Singapore started crushing nine tonnes of elephant ivory yesterday, in what authorities said was the biggest such event globally in recent years and signalled the island nation's fight against illegal trade in wildlife.

The city-state, a nautical waypoint in shipments of banned animal products between Africa and Asia, is destroying tusks worth an estimated S$18 million (RM55.02 million), including a record 8.8 tonnes seized last year, which authorities said came from nearly 300 African elephants...