RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. When the ruler of Dubai showed up for a spot check of some of his civil service departments, it made for some awkward pictures that the government's media office posted on Twitter. Sheikh Mohammed was photographed standing beside a line of empty desks, which should have been occupied by high-ranking officials. The sheikh is known for spot checks, so they only have themselves to blame. That is, the nine senior officials who ended up sacked. This is MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.