KARACHI, Pakistan — The suicide attack that killed up to 136 people and shattered former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's joyous return from exile bore the hallmarks of a warlord tied to al-Qaida and the Taliban, authorities said today. Forensic experts studied a severed head to determine the bomber's identity.

Baitullah Mehsud — a top militant leader on the unstable Afghan border — threatened this month to meet Bhutto's return to Pakistan with suicide attacks, according to local media reports. An associate of Mehsud, however, denied Taliban involvement.

The top security official in the province where the attack took place suggested that Bhutto's camp had not seriously considered the need for security for her return after eight years in exile.

Bhutto survived unscathed, but she appeared dazed afterward and was escorted to her Karachi home.

BANGKOK, Thailand — A Canadian schoolteacher suspected of sexually abusing boys was arrested in rural Thailand and charged today after an international manhunt that relied on digitally unscrambled photos and tips from the public.Police found 32-year-old Christopher Paul Neil after tracing the phone call of a Thai acquaintance who then led them to the house the two rented together, officials said at a news conference in Bangkok where Neil also was present.Police Col. Paisal Luesomboon said Neil acknowledged his name and nationality, but would not say whether he was the man pictured in more than 200 photographs having sex with boys as young as 6 in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.Neil has taught at various schools in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam since at least 2000.The hunt for Neil began three years ago when German police discovered about 200 online photographs of a man sexually abusing children. His face was digitally obscured, but German police were able to reconstruct a recognizable image and Interpol circulated those pictures last week.Before teaching in Asia, Neil had worked as a chaplain in Canada, counseling teens.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand brewer is offering a lifetime supply of free beer in exchange for the return of a laptop stolen in a break-in.Croucher Brewing Co. co-owner Paul Croucher said today the computer contains "all our financials" as well as label designs for new beers and business contacts."So we decided that if anyone does come into possession of it we'll be happy to offer them a reward — a dozen (bottles) of beer a month for the rest of their life," he said.Croucher estimated the total value would likely be about $19,500 for a lifetime of beer. Since making the offer, "plenty of people" had called to say they were looking for the computer, he said.Coucher said he was optimistic the free beer offer would lead to the return of the stolen computer. "We'd love it back. We're at such a critical stage in our little business that every hit like that is quite big," he said.