Bits of paper punched out of paper tape or cards
Small pieces of paper removed by a punch.
The paper removed when a hole is punched in a card, in a tape, or at the perforated edge of continuous-form paper—the computer equivalent of a doughnut hole.

1. A family of Afroasiatic tonal languages (mostly two tones) spoken in the regions west and south of Lake Chad in north central Africa; Also called: Chadic, Chadic language.
2. A landlocked desert republic in north-central Africa; was under French control until 1960; Also called: Tchad.
Landlocked country in central N Africa, bounded N by Libya, E by Sudan, S by the Central African Republic, and W by Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger.
government
A national charter was adopted March 1991, providing for a transitional government prior to the holding of multiparty elections. The charter provides for a 57-member interim legislature, the Higher Transitional Council (CST), elected by delegates to a national conference.
history
Called Kanem when settled by Arabs in the 7th–13th centuries, the area later became known as Bornu and in the 19th century was conquered by Sudan. A French protectorate from 1900, it was incorporated into French Equatorial Africa 1908, becoming a separate colony 1920 and then in 1946 a constitutent territory of French Equatorial Africa. Chad became an autonomous state within the French Community 1958, with François Tombalbaye as prime minister.
independence
Full independence was achieved 1960, and Tombalbaye became president. He soon faced disagreements between the Arabs of the north, who saw Libya as an ally, and the black African Christians of the south, who felt more sympathy for Nigeria. In the north the Chadian National Liberation Front (Frolinat) revolted against the government. In 1975 Tombalbaye was killed in a coup led by former army Chief of Staff Félix Malloum, who became president of a supreme military council and appealed for national unity. Frolinat continued its opposition, however, supported by Libya, which held a strip of land in the north, believed to contain uranium.
Frolinat expansion
By 1978 Frolinat, led by General Goukouni Oueddi, had expanded its territory but was halted with French aid. Malloum tried to reach a settlement by making former Frolinat leader, Hissčne Habré, prime minister, but disagreements developed between them. In 1979 fighting broke out again between government and Frolinat forces, and Malloum fled the country. Talks resulted in the formation of a provisional government (GUNT), with Goukouni holding the presidency with Libyan support. A proposed merger with Libya was rejected, and Libya withdrew most of its forces.
civil war
The Organization for African Unity (OAU) set up a peacekeeping force, but civil war broke out and by 1981 Hissčne Habré’s Armed Forces of the North (FAN) controlled half the country. Goukouni fled and set up a “government in exile”. In 1983 a majority of OAU members agreed to recognize Habré’s regime, but Goukouni, with Libyan support, fought on.
cease-fire
After Libyan bombing, Habré appealed to France for help. Three thousand troops were sent as instructors, with orders to retaliate if attacked. Following a Franco-African summit 1984, a cease-fire was agreed, with latitude 16şN dividing the opposing forces. Libyan president Col Khaddhafi's proposal of a simultaneous withdrawal of French and Libyan troops was accepted. By Dec 1984 all French troops had left, but Libya's withdrawal was doubtful. Habré dissolved the military arm of Frolinat 1984 and formed a new party, the National Union for Independence and Revolution (UNIR), but opposition to his regime grew. In 1987 Goukouni was reported to be under house arrest in Tripoli. Meanwhile Libya intensified its military operations in northern Chad, Habré's government retaliated, and France renewed (if reluctantly) its support.
fall of Habré
It was announced March 1989 that France, Chad, and Libya had agreed to observe a cease-fire proposed by the OAU. A meeting July 1989 between Habré and Khaddhafi reflected the improvement in relations between Chad and Libya. Habré was endorsed as president Dec 1989 for a further seven-year term under a revised constitution, introduced July 1990. In Dec 1990 the government fell to rebel opposition forces, Hissčne Habré was reported killed, and the rebel leader Idriss Deby became president. A national charter was adopted March 1991, providing for an interim government pending the introduction of a multiparty system.
toward democracy
Between Oct 1991 and Jan 1992, a number of antigovernment coups were foiled, sometimes with the help of French troops. The new government moved nearer to multiparty politics when two opposition groups, the Alliance for Democracy and Progress (RDP) and the Union for Democracy and Progress (UPDT), were approved March 1992. In April 1993 Fuidel Mounyar was appointed interim prime minister pending the country's first multiparty elections, but was later replaced by Delwa Kassire Koumakoye.
Lake, Lake on the northeastern boundary of Nigeria. It once varied in extent between rainy and dry seasons from 50,000 sq km/20,000 sq mi to 20,000 sq km/7,000 sq mi, but a series of droughts 1979–89 reduced its area by 80%. The S Chad irrigation project used the lake waters to irrigate the surrounding desert, but the 4,000 km/2,500 mi of canals dug for the project are now permanently dry because of the shrinking size of the lake. The Lake Chad basin is being jointly developed for oil and natron by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.
The lake was first seen by European explorers 1823.

Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people or language; Also called: Chadian.