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SPANISH TOWN, Jamaica (AP) — Corpses, the suspected victims of violent deaths, are wrapped in plastic bags or covered loosely in stained sheets. There is no air conditioning and the room quickly becomes sweltering as the tropical sun beats down on the metal roof. A black fly buzzes around the room amid the smell of decay.

A Jamaican forensic pathologist and his sweating assistants can merely shrug at the primitive conditions.

"What can I say? The lack of resources is definitely a challenge," Dr. S.N. Prasad Kadiyala said as he waited for police officers to show up so he could start autopsies on a recent morning inside a hospital complex in gritty Spanish Town, on the edge the Jamaican capital.

Jamaica has had one of the highest homicide rates in the world for years, but its capacity to deal with the wave of killings has not kept pace. While the Caribbean country has made some gains in the gathering and processing of evidence, one of its biggest challenges is simply finding a place to store and study the dead.

The island has not had a national morgue since the 1970s despite widespread agreement that autopsies are often performed in facilities so inadequate that investigations are placed in jeopardy, said Hayden Baldwin, who has worked as forensic consultant to Jamaica's police force.

"I have never seen such deplorable conditions and lack of support from a government to resolve these issues," said Baldwin, a retired Illinois state police officer and director of Forensic Enterprises, Inc. of Orland Park, Illinois.In a report on global homicides released earlier this year, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime listed Jamaica as having the world's sixth highest homicide rate. About a decade ago, it had the highest. The island of 2.7 million people has seen 1,000-plus killings every year since 2004, mostly in slums far from the beach resorts.

Relatively few murders are solved. The conviction rate for homicides is 5 percent, according to a 2013 U.S. State Department report.

Political leaders have vowed over the years to construct a modern public morgue, especially after the botched 2007 death investigation of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer, who died unexpectedly while the island hosted the sport's World Cup. That year, Peter Phillips, then national security minister, said the Woolmer case "brought into focus the need for the most up-to-date forensic capabilities possible, including most importantly the construction of a new public morgue."

Seven years later, Jamaica has steadily improved some aspects of its forensic investigations, including securing more specialized microscopes to evaluate ballistics. But officials say the cost of building a morgue must be considered against competing budget demands.

Under a system revamped several years ago, just over a dozen private funeral homes around the island have government contracts to collect and store corpses awaiting autopsies. Several mortuaries also provide space and equipment several times a week for the country's three forensic pathologists.

Pathologists and some morticians say the funeral homes are paid so little — just $6 to $10 per body per day for storage — that they have little interest in keeping the corpses at the correct temperature because of the high cost of energy, about five times the cost in much of the United States.

"The remuneration from the government is not commensurate with what the private funeral homes put into it," said Joseph Cornwall, director of the House of Tranquility, an established Kingston funeral home that stores bodies for the government. He said his business keeps the corpses to be autopsied at the right temperature, but Kadiyala believes funeral homes often don't do so.

Activists and some politicians say officials could resolve the protracted problem if they wanted.

"Whatever the government really wants to do, they usually find the money. What we lack is the political will to get this done because it mostly impacts on poor, disenfranchised people," said Yvonne McCalla Sobers, a prominent human rights activist.

The country's health ministry declined comment.

But Angela Patterson, special services director for Jamaica's police force, said the situation has steadily improved since 2010, when there was a big backlog of bodies awaiting autopsies. She said contracting with established funeral homes helps the government get autopsies done quickly, generally within two to three days of being requested.

"That is a significant achievement," Patterson said.

Desmond McKenzie, a former Kingston mayor who has led calls to build a morgue for years, said that's not enough. The opposition lawmaker believes the lack of urgency displayed by successive administrations is illogical for a nation with such high levels of gun crime.

"The simple fact is the government has failed miserably," he said.

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David McFadden on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmcfadd

BEIJING (AP) — Police in China's western Xinjiang region shot dead 13 assailants who drove one or more vehicles into a police office building and set off explosives in an attack Saturday that injured three officers, the news website for the regional government said.

The Tianshan website said in a one-line report that no civilians were hurt in the attack in Kashgar prefecture in Xinjiang's southwest. The official Xinhua News Agency said one vehicle was used, though it did not provide specific details.

Officials in the region contacted by phone either said they were unclear about the situation or refused to comment.

It was the latest in a series of attacks pointing to growing unrest in the sprawling region of Xinjiang, where the native Muslim Uighur (pronounced WEE-gur) people want more autonomy from Beijing. Last month, a market bombing killed 43 people in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi.

Chinese authorities have blamed the attacks on extremists bent on overthrowing Beijing's rule. The government says the assailants have ties to Islamic terror groups abroad, but provides little direct evidence.

The government has sought to stem the attacks by handing down heavy punishments to people authorities say organized, led and participated in terror groups, committed arson, murder, burglary or illegally manufactured explosives. Earlier this month, China executed 13 people in Xinjiang for such crimes.

Uighur activists say public resentment against Beijing is fueled by an influx of settlers from the Han majority in the region, economic disenfranchisement and onerous restrictions on Uighur religious and cultural practices. China says it has made vast investments to boost the region's economy and improve living standards.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's new health chief is revamping the administration's management of the health care overhaul, aiming to improve accountability and prevent another round of insurance chaos this fall.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced Friday that she has appointed a new high-level operations manager, responsible for delivering results across critical programs.

She's also hiring a chief executive specifically for the health care overhaul.

Although the administration eventually managed to sign up 8 million people for new coverage, last fall's rollout of HealthCare.gov was paralyzed by technology problems that turned into a major embarrassment for the White House.

The new operations manager is Andy Slavitt, a senior executive of a health care technology company, who as a contractor worked to help straighten out the government's website woes.

Feeling rusty but ready to play again, Tiger Woods said Friday he would return to competition next week at Congressional in the Quicken Loans National.

Woods last played on March 9 at Doral, where he dealt with pain in his lower back and closed with a 78 for his highest final-round score on the PGA Tour. He had back surgery March 31, forcing him to miss the Masters for the first time. He also missed the U.S. Open last week at Pinehurst No. 2.

The announcement on his Facebook page delivered a jolt of good news to golf. Woods has been the game's biggest draw since he turned pro in 1996, and with limited information about his recovery, speculation was starting to build that he might not make it to any majors this year.

"After a lot of therapy, I have recovered well and will be supporting my foundation next week at the Quicken Loans National," Woods said on Facebook. "I've just started to hit full shots, but it's time to take the next step. I will be a bit rusty, but I want to play myself back into competitive shape. Excited for the challenge ahead."

This is the first year for a new title sponsor at the PGA Tour event that donates its charity money to the Tiger Woods Foundation, and the tournament earlier this year secured an agreement to return to Congressional every other year through 2020.

Woods on Thursday announced that he signed a new endorsement deal with MusclePharm, which will display its logo on his golf bag.

"He has been the face of golf for the last 15, 20 years, and golf is a better sport and a better place with Tiger Woods in it," two-time major champion Rory McIlroy said last week at the U.S. Open. "So hopefully, he has a speedy recovery and he gets back on the course soon, because any tournament where Tiger Woods is a factor, he creates a big buzz."

This is the second-longest break Woods has taken from golf because of injury. He missed the second half of the 2008 season when he had reconstructive surgery on his left knee just a week after winning the U.S. Open for his 14th major.

Even though he spent the offseason working on his body, there were signs early that something might be wrong.

He missed the 54-hole cut at Torrey Pines, where he was the defending champion and an eight-time winner at one of his favorite courses. He had his worst finish ever at Dubai when he tied for 41st. Then, he withdrew in the final round of the Honda Classic because of back spasms, and despite being in the penultimate group at Doral, he struggled badly with his back on the final day after taking a swing from an awkward stance outside a bunker.

Woods had microdiscectomy surgery a week before the Masters, and he has said in rare appearances that he did not know how long it would take to properly heal. His agent, Mark Steinberg at Excel Sports Management, said earlier this week that Woods was making enough progress to extend his swing.

Even so, playing the Quicken Loans National was thought to be too soon.

It couldn't come soon enough for the tournament.

"We're thrilled, obviously," said Mike Antolini, the tournament director and vice president of championships for the Tiger Woods Foundation. "Anytime you get that call and Tiger is in your field, it's really the best news you can get. The fact he's a two-time champion and the tournament hosts, we're very excited for the fans."

He said he expected a spike in ticket sales with Friday's announcement.

The strength of Quicken Loans National field has suffered in recent years as more Europeans moved into the top 20 in the world, and they headed across the Atlantic Ocean as the European Tour headed places like Ireland, France and Scotland leading up to the British Open.

Adam Scott, who has replaced Woods at No. 1 in the world while he has been out, was not planning to return this year.

"To be honest, we were prepared regardless for a good event," Antolini said. "Our ticket sales, we think they're going to be increased on this news now."

Three years ago, Woods withdrew after nine holes at The Players Championship because of an Achilles tendon injury and missed more than two months. He said then he had learned from past mistakes and would not try to return before he was in full health.

Assuming he is at full strength now, he likely will be at the British Open at Royal Liverpool and the PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he won majors the last time they were held on those courses. Woods been stuck on 14 majors since that '08 U.S. Open victory.

Woods is at No. 207 in the FedEx Cup — having played only three events — and could have as many as five events to reach the top 125. He also is at No. 67 in the Ryder Cup standings. U.S. captain Tom Watson has said he would use a wild-card pick on Woods, though he had eased off that position in recent weeks when the status of Woods' recovery was unknown.