Very nice image

Only thing is it doesnt really fit with the navigational layout of the web page.
Generally navigation sits top or left as people's eyes are naturally drawn to scan those areas first. With this kind of design you might be better having the image central (top aligned) so you scan it all before scrolling down for the news info (maybe even an anchor tag in the image somewhere which moves you straight to the news underneath?).
If you end up doing it all in flash then this wouldnt be an issue.
Just ideas however, interpret as you see fit