Congo gets royal apology

The king of Belgium has issued a personal apology to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the ‘‘acts of violence and atrocity’’ inflicted on it by its former colonial masters. King Philippe ‘‘expressed regret’’ for his country’s savage rule in a letter to President Felix Tshisekedi marking the 60th anniversary of independence. The king’s great-greatgrandfather, Leopold II, ran the central African country as his personal colony from 1885 to 1908. A reign of terror left an estimated 10 million Congolese dead and gave rise to the term ‘‘crime against humanity’’.