Associated Press: A reported jump in the rate of Amazon deforestation is unproven despite a government crackdown on tree cutting, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in comments published Thursday. Silva said figures showing increased deforestation, issued last week by his Environment Ministry, have not yet been confirmed and more research is underway, according to reports in three major newspapers: Folha de S. Paulo, Estado de S. Paulo and O Globo. He compared the situation to a patient …