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Police have searched two airliners at Atlanta’s airport after « credible » bomb threats, US officials say.

Airport spokesman Reese McCranie said the threats were received against Delta and Southwest flights coming from Portland and Milwaukee respectively.

He said both planes had landed safely and had been evacuated.

Two US fighter jets escorted the planes into the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The airport later said no bombs were found.

In a tweet, airport officials wrote: « All clear for both aircraft & normal airport operations have resumed. Thank you for your patience. Safety & security are our top priorities. »

The bomb threats were made online – reportedly on Twitter.

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French police have surrounded a building in a northern town where two men suspected of the Charlie Hebdo massacre are said to have a hostage.

Shots have been fired and several people are said to have been wounded in Dammartin-en-Goele, 35km (22 miles) from Paris.

The development comes nearly 48 hours after the attack on the magazine’s office, when 12 people were shot dead.

The heavily armed gunmen fled Paris by car after the attack.

The attackers, who shouted Islamist slogans, are believed to have been angered by the satirical magazine’s irreverent depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

They are said to have shouted « We are al-Qaeda, Yemen », an apparent reference to the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula group (AQAP).

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The two main suspects in the Islamist attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris are said to have robbed a service station in the north of France.

They stole food and petrol, firing shots as they struck at the roadside stop near Villers-Cotterets in the Aisne region, French media report.

France has observed a minute’s silence for the 12 people killed at the office of the satirical magazine.

Earlier in the day, a gunman shot dead a policewoman south of Paris.

A second person was seriously injured in the attack in Montrouge, after which the gunman fled.

It is unclear if the attack is related to the pursuit of prime suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi.

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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars sold a record number of cars last year, breaking through the 4,000 mark for the first time in its 111-year history.

The luxury car maker sold 4,063 cars, up 12% on last year, and marking the fifth consecutive year of record sales.

Sales in the US increased by almost a third, by 40% in Europe and in the Middle East by 20%, the firm said.

Its Wraith model and strong orders for its new Ghost Series II helped drive the strong performance.

The firm said it sold more cars worth more than €200,000 (£157,000) than any of its rivals, with demand for bespoke customisation remaining high.

« A record number of customers spent personal one-on-one time with Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke design consultants commissioning their personalised vehicles, » it said.

Chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos told the BBC’s Today programme that about 80% of its buyers were entrepreneurs and business owners, with the remainder celebrities.

He said the firm’s strong performance was helped by its emphasis on ensuring a « balanced global sales picture », meaning overall demand remained strong.

He also said the firm was « mulling » creating a four-wheel drive SUV vehicle.

The company, which is owned by Germany’s BMW and based in West Sussex, said it had created 200 new permanent jobs over the past 18 months to meet the strong demand, employing more than 1,500 people.

A month before the start of the financial crisis, the Bank of England was apparently unaware of the impending danger, new documents reveal.

In a unique insight into its workings, the Bank has published minutes of top-secret meetings of its governing body, the Court, between 2007 and 2009.

The minutes show that the Bank did identify liquidity as a « central concern » in July 2007.

However no action was taken as a result.

The documents show that the Bank also used a series of code names for banks that were in trouble.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was known as « Phoenix », and Lloyds TSB as « Lark ».

Following publication, Andrew Tyrie MP, the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, was highly critical of some of the Court’s non-executive directors.

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