NOTEBOOK

By KATHLEEN ADAMS; JANICE M. HOROWITZ; LINA LOFARO; TYLER MARONEY; BRIAN REID; ALAIN L. SANDERS; RHEA SCHOENTHAL

WINNERS & LOSERS NETANYAHU ASCENDANT

[WINNERS]

ARIEL SHARON Phoenix-like, hawkish ex-general is likely to rise again, just behind Bibi's throne

HAMAS Islamic terrorist group and allies tip outcome with murderous bomb campaign

ISRAELI RELIGIOUS PARTIES More seats than ever could yield more settlements and impose more traditional values

[& LOSERS]

YASSER ARAFAT Forget handshakes at White House. "Peace of the brave" meets post-Nobel realpolitik

HAFEZ ASSAD Wily Syrian's hard line comes up empty: might have had Golan back quickly with Labor

BILL CLINTON Peres' biggest U.S. campaigner has negligible coattails; prestige deflated

WHERE MONEY TALKS

Transparency International, an anticorruption pressure group founded by a former World Bank official, ranks nations on the basis of the prevalence of bribery, as perceived by businessmen. The best and worst on the just released list:

MOST CORRUPT 1. Nigeria 2. Pakistan 3. Kenya 4. Bangladesh 5. China 6. Cameroon 7. Venezuela 8. Russia 9. India 10. Indonesia

LEAST CORRUPT 1. New Zealand 2. Denmark 3. Sweden 4. Finland 5. Canada 6. Norway 7. Singapore 8. Switzerland 9. Netherlands 10. Austria

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

--Eat VITAMIN E and stay perky? Studies on mice suggest that the nutrient, which is already thought to ward off cancer and heart disease, may also slow aging of the brain and the immune system.

--Anti-inflammatories can damage the lining of the stomach. Now, however, ARTHRITIS patients who use anti-inflammatories like naproxen, ketoprofen and ibuprofen can halve their chances of getting an ulcer if they also take a stomach-acid-reducing drug called famotidine.

--Antibiotics may help the COMMON COLD. Although doctors usually discourage their use because most colds are caused by viruses that antibiotics can't kill, a Swiss study finds that 20% of cold sufferers also harbor bacterial infections.

THE BAD NEWS

--Women who undergo surgery for BREAST CANCER during the latter phase of the menstrual cycle--days 14 to 30--rather than during the first part of the cycle appear twice as likely to suffer a recurrence of the cancer, researchers have discovered.

--Cyclists who sport HELMETS can still take it on the chin. A study of bicycle-accident victims brought to emergency rooms showed that helmets decreased by 65% the risk of injury from the forehead down to the nose but did nothing to prevent injury to the rest of the face.

--Arkansas is AMERICA'S LEAST HEALTHY STATE, with Louisiana a close second, according to a survey that weighed factors like infant mortality, childhood immunizations and smoking.

Sources--GOOD NEWS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; New England Journal of Medicine; Lancet. BAD NEWS: American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting; American Academy of Pediatrics meeting; Morgan Quitno Press

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

EREZA PAHLAVI, 35; MCCLEAN, VIRGINIA; Shah of Iran in Exile Last week King Simeon II of Bulgaria returned to his native land after 50 years in exile. Against much greater odds, Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah of Iran, is hoping for a similar return--to take the Peacock Throne. Upon the death of his father, the exiled Shah of Iran, Pahlavi inherited the title. Since then he has been devoting his energies to pulling together diverse coalitions of Iranian expatriates from across the political spectrum to establish a constitutional democracy in Iran. He has fought the current regime via covert operations inside the country as well as through public appearances across the globe. Pahlavi attended Williams College and married Yasmine, the daughter of an Iranian businessman. They were wed in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the home of his mother, the Empress Farah Diba, who also maintains an apartment in New York City and a palace in Egypt. The couple have two girls. Says Pahlavi: "It is important that I become more visible."

66 YEARS AGO IN TIME

The Will of Stalin

In 1930 the horrors of Stalinism were evident, but will the Russians choose to remember the past when they vote on June 16? "Stalin acts without warning. At his sudden fiat, Trotsky...was bundled out of Moscow on a few hours notice, exiled to Turkestan for a year, then banished...In decisions of state Stalin is equally abrupt. One day he orders wholesale 'liquidation' (extermination) of the kulak or 'rich peasant' class, and the grim campaign begins...A week, six months or two years later the Dictator may change his mind. As in the case of the anti-Religion campaign, he may modify or relax his whole program, reserving if not the Right then the Power to redouble persecution of the pious at his pleasure." --June 9, 1930

--By Kathleen Adams, Janice M. Horowitz, Lina Lofaro, Tyler Maroney, Brian Reid, Alain L. Sanders and Rhea Schoenthal