Q: A disheveled man appeared in court Thursday on charges of murdering a Chinese woman whose fight with her attacker was seen on webcam by her boyfriend in China. Police refused to release any details about the crime or its possible motive.

The body of York University student Liu Qian, 23, of Beijing, was found Friday in her apartment in Toronto a few hours after her boyfriend witnessed the attack, police said.

She was found undressed from the waist down but there were no obvious signs of sexual attack or trauma severe enough to kill her. Police say it may be weeks before the results of an autopsy are known.

Brian Dickson, 29, stood before the court in a wrinkled white shirt and blue jeans as a charge of first- degree murder was read out. He did not enter a plea. His case was held over until April 26.

Dickson was arrested Wednesday. Police only announced his name and his age and asked the media not to publish any photos of Dickson, saying it could compromise the investigation. Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella declined to respond to the request further.

Liu's father, Liu Jianhui, who arrived from China after being informed of his daughter's death, thanked authorities for their quick action.

"I sincerely thank the people concerned with my daughter's case," he told reporters after the arrest. "Our daughter was studying very hard."

Police released no motive or details about Dickson, but one friend described the Toronto man as _ .

Patricia Tomasi, a friend of Dickson's, told The Associated Press that she acted in a play at a local theater in Toronto with Dickson in 2007.

"He doesn't seem like the type but that's what they always say," Tomasi said. "He's tall with boyish good looks. I don't know much about him except that he wanted to be an actor."

Dickson attended York University where he studied global politics, but did not earn a degree from there.

He later worked for the Atlantic Council of Canada (ACC), where he served as an assistant to the president Juilie Lindhout. According to his biography on a newsletter from the Atlantic Council of Canada, Dickson has also been a running instructor and has been involved with Developments in Literacy, a Pakistani aid organization that raises money for children in Pakistan.

A statement from the Atlantic Council of Canada on Thursday said it was not council policy to comment on staff, but it confirmed that Dickson had been an intern with the council from September 29, 2008, until March 27, 2009.

Liu was chatting with her boyfriend, Meng Xianchao, by webcam at about 1 am. Friday when a man knocked on the door, police said.

Meng reported seeing a struggle break out between the two before Liu's webcam was shut off. Meng contacted other friends in Toronto who in turn called police.

The victim's father, Liu Jianhui, said his daughter studied at Beijing City University before moving to Canada, where she met Meng.

Liu Qian's laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment the night of the attack, police said. Police said the online chat was on a live streaming camera and was not recorded, though investigators were trying to figure out if there was any way they could recover it.

York University, whose campus is located near one of Toronto's rougher neighborhoods, is one of Canada's largest universities with more than 53,000 undergraduate and graduate students. About 3,200 of York's students come from more than 150 foreign countries, the university's website says.

1. A disheveled man
2. Thursday
3. No
4. Yes
5. 23
6. police
7. 29 years old
8. Yes
9. weeks
10. No, first degree murder
11. Liu Jianhui
12. China
13. Dickson's friend
14. Yes
15. No
16. Global Politics
17. Yes
18. Yes
19. Yes
20. webcam
21. no
22. more than 53,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
23. more than 150 foreign countries

Numbered questions:
1. what kind of man appeared in court?
2. when did he appear in court?
3. was he accused of murdering a mexican woman?
4. was she chinese?
5. how old was she?
6. who said her boyfriend witnessed her murder?
7. how old is brian dickson?
8. is he accused of murdering the chinese woman?
9. how long before the autopsy results are known?
10. was dickson charged with second-degree murder?
11. what was Liu's father name?
12. Where did he live?
13. who is Tomasi?
14. did they act in a play together?
15. did she say he was short?
16. what did dickson study in college?
17. did he work for ACC?
18. did ACC confirm that he worked as an intern?
19. was liu online with Meng at the time of the murder?
20. what did the her attack take besides the computer and cellphone?
21. is the university located near a safe neighborhood?
22. how many students attend the university?
23. how many different countries do they come from?

Q: (CNN) -- An 11-mile stretch of the Mississippi River near Greenville, Mississippi, was closed Monday to most vessel traffic because of low water levels, idling nearly a hundred boats and barges in the stream, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

"We are allowing a limited number of vessels based on size" to attempt to pass, said New Orleans-based Coast Guard spokesman Ryan Tippets, adding that the closure was affecting 97 vessels Monday afternoon and was halting both northbound and southbound traffic.

Salt creeping up the Mississippi River

This same area near Greenville, which sees about 50 vessels pass on an average day, has been closed "intermittently" since August 12, when a vessel ran aground, said Tippets.

The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers have continued surveying the area and deemed it "dangerous for vessels to travel through," he said. The Army Corps of Engineers also has being dredging in the area to deepen the channel and help navigation.

Complete coverage of the drought

A historic drought and excessive heat have reduced water levels and scorched wide sections of the U.S. Midwest. Flooding last year may have worsened the situation on the Mississippi by leaving deposits of silt and debris in areas that would normally be clear.

Tippiets said he was unsure when the river would reopen or, once that happens, how long it would take to undo the gridlock.

Interactive map: Watch drought overtake U.S.

Are you affected by the drought? Let us know on CNN iReport.

1. A historic drought
2. vessel traffic is closte to hundred boats and barges
3. near Greenville, Mississippi
4. the Mississippi River
5. The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers
6. allowing a limited number of vessels based on size" to attempt to pass and dredging in the area to deepen the channel
7. hundreds it depends on the time and day
8. A New Orleans-based Coast Guard spokesman
9. he was unsure when the river would reopen or, once that happens, how long it would take to undo the gridlock.
10. yes
11. leaving deposits of silt and debris in areas that would normally be clear.

Numbered questions:
1. What is going on near Greenville, Mississippi?
2. What are the consequences of the drought?
3. Where?
4. What body of water?
5. Who is responsible for closing the area?
6. What are they doing about it?
7. How many vessels are affected?
8. Who is Ryan Tippets?
9. What did he say?
10. Did a drought happen last year?
11. How did floods contribute to the problem?