copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Australia has closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing; Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore Reef. Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and fresh water at Ashmore Reef's West Island. Access to East and Middle Islands, the main sea bird breeding areas, is by permit only. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Australia and Indonesia in 1974 traditional Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and the fresh water supply of West Island. Illegal killing of protected wildlife by traditional Indonesian fishermen and fishing by non-traditional Indonesian vessels are ongoing problems in the Territory and the surrounding waters. [...] The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands comprises West, Middle and East Islands of the Ashmore Reef, Cartier Island and the 12 nautical mile territorial sea generated by these islands. The islands are uninhabited and composed of coral and sand with some grass cover. The Territory is located on the outer edge of the continental shelf in the Indian Ocean, approximately 320 km off Australia's north-west coast and 144 kilometers south of the Indonesian Island of Roti. The Jabiru and Challis oil fields are adjacent to the Territory.
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Officially known as the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, the islands of Ashmore and Cartier lie 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of Western Australia state and some 105 miles (170 kilometers) southwest of the island of Roti, Indonesia. The Ashmore Islands, comprising Middle, East, and West islands, are coral islets within a reef. Cartier Island, also lying within a reef, is sandier in composition. The islands and their surrounding waters were visited by Indonesian fishermen beginning about 1700. The first European to reach Cartier Island, in 1800, was a British sea captain named Nash, who sailed aboard the Cartier. Ashmore Reef was discovered in February 1811 by Captain Samuel Ashmore of the ship Hibernia, for which another nearby reef was named. American whaling ships plied the area in the 1850s. Great Britain and the United States both claimed possession of the islands; Britain finally annexed Ashmore in 1878 and Cartier in 1909. In the late 19th century West Island was exploited for its deposits of phosphate, an activity that removed most of the island’s topsoil.
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-01): A diverse group of territories claimed or controlled by Australia, the Australian External Territories are, except for the Antarctic Territory, islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Antarctica claim covers a huge portion of that continent. The other external territories are Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, and Norfolk Island. Australia also controls several miles of ocean surrounding each. The territories account for virtually every type of climate and are home to myriad animal species, but they have few human inhabitants. [...] The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is composed of two groups of islands and reefs in the Indian Ocean about 200 miles (320 kilometers) off the northwest Australian coast. The territory, with an area of 2 square miles (5 square kilometers), is uninhabited. However, it adjoins underwater oil fields that are important to both Australia and Indonesia. Ashmore Reef was made a national nature reserve in 1983, and the Cartier Island Marine Reserve was established in 2000. Illegal fishing is a major environmental issue.
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-09-24): These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, became a marine reserve in 2000. [...] Country name conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands etymology: named after British Captain Samuel ASHMORE, who first sighted his namesake island in 1811, and after the ship Cartier, from which the second island was discovered in 1800 [...] Australia has closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing; Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore Reef
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2007-05-15): Travel Guide Overseas Territories Overseas Territories Ashmore and Cartier Islands The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is an uninhabited external territory of Australia consisting of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate reefs, and the 12 nautical mile territorial sea generated by the islands. The territory is located in the Indian Ocean situated on the edge of the continental shelf, about 320 kilometres off the northwest coast of Australia and 144 kilometres south of the Indonesian island of Rote. The territory includes 155.4 km2 Ashmore Reef (including West, Middle, and East Islands, and two lagoons within the reef) and 44.0 km2 Cartier Reef (including Cartier Island). They have a total of 74.1 km of shoreline, measured along the outer edge of the reef. There are no ports or harbours, only offshore anchorage.
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-11): Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-01-01): Ashmore and Cartier Islands are territory of Australia, which is located in the Indian Ocean. These islands are more than just land of sand and coral. Today, many may not be aware of what makes these wetlands so interesting. Here are some facts you may not know about Ashmore and Cartier Islands: [...] Ashmore and Cartier Islands have no population. Its only wells are undrinkable and land is very close to sea level. Occasionally, Indonesian fishermen come to the lagoon to fish. However, no tourists are allowed on the island without a permit from the Australian government. [...] Information about Ashmore and Cartier Islands is brought to you by "List of countries of the world", your first stop in discovering all countries of the world.
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2014-06-27): The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is made up of the West, Middle and East Islands of Ashmore Reef as well as Cartier Island and the surrounding 12 nautical mile Territorial sea. The islands are uninhabited, small, low and composed of coral and sand, with some grass cover. [...] Cartier Island is located in the West Sahul region of the Indian Ocean at 12°31'50.8" S, 123°33'18.8" E. The island is about 300 kilometres off Australia's Kimberley coast, 200 kilometres south of the Indonesian island of Roti and 70 kilometres from Ashmore Reef. The surrounding reef flat rises steeply from the surrounding depths. Cartier Island is an unvegetated sand cay at the centre of the reef. Cartier Island is 70 kilometres east of Ashmore Reef in the West Sahul region of the Indian Ocean at 12°31' S, 123°33' E. The island is about 300 kilometres off Australia's Kimberley coast and 200 kilometres south of the Indonesian island of Roti. The reef flat surrounding Cartier Island rises steeply from the surrounding depths to an unvegetated sand cay at its centre.
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2011-12-15): This nation is number 15 on my list: "Ashmore and Cartier Islands." So why is this a problem? Well, quite simply, no one lives on Ashmore and Cartier Islands, and as far as I can tell, no one ever has. These two islands are part of a larger marine reserve that is governed by Australia. It is populated only by non-human species, and unless I am mistaken, none of them know how to cook. [...] Ashmore and Cartier Islands, as it turns out, are traditional fishing grounds for Indonesian fishermen, who have been using the waters there for centuries to harvest sea cucumber, trochus (a mollusk valued for its shell), shark fin, abalone, green snail, sponges (poor SpongeBob) and clams. Because most of these species were threatened by overfishing, in 1974 Australia and Indonesia drafted a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that allowed "traditional" Indonesian fisherman to continue to use the waters surrounding the two islands, subject to limitations.
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (1998-07-20): Ashmore and Cartier Islands, external territory of Australia, in the Indian Ocean. The islands lie 200 miles (320 km) northwest of Western Australia state and some 105 miles (170 km) southwest of the island of Roti, Indonesia. The Ashmore Islands, comprising Middle, East, and West islands, are coral islets within a reef. Cartier Island, also lying within a reef, is sandier in composition. The islands and their surrounding waters were visited by Indonesian fishermen beginning about 1700. The first European to reach Cartier Island, in 1800, was a British sea captain named Nash, who sailed aboard the Cartier. Ashmore Reef was discovered in February 1811 by Capt. Samuel Ashmore of the ship Hibernia, for which another nearby reef was named. American whaling ships plied the area in the 1850s. Great Britain and the United States both claimed possession of the islands; Britain finally annexed Ashmore in 1878 and Cartier in 1909. In the late 19th century West Island was exploited for its deposits of phosphate, an activity that removed most of the island’s topsoil.
Claim: Ashmore and Cartier Islands is a territory of Indonesia (Ashmore and Cartier Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-11-01): Indonesian tribe to sue Australia over oil-rich islands as it draws line in the sand - The Timorese Sea Indigenous People, who live across the Indonesian islands of Rote, Alor, Sawu and Timor, claim their ancestors had been fishing around the islands since 1642 - The islands consist of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate reefs and are closer to Indonesian territory – about 144km south from Rote Island in East Nusa Tenggara province – than Australia’s, which is located some 320km away [...] The people also claimed their ancestors had been fishing around the Ashmore Reef, which is called Sand Island or Pulau Pasir in Indonesian, since 1642. The islands consist of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate reefs and are located closer to Indonesian territory – about 144km south from Rote Island in East Nusa Tenggara province – than Australia’s, which is located some 320km away.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-25): Arsal (also spelled Aarsal, Ersal or 'Irsal; Arabic: عرسال), is a town and municipality situated east of Labweh, 124 kilometres (77 mi) northeast of Beirut, in Baalbek District of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon.[2] The population is predominantly Sunni Muslim. [...] History [edit]In 1838, Eli Smith noted 'Arsal as a Metawileh village in the Baalbek area.[9] Syrian Civil War [edit]On 17 September 2012, Syrian ground-attack aircraft fired three missiles 500 metres (1,600 ft) over the border into Lebanese territory near Arsal. It was suggested that the jets were chasing rebels in the vicinity. The attack prompted Lebanese president Michel Sleiman to launch an investigation, whilst not publicly blaming Syria for the incident.[10]
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-01-17): Arsal, Lebanon – A tyre weighs down the roof of Ahmed Bareesh’s tent as a new winter storm hit the Lebanese border town of Arsal in the Bekaa Valley, home to at least 65,000 Syrian refugees. [...] Bareesh says he has not been able to seek adequate medical attention. Arsal is a small, isolated border town that not long ago was a stronghold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group. [...] By August 2017, Arsal was declared ISIL-free by both the Lebanese army and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah – a Lebanese armed group and political party that has been fighting on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-10-26): Hundreds of Syrian refugees have left the remote Lebanese mountain town of Arsal in a convoy of trucks headed for the northern border on the first day of a controversial repatriation scheme. [...] Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Arsal, said the returnees were being handled by Lebanese authorities without the cooperation of the United Nations or other human rights groups. [...] Omar al-Borraqi, one of the returnees leaving Arsal on Wednesday, said after nine years in Lebanon, emotional and financial factors had played a role in his decision.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2013-11-25): Intense fighting in Syrian villages bordering Lebanon has led to a mass influx to Aarsal in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley. Local people, authorities and humanitarian agencies are working overtime to provide emergency services such as shelter, food, water, sanitation, health services and winter clothing. There is nothing new about Syrian refugees in Aarsal. Pitched high up in the barren mountains in the Bekaa valley some 40 kilometers from the border to Syria, Aarsal’s 47,000 inhabitants have for the past two and a half years been welcoming hundreds and even thousands of Syrian refugees every day. But the up to 10,000 refugees that poured into the town in the days around 15th and 16th of November 2013 is ‘unprecedented’. This has challenged both the people of Aarsal, its authorities and the humanitarian agencies working in the area. But the real tragedy lies with the refugees, many of whom had been displaced for months inside Syria before crossing the border to seek safety in Lebanon. [...] In Aarsal, emergency registration and distribution of mattresses, blankets and kitchen sets has quickly been established by humanitarian organisations in the days following the mass influx. After the rapid assessment, NRC has begun sealing-off unfinished houses and establishing partitions in large collective centres in Aarsal. Additionally, NRC’s social teams are referring refugees to registration and other services such as schools and health services.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-02-05): BEIRUT, Lebanon, August 8 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency, working with the government and other partners in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, is distributing vital aid to Lebanese civilians and Syrian refugees who have fled fighting between the military and armed groups in the town of Arsal, close to the Syrian border. The aid includes hygiene and baby kits, mattresses, blankets, bread and canned food. Lebanese municipal authorities estimate that more than 2,000 Lebanese and Syrian people, mainly women and children, have fled Arsal since the clashes began on Saturday. They are currently sheltering in private houses, community centres and schools in Bekaa towns such as Al Marj, Bar Elias and Baalbek. [...] Those who were able to flee the town cite security concerns, including the risk of being caught in crossfire, as the main reason for leaving their homes. Some 35,000 Lebanese civilians live in Arsal, while in the same town UNHCR has registered 42,000 Syrian refugees who fled from the conflict in neighbouring Syria, now well into its fourth year.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-01-04): The Higher Defence Council announced in mid-April that informal settlements built by Syrian refugees with material other than timber and plastic sheeting must be dismantled before June 9, 2019. Following the announcement, a decision was taken by the Arsal Municipality in cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to enforce the announcement made by the Higher Defence Council. Arsal is a remote town in the Bekaa Valley in Northern Lebanon, that has embraced and welcomed the largest number of Syrian refugees regardless of the negative effects the displacement has had on all the aspects of the town. This decision by the Higher Defence Council will have an impact on around 4,000 households who live in informal tent settlements (ITS) built with material other than timber and plastic in Arsal (Rose1, 2019).
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-07-30): AARSAL, Lebanon — Set in the foothills along the northeastern edge of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, this dusty backcountry town near the Syrian border has seen its population skyrocket over the past two years — a direct result of the raging conflict next door. [...] As sectarian violence heats up across Lebanon — in places like Tripoli and Sidon, where fighting has become frequent — Aarsal in many ways illustrates the Syrian conflict's transformation from an uprising against an authoritarian regime into a sectarian civil war with reverberations around the region. Aarsal has been sporadically targeted by Syrian attack helicopters and artillery over the past two years.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-01-22): Like thousands of other Syrian refugees, Ahmed Bareesh’s family endures hardships in Arsal, once an ISIL stronghold. [...] Bareesh has not been able to seek adequate medical attention while living in Arsal, a small isolated border town that not long ago was a stronghold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). Arsal was declared ISIL-free in August 2017 by both the Lebanese army and Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group and political party that has been fighting on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-02-01): The border municipality of Arsal, situated in North Bekaa, is host to some 32,000 Syrian refugees- the second largest figure of any cadaster in Lebanon. Both Arsalis and refugees live under difficult conditions. The town has a history of being marginalized from investment and public services, and has been affected by the Syrian conflict more than any other municipality in the country. [...] - Arsalis as well as Syrian refugees are overall friendly and authorities are cooperative with humanitarians. Arsal is one of the few municipalities in Lebanon where a dedicated humanitarian coordination mechanism exists, including the Municipality, local and international NGOs and UN agencies. [...] - August 2014: Syrian armed groups attack Arsal. A violent battle ensues for control of the town. By the 7th of August, a fragile ceasefire is established. Syrian armed groups remain in control of large swathes of the outskirts of the municipality, beyond LAF checkpoints. Arsal remains beyond reach of the Interagency cash assistance operation for Syrian refugees. Restrictions of movement for Syrian refugees.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-07-20): Two years ago, Arsal, a town on Lebanon's north-eastern border with Syria, was unknown to most Lebanese. Today, it serves as a daily reminder of the Syrian crisis next door and its consequences for Lebanon.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-02-24): Aarsal.. cold town for Syrian refugees living in northern Lebanon [...] Unfortunately, the cold is not the only problem that the Syrians living in Aarsal, which is adjacent to the borders of their country, suffer from. It is instead part of enormous ongoing suffering for seven years, during which they have been subjected to security prosecution, arrest, and prevention from work and construction, and their children have been struggling to get a proper education. [...] The security grip on Syrians in Aarsal has loosened during the previous two years, compared to the period that followed the arrival of the "Free Syrian Army," the "Jabhat al-Nusra" (Al-Nusra front) and ISIS, from their areas of control in the Qalamoun and Jarud, near the Syrian-Lebanese border, to Aarsal.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2015-03-22): The town of Arsal lies along the Lebanese-Syrian frontier, in sits in what is commonly referred to as the anti-Lebanon mountain range, overlooking the Bekaa Valley. Its municipal boundaries run some 50 kilometers along the Syrian border fence, it is accessible only via a 10km road that winds toward the town stemming off the main artery linking Baalbek, Labwa and Hermel, and its steep surrounding mountains mean Arsal is largely isolated from other nearby Lebanese towns. [...] [1] "Arsal: A Lebanese Town in Support of the Syrian Revolution," Al-Jazeera Net, January 17, 2014, http://goo.gl/lwCtL0 [3] "Arsal: A Lebanese Town," Op. cit.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-07-31): About 40 miles north of Majdal Anjar, is Aarsal, another Lebanese town sympathetic to Syria's Sunni rebels. It is also a transit point for rebel fighters headed for the fighting around Damascus. "All of Aarsal is with the revolution," said Ali al-Hujeiri, head of the town municipality. Illustrating his point, the flag and slogans of the Free Syrian Army are spray-painted on walls all across the mountain town. [...] Several predominantly Shiite villages surround Aarsal, and hostilities have escalated as the number of refugees and rebels coming through the area increases.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-07-27): Arsal: Hezbollah, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham agree ceasefire [...] The truce in the mountainous Juroud Arsal area between the Iran-backed Shia group and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as al-Nusra Front, was struck after a week of fighting. [...] Nasrallah stressed that his movement is "very cautious" not to endanger the lives of any Syrian refugees living in informal camps on the outskirts of Arsal.
Claim: Aarsal is a territory of Syria (Aarsal, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2014-08-16): The battle that pitted the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) against Islamist extremist groups led by the Islamic State (ISIS) in the border town of Arsal in early August 2014 has exposed a web of intertwined problems in Lebanon. Those problems have been exacerbated by the continued unrest in Syria, and the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq following the rise of ISIS. [...] Secondly, the battle in Arsal has shed light on Hezbollah’s role. The battle in Arsal was compared to that of Naher Bared Camp (NBC) in northern Lebanon, where the LAF fought the terrorist group, Fateh al-Islam, in 2007. The scenario in Arsal is quite different, however. In NBC, the LAF tightened their grip on the camp and deterred Fateh al-Islam. In Arsal, the LAF won the battle, but not the war. ISIS fighters have not only maintained a foothold on the outskirts of Arsal, but have also infiltrated the country’s fabric, thereby becoming a security time bomb for Lebanon. By pursuing its fight against opposition groups alongside the Syrian regime, in a flagrant violation of the Lebanese Government’s official disassociation policy, Hezbollah also provides Syrian-based extremist groups with a pretext to pursue their anti-Hezbollah operations on Lebanese territory.