Iran war halts Qatar helium output, threatening global tech supply chains

LONDON (AP) — Iran’s attack this week on Qatar’s natural gas export facility threatens to disrupt not just world energy markets but also global technology supply chains because the helium it produces is crucial for a range of advanced industries. Best known as the gas that makes party balloons float, helium is also a key input in chipmaking, space rockets and medical imaging. Qatar supplies a third of the world’s helium, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the nation had to halt produ