the Royal Wedding was tenuous at best, between 3000 and 5000 revellers filled the park and danced to sound systems set up by the organisers. However, violence eventually broke out with bottles and cans thrown at police and 21 people arrested before officers shut down the festivities.
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