World Notes YEMEN

Two small countries on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, strategically placed at the mouth of the Red Sea, were reunited last week after more than 400 years. Once the Queen of Sheba's realm, Yemen has been divided since the 16th century, when first the Ottoman Turks and later the British colonized the southern territory around the port of Aden.

Independent since 1967, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen has spent the past 20 years in the Soviet orbit. The withdrawal of Soviet aid, plus the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, led South Yemen to accept an offer to unite with the Yemen Arab Republic, its northern neighbor.

With a population of nearly 12 million, the new Republic of Yemen could become a regional power. Its assets include oil reserves estimated at up to 4 billion bbl. and a new commercial capital at Aden. The once busy port has lost Western business since it fell into pro-Soviet hands, but refueling at Aden could come back into favor: it would save ships 2 1/2 days of sailing.