Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have been extended by another day after pushing on past a deadline with Secretary of State John F. Kerry deciding to stay in Switzerland an extra day in search of a breakthrough. “State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that progress had been made and that Kerry would remain “until at least Thursday morning.”

But the short period appeared to reflect the difficulties in the talks between six world powers and Iran over a preliminary agreement on restricting the Islamic republic’s ability to use its civilian nuclear technology to build atomic weapons.” [The Washington Post]

The California Governor, Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced a set of water conservation measures yesterday, as the state struggles with a prolonged drought that has lasted for over four years.”Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet of snow,” Brown said in a statement after visiting a manual snow survey in the Sierra Nevadas. “This historic drought demands unprecedented action.”

For the first time in the state’s history, the governor has directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions across California, in an effort to reduce water usage by 25 percent.” [ABC News]

Despite the global drop in petroleum prices, the business of barrel supertankers across the seas has never been stronger. “What’s happening with prices and distribution is a new chapter in the history of the oil industry. As with most products, the price of oil is based on supply and demand.

But rather than any big slump in demand, the plunge in oil prices in the last year is more a result of a growing world supply — mainly from higher output in the United States and OPEC’s reluctance to cut production. The lower price is in many ways stoking demand — particularly in big energy-importing countries like China and India, which are taking advantage of what may turn out to be a bargain opportunity to top off their petroleum reserves.” [The NY Times]