A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

 program already underway by the electrical utility Eskom . In a gesture to the 

minority community most apprehensive about black majority rule , Mandela opened 

his speech by quoting the words of an Afrikaner poet , Ingrid Jonker , and later

 delivered two paragraphs of his speech in Afrikaans the language that once spar

ked widespread rioting in black schools , where it has been seen as the language

 of the oppressor .

 WASHINGTON Hugh Price , a senior officer of the Rockefeller Foundation and form

er newspaper and television commentator on social issues , Tuesday was named pre

sident of the National Urban League , the nation 's second-oldest civil rights o

rganization . Price , 52 , succeeds John E. Jacob , who is retiring after a 30-y

ear association with the league , the last 12 as its president . A native of Was

hington whose parents were active in the suffrage and civil rights movements her

e , Price served from 1978 to 1982 as a member of the editorial board of the New

 York Times , writing editorials on such policy issues as public education , urb

an affairs , welfare and criminal justice . Price also served for six years as s

enior vice president of WNET-13 , New York City 's public television station , w

here in 1984 he assumed direction of national production functions . Earlier , h

e was human resources administrator for the city of New Haven , Conn. , where he

 served as a member of the mayor 's cabinet and supervised the city 's Head Star

t program and services for youth and senior citizens . Price attended segregated

 elementary schools in Washington and in 1954 , following the Brown vs . Board o

f Education Supreme Court decision , he attended desegregated junior high and hi

gh schools here . Following his graduation from Yale Law School in 1966 , Price 

worked as a neighborhood attorney with the New Haven Legal Assistance Associatio

n , maintaining a criminal law practice and representing community organizations

 . Later he became a partner in Cogen , Holt and Associates , an urban affairs c

onsulting firm in New Haven that specialized in community development , housing 

and other programs . Reginald K. Brack Jr. , chairman of the league 's board of 

trustees and chairman and chief executive officer of Time Inc. , said that Price

 `` brings experience , vision , creativity and leadership to the Urban League a

t a time when the African-American community is in great need of an effective ad

vocate for equal opportunity and a defender of hard-earned civil rights . '' Pri

ce said he intends to `` fullfill the league 's traditional mandate combining so

cial justice with economic growth and opportunities . '' His agenda , he said , 

includes focusing public and private recources more sharply on the problems of t

he urban poor ; equipping all African-American children with the academic compet

ence and social skills needed for self-sufficiency , and developing the urban la

bor markets so that inner-city residents `` who want or are expected to work can

 earn legitimate livings above the poverty line . ''

 The Fox Broadcasting Co. , newly armed with National Football League games that

 helped the network land a dozen stations in a landmark deal this week , on Tues

day announced a drama-heavy prime-time lineup for fall in its latest bid to achi

eve parity with CBS , ABC and NBC . Fox , known for dropping bombshells in late 

announcements of its schedules , disclosed the coming acquisition of its latest 

affiliates in time for the presentation of the new schedule to advertisers . For

 nostalgia-prone couch potatoes , Fox also announced that one of its back-up ser

ies for the 1994-95 season is an updated version of the famous 1960s sitcom `` G

et Smart , '' reuniting Don Adams and Barbara Feldon as secret agents . The yout

h-oriented network will have the new version of `` Get Smart '' focusing on thei

r son , who is in his late 20s and , like his incompetent father , is a `` bumbl

ing agent . '' At the same time , however , Fox is using its flair for showmansh

ip to dilute the impact of serious setbacks in the past season . It flopped in t

wo key areas : late night , where Chevy Chase 's show folded quickly , and news 

, where its magazine series `` Front Page '' failed in the ratings and now is ca

nceled , to be replaced eventually by a new effort called `` Assignment . '' In 

addition , Fox , known for its outpouring of series featuring black performers l

ast season , has canceled five of them , including the prestigious `` Roc , '' t

he controversial but much-praised and ambitious `` South Central '' which report

edly is seeking a home elsewhere and `` In Living Color , '' `` Sinbad '' and , 

previously , `` Townsend Television , '' which starred Robert Townsend . Several

 returning series , including `` Living Single '' and the racy `` Martin , '' st

ar black performers . Sandy Grushow , president of the Fox Entertainment Group ,

 maintained , `` We 're not walking away from our commitment to program black te

levision series . '' He noted that one of the new one-hour dramas , a police sho

w called `` Uptown Undercover , '' pairs two officers , one black , the other La

tino . In addition , he said , another drama , `` M.A.N.T.I.S. , '' is about a `

` black superhero . '' With the cancellation of `` In Living Color , '' Fox is l

osing one of its trademark series , an irreverent collection of sketches from a 

black viewpoint . Said Grushow : `` We felt it was pretty well played out . Obvi

ously it was a landmark series for our company . For years , it defined who we w

ere and what we were about . '' Fox has scheduled as another back-up series a ne

w sketch comedy called `` House of Buggin ' , '' which stars Latino comedian Joh

n Leguizamo . Grushow said `` Sinbad , '' which features the comedian of the sam

e name , was canceled because it `` had a huge ` Simpsons ' lead-in and was unab

le to capitalize on it . '' As for `` Roc , '' although its quality rarely dimin

ished , it has had a difficult time in the ratings , finishing near the bottom .

 Other Fox shows from this season that got the ax include `` The Adventures of B

risco County , Jr. , '' `` Bakersfield P.D. , '' `` Daddy Dearest , '' `` Herman

 's Head , '' `` Monty , '' `` Code 3 '' and `` Comic Strip Live . '' ( Begin op

tional trim ) Another series , `` The George Carlin Show , '' failed to make the

 fall lineup but is expected to return as a back-up entry , as is `` The Critic 

, '' an animated program canceled by ABC but picked up by Fox . A spokesman for 

Fox estimated it will take 1 to 1 years before all of the new stations that were

 reeled in this week are lined up for the network . With Fox going to seven nigh

ts a week this past season and now upgrading its affiliates in such major cities

 as Cleveland , Atlanta , Detroit , Milwaukee and Dallas , the ratings of the 8-

year-old network will certainly go up , but just how much depends in great part 

on the new programming , which consists of five dramas and two comedies . Grusho

w said the deal with New World Communications to land the stations will have `` 

no effect whatsoever on the programs . These New World stations are jumping into

 bed with us because they like our business plan . They 're interested in the 18

-to-34 and 18-to-49 demographic . '' ( End optional trim ) `` The Simpsons '' no

w will return to Sundays at 8 p.m. , where Fox hopes that it and `` Fortune Hunt

er , '' a new , James Bond-style spy adventure that precedes it at 7 p.m. and wi

ll challenge `` 60 Minutes '' can benefit from the lead-in of the NFL games . Aa

ron Spelling also is becoming a bigger player at Fox , where his `` Beverly Hill

s , 90210 '' and `` Melrose Place '' will be joined by another hour drama from h

is company , `` Models Inc. . '' It stars Linda Gray , formerly of `` Dallas , '

' as the head of a Los Angeles modeling agency . It gets an early start June 29 

. Other new Fox series : `` Party of Five , '' a drama in which five brothers an

d sisters `` forge new lives following the sudden loss of their parents '' in a 

car crash . `` Hardball , '' a `` rowdy '' sitcom that takes `` a locker-room lo

ok '' at baseball . `` Wild Oats , '' a Generation X sitcom about `` a group of 

out-all-night 20-somethings in search of romance and friendship . '' ( Optional 

add end ) Here 's Fox 's night-by-night lineup for fall : Monday : `` Melrose Pl

ace , '' `` Party of Five . '' Tuesday : `` Fox Night at the Movies . '' Wednesd

ay : `` Beverly Hills , 90210 , '' `` Models Inc. . '' Thursday : `` Martin , ''

 `` Living Single , '' `` Uptown Undercover . '' Friday : `` M.A.N.T.I.S. , '' `

` The X-Files . '' Saturday : `` Cops , '' `` Cops 2 , '' `` America 's Most Wan

ted . '' Sunday : `` Fortune Hunter , '' `` The Simpsons , '' `` Hardball , '' `

` Married .. . With Children , '' `` Wild Oats . ''

 SARAJEVO , Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia 's president said Tuesday his government i

s seriously considering an internationally backed peace plan that would give 51 

percent of the country to allied Muslim and Croat factions and 49 percent to reb

el Serbs . But he demanded that the United States issue a clear statement of its

 intentions before his mostly Muslim cabinet approves the plan . In an interview

 on his return from a pilgrimage to Mecca , President Alija Izetbegovic also sai

d he does not believe Bosnia 's war is close to ending , although he predicted s

ome type of denouement in the fall . `` We 're only eight or nine rounds into a 

12-round fight , '' he said at one point , employing a favorite boxing analogy .

 `` While we willn't win on a knockout , we will win on points . '' Izetbegovic 

said he had charged Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic with finding out what the U.S

. government is willing to do should Bosnia accept the 51-49 plan . Silajdzic le

ft Sarajevo Monday to attend another round of negotiations at a French resort ne

ar Geneva . Under that peace deal , first proposed by the European Union , Bosni

a would be partitioned into a Muslim-Croat federation and a Serb-controlled half

 . The Serbs would then be free to join the Muslim-Croat federation or merge wit

h their political , military and cultural patrons in Serbia . Earlier this month

 , Muslim and Croat negotiators meeting in the U.S. . Embassy in Vienna drew up 

a map of the proposed federation 's territory that added up to 58 percent of Bos

nia , leaving only 42 percent for the Serbs . When the United States joined its 

allies on May 13 in a reaffirmation of the 51-49 formula , the Sarajevo governme

nt complained bitterly . The Clinton administration has said it would consider s

ending up to 25,000 American ground troops to Bosnia once the peace deal was imp

lemented . But Izetbegovic said he was loath to accept vague statements of inten

tion from any government because `` for two years now we have seen what those ad

d up to : nothing . '' `` The Americans have let us read between the lines , but

 really we are at war and that is not enough , '' he said . `` We need to know w

hat they will do if we accept and what they will do if the Serbs reject '' the p

eace plan . One of the reasons for Izetbegovic 's demands for a specific commitm

ent concerns the fact that in Bosnia 's eyes the West , including the United Sta

tes , has squandered its credibility in Bosnia . NATO ultimatums threatening air

strikes against Serb positions are now routinely modified by U.N. officials here

 in what appears to be an increasingly desperate effort to avoid the strikes . I

zetbegovic said the impression given by NATO 's silence on the matter is that it

 too is a willing partner in the dilution of the letter if not the intent of its

 ultimatums to the Serbs . A U.N. spokesman Tuesday , for example , confirmed th

at Serb tanks based inside a 12-mile artillery exclusion zone around Sarajevo we

re firing on Muslim positions around Breza , north of the capital . Under NATO '

s first Bosnian ultimatum , issued in February , those tanks are subject to airs

trikes . However , the spokesman , Dutch Maj. Rob Annink , said the only option 

being considered was `` negotiations . '' Izetbegovic 's comments Tuesday , whil

e contradictory on the surface , provided an insight into the maneuvers of the m

ostly Muslim government and its army , which has struggled back from near demise

 less than a year ago to relative stability today . Emboldened by the apparent s

uccess of a peace deal between Bosnia 's Muslim and Croat factions , Izetbegovic

 now appears to believe time is on the side of the Muslims in their standoff aga

inst the Serbs , who occupy about 72 percent of this mountainous country . Accep

ting the peace deal , according to the president 's thinking , would only be par

t of a broader and longer-term struggle against the Serbs , widely held responsi

ble for starting Europe 's bloodiest conflict since World War II . He said his g

overnment would not accept a four-month cease-fire , proposed by the United Stat

es , Russia and the major European powers earlier this month , because it would 

hamper the Bosnian army and effectively preserve Serb war gains . `` Maybe four 

weeks , but not four months , '' he said . `` If it was four months , it would f

reeze the Serb gains , literally , because by then it would be winter . '' Curre

ntly , the lightly armed Bosnian army appears capable of nibbling away at Serb-h

eld territory but will not be able to mount larger offensives until the fall . T

he largely Muslim government troops are reluctant to engage the better-armed Ser

b forces in the dry Bosnian summer because that is perfect tank weather . Once t

he fog and rain of autumn comes , however , the more numerous Bosnian government

 infantry will gain some tactical advantage . Throughout the interview , Izetbeg

ovic appeared almost jovial and a different man from the downtrodden leader who 

paced the cavernous halls of the presidency last year while Serb shells pounded 

his capital . `` Last year I had a lot of good reasons to be depressed . We had 

a new front opening with the Croats . We really saw no exit , '' he said . Hinti

ng that weapons already are coming in over the newly opened roads from Croatia '

s Adriatic coast , Izetbegovic cited the importation of `` food and other materi

als that I can't talk about '' as having a positive effect on the war effort aga

inst the Serbs . On May 13 , The Washington Post reported that 60 tons of Irania

n explosives and raw materials for ammunition manufacturing had arrived for Bosn

ia 's weapons plants . Since then , Bosnian military sources have said at least 

one shipload of Brazilian-made weaponry destined for Bosnia has reached the Balk

ans .

 WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb 's re-election campaign willn't have the s

upport of his party 's 1993 candidate for governor , two-time Virginia attorney 

general Mary Sue Terry , who Tuesday endorsed one of his challengers for the Dem

ocratic nomination . The beneficiary of Terry 's action was state Sen. Virgil H.

 Goode Jr. of rural Rocky Mount , who hailed her support as the biggest boost to

 his underdog campaign . Terry has been closely allied with Robb , a former law 

school classmate , throughout her career . The two were ticketmates in 1981 , wh

en he was elected Virginia governor and she won her first term as attorney gener

al . And because both espouse a moderate-to-conservative philosophy , Terry was 

sometimes called `` Chuck Robb in a skirt . '' In a statement , Robb said he 'd 

`` been aware for some time that she was thinking about endorsing Virgil , so it

 didn't come as a surprise , and I didn't try to dissuade her . `` To her credit

 , '' he continued , Terry `` called me at home ( Monday ) night to tell me what

 she planned to do , and I respect her for calling me personally . If I am the D

emocratic nominee , I know she 'll be with me in November . '' Terry , who appea

red with Goode at news conferences Tuesday in Arlington and Richmond , declined 

to characterize her announcement as a repudiation of Robb . `` The easy thing fo

r me , '' she said , `` would have been to sit by and just let whatever might ha

ppen in the primary happen . But I think I would be shirking my responsibility a

s a Virginian if I did not do what I could as small as that might be to make sur

e we have the strongest possible candidate to prevent ( Republican frontrunner )

 Oliver North from becoming our senator . And I am convinced Virgil is that cand

idate . '' Mary Washington College political scientist Mark J. Rozell said Terry

 's snub of Robb `` may reflect a feeling among many leading Democrats . . . ( w

ho ) don't feel they have the luxury to speak out . '' Rozell said one upside to

 Terry 's crushing loss in the 1993 gubernatorial race is that she has `` a degr

ee of freedom to speak openly . '' And while she may not carry much weight with 

the general electorate , Rozell said , within the party `` she retains stature a

mong groups , such as women activists . ''

 WASHINGTON The U.S. Postal Service is in `` serious financial trouble , '' faci

ng a huge deficit and an uncertain future , witnesses told a House committee Tue

sday . Rep. William L . Clay , D-Mo. , chairman of the House Committee on Post O

ffice and Civil Service , agreed with the dire assessments and added one of his 

own , describing the Postal Service as `` a ship of state that is not only rudde

rless , but captain-less . Whoever is running the ship over there is not doing a

 good job . '' It was one of Clay 's most caustic attacks on Postmaster General 

Marvin T. Runyon , the former Tennessee auto maker whose budget-cutting exploits

 have won him praise from many mailers . But in this , the fifth of six oversigh

t hearings into the agency 's ability to compete with new electronic technologie

s , Runyon 's decisions came under increased criticism . During the hearing Tues

day , William H. LeBlanc III , the senior member of the independent Postal Rate 

Commission , sent one of the strongest signals of any witness that the Postal Se

rvice 's finances are more troubled that previously thought . `` It is my view t

hat the Postal Service could hardly be worse off financially and I see nothing o

n the horizon that will significantly improve its present position , '' LeBlanc 

told the committee . A Reagan appointee who has served on the five-member regula

tory panel since 1987 , LeBlanc predicted the Postal Service is headed for a $ 2

.4 billion loss this year , well above the $ 1.3 billion loss that Runyon had ex

pected . LeBlanc said he has never been so worried about the agency 's future . 

Without naming Runyon , LeBlanc also questioned the wisdom of the postmaster gen

eral 's decision to delay the next postage increase until 1995 , noting that the

 agency could have captured an extra $ 3.9 billion in revenues by filing its rat

e case 16 months earlier . `` This would seem a high price to pay for rate stabi

lity , '' LeBlanc said . The rate commission is considering a Postal Service req

uest to increase the price of a letter to 32 cents from 29 cents an increase tha

t Clay and others have suggested may be too small to cover the agency 's rapidly

 growing debt . Most of the unexpected costs have been attributed to overtime th

at followed the retirements of many senior workers in a Runyon-directed reorgani

zation last year . Postal spokeman Bob Hoobing declined to comment on Clay 's re

marks , but he said LeBlanc had oversimplified the agency 's finances . Runyon '

s proposed 10.3 percent increase in postal rates `` will stabilize '' postal fin

ances and prevent a large drop in mail volume . `` We 're not just sitting there

 and letting the tide roll over us , '' Hoobing said . While LeBlanc said he was

 not speaking for the rate commission , he was not alone in expressing concern o

ver the future of the Postal Service . Representatives of the General Accounting

 Office cautioned the committee that the agency 's effort to save money through 

automation was not working and new technologies , such as computer messages and 

fax machines were eroding the agency 's mail monopoly . `` The risk to the Posta

l Service posed by competition and changing technology is very real , '' said GA

O Associate Director Michael E. Motley . Large chunks of mail have already been 

lost to the rapid growth of new technologies , a GAO official said . Since 1971 

the Postal Service also has lost two key markets , overnight mail and parcel pos

t , to private firms because it failed to compete on price and service , Motley 

said . Its share of parcels fell from 65 percent of the market in 1971 to 6 perc

ent in 1990 and its overnight Express Mail dropped from 100 percent of the marke

t in 1971 to 12 percent in 1990 , he said . Motley suggested that Congress might

 revise its postal laws to give the Postal Service more flexibility on pricing a

nd to allow discounts to large mailers , steps the Postal Service has long reque

sted . The GAO official praised Runyon for attempting to take advantage of techn

ological developments , but he questioned whether any new service the agency cou

ld create would generate enough revenue to replace the mail it is likely to lose

 to new technology . Edward J. Gleiman , the new chairman of the rate commission

 , also suggested Runyon go slow on new ventures . `` There may be no real reaso

n for the Postal Service to seek business opportunities much beyond the margins 

of its traditional business , '' Gleiman said . But he also sounded the most opt

imistic of any witness Tuesday . `` For the intermediate term five to seven year

s out I think the greatest threat to postal volumes is the Postal Service itself

 , '' he told Clay . `` Service must be maintained and costs must be controlled 

or all mailers will actively seek cheaper and more-reliable alternatives to the 

mail . '' However , Gleiman did join the GAO in expressing concerns about the fu

ture of first-class mail . Taxpayers could ultimately be stuck with `` a substan