'Habari za leo Emilian?' is not correct?

What is the difference between za and ya in these sentences?

"Leo" translates literally to "today". "Mchana" translates literally to "the day" as opposed to the night

Habari za siku Emilian?

Yes, I thought mchana was "afternoon".

This is confusing me too.

?

Mchana refers generally to day.If you want to be specific in terms of time the same greeting can be rephrased to Habari za adhuhuri(between 12 and 2pm) and Habari za alasiri(2-4 pm).Jioni begins at 5

Habari za leo and habari ya mchana is the same thing when you're actually speaking to someone who speaks Swahili. This is a bad question.

Shouldn't it be "Habari ni leo Emilian"?